gut check weekend.

.... sorry i've been gone for a few days. i've actually been trying to channel noah and ask him for his ark plans. if you see him, by chance, send him my way because i'm pretty sure i'm gathering the lily dogs, jwood, and flies two by two just in case....

what a beautiful weekend for a duck.

this saturday morning marked the 2nd long run week with fleet feet in preparation for the 1/2. according to my spreadsheet that maps out the runs, we were to run 6-8 miles - come rain or shine. neat.

so, after a nice quiet friday evening in with j and lily, i snuggled into bed at 10pm. i promptly set my alarm for 5:30am. ugggg. i was eager to get to the group run, as i kicked my own rear in spin class and interval running this week. i was ready to take those 8 miles head on.

well, alarm setting 101.

one must turn the "on" switch to the "on" position to ensure that the alarm does its job and indeed wakes you up at the crack of dawn for the planned outing.

FAIL.

i woke up to light shining in the window - not to be confused with the sun. the sun hates the south right now. i knew something must be wrong because it's still dark at 5:30am - sure enough.... 7:15.

gut check. at this point, i've totally missed the organized run and have to decide if i am going to run the longest distance i have ever attempted - alone - and in the drizzling rain. it took every fiber of my being not to just go back to sleep pissed that i missed the run and chalk it up to a big fat failure. i found my running clothes, laced up the old running shoes, and headed for the park to attempt the 8 miles by myself.

i knew this would be a daunting task. i mean, who the heck wants to run a longer distance than they have ever attempted without a little encouragement from fellow runners, or self motivation as not to let the older man 50 years your senior pass you like a fence post. nevertheless, my usual little running path in the park is a 2 mile loop. though it was going to suck running around a 2 mile loop 4 stinkin' times, at least it provided ample opportunity for some hydration every 2 miles aka - a great excuse to stop running and rest for a second....or two. after the first mile, i settled into my running stride and started feeling pretty good about the next 1.3ish hours of running - until my entire path was completely submerged in water... for as far as i could see.

so, now - not only am i running alone... in the drizzle... around a 2 mile loop over and over again.... my loop is now under water. i am not quite stoked up to take on a duathalon yet. gut check #2. do i just give up? or do i run 1 mile, turn around and run another mile, and then run .5 mile to the other direction and back? both option sucks at this point.

holy moly. this saturday morning was far less exciting that i had planned when i "set" my alarm for 5:30. i didn't get to play along with my cool running club. i was running in the crappiest of situations. but, i did it!!! i finished 7.5 miles - against all odds. yay, me. next week, i'm double checking that blasted "on" switch.

speaking of against all odds....

my beloved UT Vols were having a gut check of their own in the dreaded swamp playing against the #1 ranked gators. yuck. i loathe that gawd awful gator chomp and everything about the blue and orange. do they pass out jorts when you drive into that state?

after UT's less than stellar showing against UCLA last week and FL's cake walk schedule - the gators were picked to beat the Vols by at least 30 points. ouch.

now, lane kiffin may or may not have taunted the gators this past year - that's just minor details. he said that, "it will be great when we beat FL next year and sing rocky top all night long...."

well, we in the wood hood were ready for the game. bring it on, gators.

*point of interest: leopard snuggie. oh yea...

the wood hood worked really hard cheering for the Vols. we didn't come up with the win. BUT, we did not get whipped by 30 points. ha! we only lost by 10 measly points. we held little timmy tebow to his first game without a touchdown pass in 3o games. he got sacked far more times than he probably bargained for. we have a kick arse defense and we will own the gators next year at Neyland. see ya later, tebow. good luck in the NFL. *cough*

my absolute favorite part of the game was the end when the reporter was interviewing our cocky little coach. though we didn't finish with the W, i think that the fans and kiffin were pleased with the gut check and performance of our team against the #1 team in the nation. when asked how kiffin felt about the game, rocky top was proudly blaring right beside them. he said, "i'm sorry, i can't hear you. rocky top is playing." enough said.

in other tennessee news....

meg and i set out today, poncho in hand, to attend the home opener for the tennessee titans. there was a 70% of rain - of course.

en route to the game, i got a freggin' speeding ticket. neat. i hate speeding tickets almost as much as i hate the gators. yes, i'm a gator hater.

anyway. we didn't let the ticket spoil our fun. we had a great time cheering on the titans. again, we worked really hard for our home team and they came up short. not to be confused with the jorts worn by all gator fans. the texans won, by a smidge and we missed the rain by a mere 10 minutes. you can't beat watching an NFL game live and feeling the excitement in the stadium. i love it!

despite the solo run, the rain, and the losses.... i shant complain that it's the weekend.

in fact, i treasure the weekend because those two terribly short days are the only times that i can steal my husband away from work or his studies. he has three tests this week and is working nights. say a little prayer for him. when he left for work tonight, i said - "see you friday!" friday can't get here fast enough....

i promise - i'm almost done.....

i would like to formally welcome a new-comer to the blog world, but a far cry from a newby to writing. this gal is funnier than me, cooler than me, a better writer than i could ever be, smarter than me, more driven than me, and i couldn't be more proud to call her sister. my favorite sister, Meg, has joined the blog world. please check out her blog, you'll not be sorry, and show her some love. Welcome, Meg!