2140 - OK, people.   All we did today was eat and shop.  Holy hell.  We had planned on going to the Holocaust Museum...did we...ummmmm yeahno.  But we DID manage to be idiots for most of the day.  And we had some FUN on the National Mall.  
            Meals today...
            Crab cakes and steak
            Sport beans
            Pizza (they didn't have RANCH dressing!  The nerve of them!!!)
            CUPCAKES
            Dinner (wings for me, pizza WITH RANCH for Haley)
            CUPCAKES!!
            The cupcakes came from Georgetown Cupcake...we stood in a line that was out the door and down the street for these cupcakes.  We got our cupcakes, went across the street to the mall, and ate them in front of these two girls that were chatting.  They called us evil.  We laughed.  We each ate two of the six...yes we each bought six...in our cupcake boxes, and well...our tummies were not happy after that.  We had to drink lots of diet soda (which we got free on the street corner...cuz we're hot--and cheap) to wake us back up.

0850 - Slept til about 0530 this morning...which is still late since I went to bed at 1930 last night.  Haley and I watched the final 10 minutes of Kona.  Cool stuff. 
            Then uhhhhh....we watched 90210...holy hell what is WRONG with us!??!  Oh it gets better...then we ate steak and crab cakes...AND CHOCOLATE MILK...for breakfast.  This is all before 0730 mind you.  I still need to run about 3 miles today to shake my legs out from yesterday.  I've got some cramping in my calves and hip flexors, but not doing too badly.  IT bands are tight though, so when I run I need to shake them out.
            I think we're gonna try to go to the Holocaust Museum today.  I know of course that I'll get upset like the last time I was there, but I never got to go the past few times I've been in DC so I wanna go, I haven't been to the HM in over 10 years.  Tonight we are going to Capitol City Brewery for dinner!! YUM!!!

I think I'll write my RR tomorrow, I still have a lot of absorbing to do.  And recovering.  :)

1855 - Wow, what a day.  After the run, we were exhausted but we just HAD to have some awesome crab cakes and steak at G&M Restaurant.  It was goooooood...I wound up taking half my meal with me, but it was very much worth the 38 bux I spent on lunch.  Yes...for myself.  It's like the Bern's of crab cakes tho...so it was definitely worth the money.

Then we went and had pedicures.  Pics to follow.  My footies are nice and relaxed (and not scary like they were when I walked in there).  After getting back we had a nice bottle of Lambic Beer, sat outside in the fresh air (it's beautiful weather here), and chatted about the race.  I had an uncrustable too.  Yeah, beer and pbj...nice eh?  YUM.

Now I think I'm going to collapse and just sleep the entire night.  Lemme at that fluffy feather couch.

2315 - Well, I'm here!  What a fun night we've had!  Lots of traffic, but we got all our stuff done, got our registration packets and goodie bags.  Then we stopped for some food to cook for dinner and then back to Haley's place.  Chippy came over and at dinner with us.  We chatted, laughed, told funny BT stories, you know the drill.  Now it's time to hit the hay so we can get rested for tomorrow!!
               Thanks to everyone today for all the great inspires and good luck wishes.  I'll try to make you all proud!

1340 - GRRRR...I just typed this whole thing about how I need to take a year off of Ironman racing in 2009 and my reasons and stuff... and the damn internet connection at the airport killed it.  GRRRR....I'm soooooo not typing it all again.  Maybe later if I feel like it.

0740 - Here's the profile of the race on Saturday.  Damn, I'm gonna need some quad strength to keep from fallin' down the hills in the last few miles!!
 

0700 - Finally...I get to get out of Florida and experience some fall weather!  My mood has improved GREATLY over the past couple days, and I'm so happy about that.  Hopefully it's the combo of getting away from home/work and the supplements bringing my chemistry back into balance.

WHOOP WHOOOOOP!  IT'S A
 
WEEKEND!!!

2135 - Well that's it kids, no more workouts til Saturday morning.  Time to let the body rest and relax before I kick it into high gear for the Baltimore Marathon.

1640 - Just got this in an email!!!
Dear Jeffrey J. Giles,

This is to notify you that your entry into the 113th Boston Marathon on Monday, April 20, 2009 has been accepted, provided that the information you submitted is accurate.

You can verify your acceptance into the field by searching the 113th Boston Marathon "Entrants" database on the B.A.A. web site, www.baa.org/2009/cf/Public/EntryLists.cfm. Additionally, an acceptance postcard will be mailed to you via US Postal Service mail.
 

0930 - Just got a flu shot here at work.  Now, I'm not sure exactly why I got one, since I've already HAD the flu this season, but oh well, maybe I won't get it again now.  I hope it doesn't make me sick before my marathon.  It's sometimes said that the flu shot can bring on sickness cuz it causes you to start fighting the virus.  Oh well...time will tell.

0730 - OK, I'm happy to say things are finally looking up.  My attitude is changing!  I'm starting not to fear the rest of the training, my outlook is starting to get better, and I'm sleeping better, which in turn makes me wake up happier and not so "I hate everything".  Even my drives to work aren't pissing me off like they usually do.  This, of course, COULD be psychosomatic because my brain KNOWS that I'm taking the supplements again, but at this point, I'll take ANYTHING that makes the serotonin levels stabilize.  Real or imagined.
           The Happy Q is starting to return.

20 pushups/10 decline pushups - 1040, 1120, 1340, 1530, 1715

1030 - Woohoo...Baltimore forecast says "Abundant sunshine" with a high of 72 and a low of 53 for Saturday.  Let's hope it stays that way.  That'd be PERFECT weather for a kickass marathon time.
               As part of my "journey back to Q-ness" (and since today is an upper body-push day) I'm gonna try and remember to do 20 regular pushups and 10 decline pushups per hour today. 

0935 - Supps just came!  So...2 Lipo-6X, 3 Vitrix, and 2 Multi's...down the hatch!!

0800 - This is the first positive day in a long time.  I slept for 8.5 hours last night.  I also wore compression socks on my feet, compression sleeves on my lower legs, compression shorts, and a compression belt for my back.  I slept LIKE A LOG.  I feel like I slept for 8 days instead of 8 hours.  I got right up at 0615 this morning and just went about my business as usual.  Today my supplements get here and I should be feelin' the happy chemicals flowing by tonight.  I HOPE.

2110 - OK, so at least I did SOMETHING today. I skipped the 2 mile run cuz I don't think my legs are in the mood right now and I still wanna try to have a good run on Saturday.

1000 - OK dammit.  I made a decision.  I'm sick and tired of this effing depression.  I know now what's causing it and I know how to fix it.  Zoloft is not the answer.  I refuse to have to rely on a prescription drug that causes my brain to function differently.  It makes me...NOT me.  So...I have decided to re-order my supplements.  Lipo-6X (because it has a mood-lifting complex in it) and Vitrix, the herbal T-booster I used last month (it's herbal, not chemical, so it's totally legal) and it will kick up my T-levels so I won't be depressed anymore.  It was stupid of me to just come off of them like this...I should have known I'd be thrown down in the dumps.  I've ordered it and it should be shipped today, and be here tomorrow.  I should be back to my happy funny Q self by the weekend.  This had BETTER work.

0900 - Jess is right.  I self-medicate.  And when I'm not working out or doing SOMETHING that raises my testosterone level and my endorphin production, I'm down in the dumps.  Since I'm not taking any supplements that keep my T-levels constant, I'm experiencing "withdrawal" symptoms on a revolving basis.  It seems every day I keep finding more and more out about myself, but these things aren't good things.  UGH.  I guess I need to figure out what to do about this. 

1655 - Tonight...
 

WILL KICK

'S 

AT

  .

0945 - Registered.

0900 - Who knows what today will bring.  I am supposed to bike 90 minutes today.  Don't count on it.  I may want to swim though, depending on weather.  I'm not gonna do anything this week that I don't absolutely feel like doing.  It needs to be an easy week anyway, if I want my legs to be in tip top shape for the marathon on Saturday.