﻿<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?><rss version="2.0"><channel><title>monilark's Xanga</title><link>http://monilark.xanga.com/</link><description>Latest Xanga weblog from monilark</description><language>en-us</language><ttl>60</ttl><image><title>The Weblog Community</title><url>http://s.xanga.com/images/xangalogobutton.gif</url><link>http://monilark.xanga.com/</link></image><item><title>I Have Arrived</title><link>http://monilark.xanga.com/716002007/i-have-arrived/</link><guid>http://monilark.xanga.com/716002007/i-have-arrived/</guid><pubDate>Fri, 06 Nov 2009 20:03:11 GMT</pubDate><description>&lt;P&gt;Yes, I know, I owe everyone an update on the Chicago Marathon - and that is coming post haste - but I could not let this momentous occasion pass without bringing it to everyone's attention!&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P align=center&gt;&lt;FONT size=6&gt;I GOT MY FIRST MEAN COMMENT!&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P align=left&gt;Not horribly mean, not vicious, but ... mean:&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P align=left&gt;&lt;FONT color=#ff0000&gt;&lt;EM&gt;"Hey ummmm, not to be indelicate here, but...you are an attorney? Isn't that eight years of school? Your blog reads like a teenage myspace page. LOL. I have visions of you blowing bubble gum and playing with your hair. LOL. I REALLY do not mean to sound insulting, please don't get me wrong. I just thought attorneys had important work to do. You know, sixteen hour days, briefcases, powersuits, ambition, etc etc. I can't imagine any of those lawyers from 'Law and Order' would have time to maintain a blog. I know it's TV and all. Still, I had this sense that lawyers were higher than 'common' folk. LOL."&lt;/EM&gt;&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P align=left&gt;First of all, this person is obviously not familiar with my blog (yes, I use the term "blog" loosely, LOL) because she says:&amp;nbsp; &lt;FONT color=#ff0000&gt;&lt;EM&gt;I have visions of you blowing bubble gum&lt;/EM&gt;&lt;FONT color=#000000&gt;...&amp;nbsp;Ummm, hello?&amp;nbsp; I am addicted to bubble gum.&amp;nbsp; Hardly a day goes by that I DON'T chew bubble gum.&amp;nbsp; So&amp;nbsp;you must be, like, psychic.&amp;nbsp; Ohmigod. (By the way, is this language myspace-ish enough?)&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P align=left&gt;Yes, I am an attorney, and no that is not eight years of school; law school is only three years&amp;nbsp;(although&amp;nbsp;in my case, I did a&amp;nbsp;joint JD/MBA&amp;nbsp;program, so I did complete four years of graduate school after college, which does&amp;nbsp;equal "eight years of school," although I don't think you can just limit the definition of "school" to college and graduate school, so let's throw elementary and high school in there, as well, so that would be a total of TWENTY YEARS OF SCHOOL).&amp;nbsp; That's a lotta student loans, my friend.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P align=left&gt;And in response to this:&amp;nbsp; &lt;FONT color=#ff0000&gt;&lt;EM&gt;I just thought attorneys had important work to do. You know, sixteen hour days, briefcases, powersuits, ambition, etc etc. I can't imagine any of those lawyers from 'Law and Order' would have time to maintain a blog. I know it's TV and all. Still, I had this sense that lawyers were higher than 'common' folk. LOL&lt;/EM&gt;.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;FONT color=#0&gt;Let me just say this:&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P align=left&gt;I blog for the little people.&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P align=left&gt;ROFL!!&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P align=left&gt;Oh, I almost forgot this:&amp;nbsp; &lt;FONT color=#ff0000&gt;&lt;EM&gt;Your blog reads like a teenage myspace page&lt;/EM&gt;.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;FONT color=#0&gt;So, I'm hip?&amp;nbsp; At my age, this is a compliment!&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P align=left&gt;~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P align=left&gt;Alright, enough fun and games ... the marathon.&amp;nbsp; Well, it was "ok".&amp;nbsp; I know, I know, it was Chicago, and yes, there were lots of runners and lots of spectators and it was a big event.&amp;nbsp; The race certainly delivered on its promises - but the outcome wasn't what I'd totally hoped for.&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P align=left&gt;I finished in 4:52:31.&amp;nbsp; I expected to finish somewhere around 4:45.&amp;nbsp; I would have loved to have finished in 4:30 or under (my A/dream goal).&amp;nbsp; I guess it's frustrating because my 5K PR is 24:41 and I ran a recent 5K in 24:57.&amp;nbsp; I've run 4 half marathons, with the fastest being 1:59:49 and the slowest being 2:08:xx - so I *know* I am capable of running a full marathon in 4:30.&amp;nbsp; But I was soooooooo conservative, which actually was fine, because I was feeling good and did start to pick up the pace, but right as I did, I got this horrible foot pain/burning (which I have later determined to be something called "metatarsalgia"), which meant that not only could I not speed up, but I had to slow down somewhat.&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P align=left&gt;Anyway, here's the post I made on&amp;nbsp;dailymile.com:&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;My time was slower than I would have liked, but between a port-a-potty stop that lasted 5 minutes because of the line (I will *never* do that again), and a burning foot starting at Mile 23/24, I ended up slower than I would have liked.&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;I did run the race well in terms of my pacing (I had a slight negative split) and my race strategy . The only problem was that, I was feeling good around Mile 21 and had anticipated slowly and steadily picking up the pace, but around Mile 23 the bottom of my left foot started burning like it was on fire. I don't ever get blisters (and, in fact, this turned out not to be an actual blister, but it felt like a huge blister) ... so I found myself slowing down.&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;My splits:&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;10:06 &lt;BR&gt;10:06 &lt;BR&gt;12:37 (this was like, WTF? I don't know what happened) &lt;BR&gt;10:19 &lt;BR&gt;10:30 &lt;BR&gt;10:36 &lt;BR&gt;10:38 &lt;BR&gt;10:22 &lt;BR&gt;10:40 &lt;BR&gt;15:20 (port-a-potty) &lt;BR&gt;10:52 &lt;BR&gt;10:31 &lt;BR&gt;10:49 &lt;BR&gt;9:59 &lt;BR&gt;10:42 &lt;BR&gt;10:43 &lt;BR&gt;10:39 &lt;BR&gt;10:37 &lt;BR&gt;11:19 &lt;BR&gt;10:14 &lt;BR&gt;10:40 &lt;BR&gt;10:36 &lt;BR&gt;11:27 &lt;BR&gt;10:48 &lt;BR&gt;11:46 &lt;BR&gt;10:51 &lt;BR&gt;That only goes up to Mile 26. My Garmin says I ran 26.77 miles, and that's b/c of the slight detour to the port-a-potties.&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;All in all, not the worst not the best. I am planning to run a half marathon in December and hope I can get my running revenge on that course and hopefully break my PR of 1:59:49.&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P align=left&gt;~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P align=left&gt;I am gearing up for White Rock, trying to incorporate some speedwork into my training, and hopefully I can beat my current PR for the half!&amp;nbsp;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P align=left&gt;&lt;FONT color=#ff0000&gt;&lt;/FONT&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P align=left&gt;&lt;FONT color=#ff0000&gt;&lt;/FONT&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P align=left&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/P&gt;</description><comments>http://monilark.xanga.com/716002007/i-have-arrived/#firstcomment</comments></item><item><title>I Know!  I'm Sorry!</title><link>http://monilark.xanga.com/713976244/i-know--im-sorry/</link><guid>http://monilark.xanga.com/713976244/i-know--im-sorry/</guid><pubDate>Tue, 06 Oct 2009 21:41:14 GMT</pubDate><description>&lt;P&gt;&lt;IMG alt="Travel Bugs Are Missing In Action" src="http://www.geocachingonline.com/geoblog/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/04_19_08_travel_bugs_are_missing_in_action.jpg"&gt;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;I know I have been completely M.I.A. for ... 5 months now?&amp;nbsp; That is crazy!&amp;nbsp; Essentially, I have not blogged during any of my training for the Chicago Marathon.&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;Which, by the way is in FIVE DAYS ...&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;My excuses are nothing unusual or even interesting:&amp;nbsp; working, life, Facebooking, etc., etc..&amp;nbsp; The crazy thing is that when I go to other bloggers' sites and see that they have not updated, I get so mad and indignant.&amp;nbsp; LOL.&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;Well, let's see - a recap since May/June?&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;Went to my 20 year college reunion in May, which was just o.k.&amp;nbsp; We made it to the Friday night event, which was fun, and it was nice seeing people.&amp;nbsp; The Saturday event was a bust, however, and the Alumni Association actually ended up refunding people's money.&amp;nbsp; All in all, it was fun, but I won't be attending another one.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;I started marathon training in June.&amp;nbsp; Let me say, there has not been a single easy thing about this training cycle.&amp;nbsp; First of all, it was BLAZING HOT for all of June, July and August.&amp;nbsp; And after struggling so much on so many runs, I was finally able (with the help of dailymile.com) to see that, while I had run @ 104 miles in April (training for and completing Ragnar L.A.), I only ran a total of 56 miles in May.&amp;nbsp; So, while I'd envisioned starting training with a decent base, I was basically starting from scratch.&amp;nbsp; And it was &lt;EM&gt;painful.&lt;/EM&gt;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;In September, it finally started to cool off and the runs got a bit easier, but let me just say, taper madness or no taper madness, I feel VERY slow and sluggish going into this marathon.&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;I've done two 20 mile runs.&amp;nbsp; The first one was pretty darn good, and were it not for that run, I'd probably be literally shaking in my boots right now.&amp;nbsp; I was able to finish that in 2:59, for a 10:00 minute/mile.&amp;nbsp; Best part is that I totally negative split the run, with the last few miles in the 9s.&amp;nbsp; The 2nd 20 miler was a lot slower, 3:21, and the last mile was a walk/run/death march,&amp;nbsp; I started later, probably ran just a tad too fast during the first half, and was therefore dying after about Mile 16/17, and ended up walking part of Mile 19 and Mile 20.&amp;nbsp; I know I was very dehydrated b/c although I drank a ton of water on the course and gulped water afterwards, I didn't pee for hours after the run.&amp;nbsp; YIKES!&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;The other problem I had during my 2nd 20 miler was that I've been having a sore right achilles, and it sort of popped around Mile 9.&amp;nbsp; It didn't cause any great pain, but it definitely freaked me out.&amp;nbsp; I haven't missed any runs since then, and I think I've been able to kind of figure the achilles out somewhat.&amp;nbsp; The key is that it's sore for the first 1/2 mile and then it tends to warm up progressively, and the pain is mostly gone by about Mile 4.&amp;nbsp; I just pray that I don't have any achilles/calf issues during the race!&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;I have been pretty good about recovery, taking ice baths after both of my 20 milers and icing my achilles (like right now).&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;On the plus side, out of all the runs in this cycle, I have only missed a few, in Week 7, because I was sick - and I never missed a long run.&amp;nbsp; But on the other hand, I've done&amp;nbsp;very little formal speed work - &lt;EM&gt;especially&lt;/EM&gt; after my achilles started giving me trouble (in fact, I think the problem started after I did 5 800s); the most I can say is that some of my shorter runs were done at a "tempo" pace.&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;Anyway, I'm just glad that my goal is just to finish.&amp;nbsp; Well, actually my goal is to finish and to NOT be doing a death march of any sort, whatsoever.&amp;nbsp; I would love to feel like I did for my 1st half-marathon (where I finshed the last mile in 8:16 - talk about still having gas in the tank!).&amp;nbsp; I know that a key part of that will be to run very conservatively, so that's my plan.&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P align=center&gt;&lt;FONT size=4&gt;I'M SO NERVOUS!!!&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P align=left&gt;Anyway, I completely deviated from my 5 month recap.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;&lt;P align=left&gt;In July, we went to Arizona.&amp;nbsp; This was one of the most lackluster vacations I've been on, and I ended up getting sick afterwards.&amp;nbsp; We went&amp;nbsp;with the kids and some of our good friends, and their kids, which was fine, but&amp;nbsp;out hotel did *nothing* for me (the Fairmont Princess).&amp;nbsp; Also, it was HOT AS ALL GET-OUT.&amp;nbsp; I mean, like 118&amp;nbsp;degrees!&amp;nbsp; We did go to the Grand Canyon.&amp;nbsp; Even that was kinda like, &lt;IMG src="http://s.xanga.com/images/whatevah.gif" width=15 border=0&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P align=left&gt;We finally finished our pool and outdoor&amp;nbsp;kitchen in late July and we hosted a couple parties in August.&amp;nbsp; I threw a casual surprise birthday party for my husband in September.&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P align=left&gt;Other than that, it's been business as usual (which is a blessing).&amp;nbsp; The kids are in school and are doing great.&amp;nbsp; S is doing&amp;nbsp;cheerleading this year.&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P align=left&gt;I am going to Vegas to meet my best friend from high school for the weekend, the weekend after the marathon, and I cannot wait for that!&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P align=left&gt;Well, I will be sure to update after the race this Sunday!&amp;nbsp; Say a prayer for me, you guys!&amp;nbsp; Thanks for reading!&amp;nbsp;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/P&gt;</description><comments>http://monilark.xanga.com/713976244/i-know--im-sorry/#firstcomment</comments></item><item><title>A Meme</title><link>http://monilark.xanga.com/702241283/a-meme/</link><guid>http://monilark.xanga.com/702241283/a-meme/</guid><pubDate>Tue, 19 May 2009 00:13:57 GMT</pubDate><description>&lt;P&gt;It's been awhile since I tagged myself for a meme!&amp;nbsp; Yes, I said, "tagged myself" since I don't think anyone has even tagged me since I've been ... ahem ... &lt;EM&gt;blogging&lt;/EM&gt;.&amp;nbsp; LOL.&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;Here goes ...&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;&lt;U&gt;8&amp;nbsp;things to which I am looking forward&lt;/U&gt;&lt;/STRONG&gt;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;1.&amp;nbsp; My 20 year college reunion - in 2 weeks!&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;2.&amp;nbsp; Seeing my mom (and my other family members) at my brother's wedding in September.&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;3.&amp;nbsp; (Hopefully) going to Martha's Vineyard with the kids and another family this summer.&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;4.&amp;nbsp; Bringing in my first economic development deal (work).&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;5.&amp;nbsp; Getting this current rheumatoid arthritis flare under control.&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;6.&amp;nbsp; Starting marathon training (June - yikes!).&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;7.&amp;nbsp; Getting my house decorated the way I really want it done.&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;8.&amp;nbsp; Progressing with respect to my swimming!&amp;nbsp; &lt;IMG src="http://s.xanga.com/images/stunned.gif" width=15 border=0&gt;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;&lt;U&gt;8 things I did yesterday&lt;/U&gt;&lt;/STRONG&gt;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;1.&amp;nbsp; Ran 10 miles in 1:39:01.&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;2.&amp;nbsp; Spent 5 hours shopping with my mom and my kids (bought 2 pair of shoes and some workout stuff).&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;3.&amp;nbsp; Made my kids' lunch.&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;4.&amp;nbsp; Watched "Trouble the Water" with my mom (2nd time for me) - EXCELLENT FILM!!!!!&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;5.&amp;nbsp; Ate a salted pretzel.&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;6.&amp;nbsp; Jammed out to some gospel music.&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;7.&amp;nbsp; Traded text messages with one of my good friends.&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;8.&amp;nbsp; Kissed my babies, my husband and my mom.&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;&lt;U&gt;8 things I'd like to do&lt;/U&gt;&lt;/STRONG&gt;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;1.&amp;nbsp; Go back to Jamaica.&amp;nbsp; STAT!&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;2.&amp;nbsp; Experience a great 1st marathon.&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;3.&amp;nbsp; Get my race paces&amp;nbsp;somewhere in the 8's for distances above a 5K&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;4.&amp;nbsp; Maintain and continue to grow my hair - which is currently healthy, long and beautiful!&amp;nbsp; Thanks Biotin!&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;5.&amp;nbsp; Keep my job (unless I land a dream job).&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;6.&amp;nbsp; Get our refinancing taken care of.&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;7.&amp;nbsp; Break the sugar habit (again).&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;8.&amp;nbsp; Eat healthier (I'm getting better at this, but still have a ways to go).&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;&lt;U&gt;8 shows I watch&lt;/U&gt;&lt;/STRONG&gt;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;1.&amp;nbsp; Intervention&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;2.&amp;nbsp; The Real Housewives of [all cities, so far]&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;3.&amp;nbsp; Jon &amp;amp; Kate + 8 (&lt;EM&gt;can you believe all the gossip and drama recently?&amp;nbsp; Yikes!&lt;/EM&gt;)&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;4.&amp;nbsp; Real World Challenge - The Gauntlet&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;5.&amp;nbsp; America's Next Top Model&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;6.&amp;nbsp; Deadliest Catch&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;7.&amp;nbsp; She's Got the Look&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;8.&amp;nbsp; I'll dedicate this to some of my old favorites:&amp;nbsp; Blowout, Workout, Family Plots, The Surreal Life, Strange Love, Being Bobby Brown (this was jaw-droppingly fascinating to me, LOL), The Jury Room, I Survived, almost anything on the Discovery Health Channel ...&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/P&gt;</description><comments>http://monilark.xanga.com/702241283/a-meme/#firstcomment</comments></item><item><title>I Love A Challenge</title><link>http://monilark.xanga.com/700608834/i-love-a-challenge/</link><guid>http://monilark.xanga.com/700608834/i-love-a-challenge/</guid><pubDate>Fri, 01 May 2009 17:22:20 GMT</pubDate><description>&lt;P&gt;I love a good challenge.&amp;nbsp; Not necessarily a tough challenge, but some sort of goal hanging out there in the future to keep me motivated and on track.&amp;nbsp; Following training programs and training for races is a perfect example of&amp;nbsp; having a good challenge to keep me motivated.&amp;nbsp; Additionally, I will informally name a particular time period, "Cross-train month" or "Eat Clean week" or "Don't Spend Any Money Month."&amp;nbsp; I've actually designated May as the&amp;nbsp;Last Chance to Party Month bceause&amp;nbsp;I start marathon training in&amp;nbsp;June, and I've said that from June to October, I'm going to try to be all about health, fitness and training.&amp;nbsp; We'll see.&amp;nbsp; &lt;IMG src="http://s.xanga.com/images/silly.gif" width=15 border=0&gt;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;At work, I'm pursuing a particular speciality within my practice area.&amp;nbsp; Before I really defined my goals, it was hard to take any steps at all, but once I defined my goals and outlined some objectives, I got really excited to have a structure and framework to work within.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;In blogland, many bloggers create different challenges, and I love reading about them, even if I don't participate.&amp;nbsp; Well, this time I am participating, in one of my new-favorite bloggers' challenges.&amp;nbsp; Bobbi, of &lt;A href="http://nhershoes.blogspot.com"&gt;NHerShoes&lt;/A&gt;, created a Simple Life Challenge, and I'm going to particpate.&amp;nbsp; In this challenge, you get points for making homeade meals, commuting to work in a "green" way (carpooling, running, biking, walking, etc.), and for any other frugal/simple/green things that you do.&amp;nbsp; Now let's be honest - I'm *not* going to win, for a couple reasons.&amp;nbsp; First of all, today is the first day of the challenge and I had to buy my breakfast and will have to buy lunch, since I was traveling for work until this morning.&amp;nbsp; Also, since I live 26 miles from where I work, and I'm in&amp;nbsp;"sunny" Texas, there is no way that I'll ever be&amp;nbsp;green in the way I get to work.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;AND, I'm going to be traveling again during the last weekend in&amp;nbsp;May, so I know I will be eating out then.&amp;nbsp; BUT, I should be able to make all of my meals on the other days, and there are plenty of other simple/green/frugal things I can do to accumulate points.&amp;nbsp; I'm excited!!&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;I'll try to make sure to come back and update you guys on everything I did.&amp;nbsp; &lt;IMG src="http://s.xanga.com/images/shy.gif" width=15 border=0&gt;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;Oh, and Ragnar L.A. was *great*.&amp;nbsp; We&amp;nbsp;just really had a great time.&amp;nbsp; Oh, and my running?&amp;nbsp; I was so pleased!&amp;nbsp; I averaged about 9:00 min/mile for all 19 miles!&amp;nbsp; I felt really good out there, even with my last hilly run.&amp;nbsp; My knees and ankles were pretty sore afterwards, so I just completely rested and did not run, from Saturday until the following Wednesday.&amp;nbsp; Wednesday night I just ran 3 miles when I arrived at my hotel and I felt&amp;nbsp;pretty good (tried out my new shoes).&amp;nbsp; Will probably run again Sunday, then starting next week,&amp;nbsp;I'll be shooting for 25 miles/week plus Jillian Michaels, all the way until June 1, when I start MARATHON TRAINING.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;I am so excited/nervous/scared/terrified/happy to start marathon training.&amp;nbsp; A full marathon?&amp;nbsp; WOW!!&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/P&gt;</description><comments>http://monilark.xanga.com/700608834/i-love-a-challenge/#firstcomment</comments></item><item><title>It's Been Way Too Long</title><link>http://monilark.xanga.com/699555628/its-been-way-too-long/</link><guid>http://monilark.xanga.com/699555628/its-been-way-too-long/</guid><pubDate>Mon, 20 Apr 2009 22:14:44 GMT</pubDate><description>&lt;P&gt;&amp;nbsp;... so you know that I don't have time to actually write a true update.&amp;nbsp; &lt;IMG src="http://s.xanga.com/images/sad.gif" width=15 border=0&gt;&amp;nbsp; In times like these, random posts are the only way to go!&amp;nbsp; Heeeere goes:&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;* My life is crazy right now.&amp;nbsp; It feels like that horrible airline flight when, after, an initial shock caused by turbulence, I looked over at the woman next to me and assured her, "It's ok," when, in fact, I was scared out of my mind and, moments later, would be calling on Jesus OUT LOUD while staring wildly out of the window as the plane thrashed about.&amp;nbsp; I've been assuring various friends and relatives that they shouldn't panic about the recession, to keep things in perspective, blah, blah, blah, when in reality, I'm like this:&amp;nbsp; &lt;IMG src="http://s.xanga.com/images/stunned.gif" width=15 border=0&gt;.&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;* Susan Boyle?&amp;nbsp; Is that her name?&amp;nbsp; I think I just caught the video after too much hype because I didn't shed a tear.&amp;nbsp; Normally that kind of thing would really move me, but it seemed rigged to me.&amp;nbsp; I mean, people assumed she couldn't sing because she was unattractive?&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Weird!&amp;nbsp; I actually thought her voice matched her persona very well.&amp;nbsp; *shrugs*&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;* Leaving for L.A. in a few days to run the Los Angeles Ragnar Relay.&amp;nbsp; So, I'm doing a total of 19+ miles.&amp;nbsp; GULP.&amp;nbsp; Originally, and until a few days ago, it was only 15+.&amp;nbsp; My last run is 9.5 miles, with the first 4.5 being uphill.&amp;nbsp; Actually, let's see, here it is:&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;&lt;IMG style="BORDER-LEFT-COLOR: #f36f21; BORDER-BOTTOM-COLOR: #f36f21; BORDER-TOP-COLOR: #f36f21; BORDER-RIGHT-COLOR: #f36f21" height=666 src="http://www.ragnarrelay.com/losangeles/raceimages/maps/leg34.jpg" width=576 border=2&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;Is that not CRAZY?&amp;nbsp; And that will be my 3rd run of the 'day'.&amp;nbsp; Whatever, I'm just going to take it veeeery slowly.&amp;nbsp; Right about now, I'm really not feeling in the mood to do the race, or be around my awesome MILF teammates.&amp;nbsp; I hope I can get a major attitude adjustment between now and Thursday.&amp;nbsp; &lt;IMG src="http://s.xanga.com/images/whatevah.gif" width=15 border=0&gt;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;* Been dealing with some health issues.&amp;nbsp; Did I ever write about how I was absolutely, 100% certain I had ovarian cancer?&amp;nbsp; *sigh*&amp;nbsp; Well, I was, but have now had 2 ultrasounds which pretty much prove that I don't have ovarian cancer.&amp;nbsp; So, that meant that my unexplained G.I. issues needed to be addressed on their own.&amp;nbsp; In trying to figure out what might be wrong, I decided to eat clean to see if that helped.&amp;nbsp; I did that for almost 3 weeks, but still had issues.&amp;nbsp; So ... I will be having a colonoscopy soon.&amp;nbsp; Uugh.&amp;nbsp; Crazy thing is that ever since I had the appointment with the G.I. doc (who thought, based on my description of my issues, I might have IBS or Celiac), I have had no G.I. issues, so who knows.&amp;nbsp; *BIG SIGH*&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;* Xanga advertised that they have a new feature that allows you to publish your updates to Facebook.&amp;nbsp; HAH!&amp;nbsp; Are you kidding?&amp;nbsp; That would be the worst thing in the world - like if I mistakenly checked the box?!&amp;nbsp; ROFL!&amp;nbsp; I would die!&amp;nbsp; I don't want anyone I know in real life (unless I originally met you through the Internet) to know that I have a blog, and I damned sure don't want anyone I know to actually read this thing. (Now is where I picture a handful of people I know in real life laughing out loud saying, "If she only knew!")&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;* My rheumatoid arthritis is very active in the mornings in my elbows and hands.&amp;nbsp; I truly believe that running keeps it at bay from the rest of my body.&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;* I really need to pray about my career.&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;* I took an &lt;A href="http://www.jimmontgomeryswim.com"&gt;adult fear-of-water swim class&lt;/A&gt; about a month ago, and it was GREAT!!&amp;nbsp; I really need to sign up for the 2nd session, because my current fear is that I will lose all of the "skills" I acquired if I don't keep it going.&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;* The guys on Making the Band are the biggest bunch of crybabies (umm, that's putting it nicely) I have ever seen.&amp;nbsp; Gheesh!&amp;nbsp; I'm wondering if it's even real just because there is So.Much.Drama and gnashing of teeth!&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;* I had one of the best massages, ever, a few weeks ago.&amp;nbsp; Has me obsessed with going back for more.&amp;nbsp; &lt;IMG src="http://s.xanga.com/images/stunned.gif" width=15 border=0&gt;&amp;nbsp; And yes, it was a professional massage - get your minds out of the gutter!&amp;nbsp; &lt;IMG src="http://s.xanga.com/images/winky.gif" width=15 border=0&gt;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;* Running has been going fairly well.&amp;nbsp; In this post-Mardi Gras half, pre-Chicago marathon training period, I've basically been doing my own thing, and shooting for 30 miles per week, a goal which I have only achieved once.&amp;nbsp; I think I've been averaging maybe 25-26 miles per week ... which is good enough, I guess, for starting 16 (or 18?) weeks of marathon training.&amp;nbsp; I have *not* however, had the energy to incorporate any cross-training (e.g., Jillian Michaels) into my regimen.&amp;nbsp; Hopefully once marathon training starts I'll be more disciplined all the way around and can fit it in.&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;Thats's all for now!&amp;nbsp;&lt;/P&gt;</description><comments>http://monilark.xanga.com/699555628/its-been-way-too-long/#firstcomment</comments></item><item><title>HOW MUCH DO I HAVE TO PAY?</title><link>http://monilark.xanga.com/695159934/how-much-do-i-have-to-pay/</link><guid>http://monilark.xanga.com/695159934/how-much-do-i-have-to-pay/</guid><pubDate>Mon, 09 Mar 2009 18:44:22 GMT</pubDate><description>&lt;P&gt;FOR THESE ABS?&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P align=center&gt;&lt;IMG alt="" src="http://creative.ak.facebook.com/ads3/flyers/106/7/6002252329706_1_e8073fdb.jpg"&gt;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P align=center&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P align=left&gt;I'm so sick of seeing this picture on Facebook.&amp;nbsp; Just tell me how much it will cost me, and I will pay.&amp;nbsp; But I want those abs in the picture!&lt;/P&gt;</description><comments>http://monilark.xanga.com/695159934/how-much-do-i-have-to-pay/#firstcomment</comments></item><item><title>Thangs</title><link>http://monilark.xanga.com/694535151/thangs/</link><guid>http://monilark.xanga.com/694535151/thangs/</guid><pubDate>Tue, 03 Mar 2009 23:56:00 GMT</pubDate><description>&lt;P&gt;1.&amp;nbsp; Thanks to everyone who voted for my kids!&amp;nbsp; We were able to hold onto the 2nd place spot, and we won an 8 x 10 print of the image.&amp;nbsp; &lt;A href="http://www.devine-memories.blogspot.com/"&gt;Deanna&lt;/A&gt;&amp;nbsp;is an amazing photographer, so another print from our photo session is a great prize!&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;2.&amp;nbsp; I must say, though, that I was somewhat dismayed that I have 250+ "friends" on Facebook, and despite numerous pleas, I only ended up with 169 votes (many of which were from non-Facebook people).&amp;nbsp; It really ticked me off, though I shouldn't be surprised.&amp;nbsp; &lt;IMG src="http://s.xanga.com/images/whatevah.gif" width=15 border=0&gt;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;3.&amp;nbsp; I just emerged, today, from the most intense spell of hypochondria that I think I have ever had.&amp;nbsp; It's just ridiculous.&amp;nbsp; I have an entire blog entry in my head about how hypochondria really works (at least for me), and hopefully I'll post it soon.&amp;nbsp; But the bottom line is that, after receiving positive news from my doctor today, I told myself, "Never again!".&amp;nbsp; What a waste of time and nervous energy!&amp;nbsp; &lt;IMG src="http://s.xanga.com/images/bummed.gif" width=15 border=0&gt;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;4.&amp;nbsp; For whatever reason, I am sold on getting Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred video.&amp;nbsp; I'm not much of a DVD exerciser, though I used Tae-Bo to get back in shape after having my youngest daughter (and it was great), but I have heard such great things about how hardcore Jillian Michael's DVD is.&amp;nbsp; It's funny, I am not at all hardcore, but I like to think of myself as being totally hardcore.&amp;nbsp; &lt;IMG src="http://s.xanga.com/images/wtf.gif" width=15 border=0&gt;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;5.&amp;nbsp; Speaking of Jillian Michaels, I have never watched, "The Biggest Loser," so I wasn't familiar with her at all before hearing about her DVD.&amp;nbsp; But speaking of TBL, what the $#@* is this about the fake marathon of one of the contestants on the show?&amp;nbsp; I'm really pissed off at the show's producers (yes, I understand that I don't ever watch the show, but I'm still pissed, LOL).&amp;nbsp; If I &lt;EM&gt;did&lt;/EM&gt; watch that show, this is the kind of thing that would make me VOW to never watch it again.&amp;nbsp; I HATE staged/fake reality shows.&amp;nbsp; And yes, most of them are fake ... but not the ones I like (the most).&amp;nbsp; Ever watch "Intervention"?&amp;nbsp; It doesn't get any more real than that!&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;6.&amp;nbsp; OK, so as far as my running goes, ever since the Mardi Gras half, my running has been pretty lame.&amp;nbsp; I am currently training for this:&lt;/P&gt;&lt;DIV&gt;&lt;IMG height=200 src="http://www.ragnarrelay.com/i/races/losangeles/title.gif" width=385 border=0&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;&lt;P&gt;but my three legs for that are pretty short, distance wise.&amp;nbsp; That having been said, I know the hills will be killer for a Dallas-ite like myself, so I know I need to pick it up.&amp;nbsp; Now that I am out of my hypochondria-induced fog (my "long" run on Sunday had to be cut down to 5 miles, because I was "too fatigued".&amp;nbsp; WTF????), I definitely plan to get with the program, and start really training.&amp;nbsp; Also, the weather is improving (I know, I'm in Dallas, it was never that bad, compared with other places, LOL), which is nice.&amp;nbsp; One of the problems I've been having is getting up early enough to get my runs in.&amp;nbsp; The Texas heat will force me to get my arse up out of bed nice and early, so I'm looking forward to that, weirdly enough.&amp;nbsp; I don't care if it's dark; it will be warm, and it will be early enough for me to get longer midweek runs in.&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;7.&amp;nbsp; This is important because I think I already wrote that I registered for:&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;&lt;A href="http://www.chicagomarathon.com/"&gt;&lt;IMG src="http://www.active.com/images/customheader/boaChicago/07152008/09MaraRegistrationBanner.jpg" border=0&gt;&lt;/A&gt;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;OH MY GOSH, CAN YOU BELIEVE IT????&amp;nbsp; I registered for a FULL MARATHON!!!!!&amp;nbsp; I am so excited/scared/nervous/praying for good weather, etc.&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;Training starts in June!!&amp;nbsp; So ... after Ragnar, I'll have a few weeks to recover, then build/maintain a base, then it will be time to start!!!&amp;nbsp; I think I'm going to mainly use Hal Higdon Intermediate training program.&amp;nbsp; Why Intermediate?&amp;nbsp; Well, I've run four half marathons and will have completed two Ragnar Relays ... so I don't feel like a novice runner, even though I am a complete novice marathoner, AND I don't really have a time goal (anything 4:30 or under would be GREAT).&amp;nbsp; The Intermediate program maxes out at 50 MPW, but averages 35.8 MPW, which is definitely doable.&amp;nbsp; This plan seems doable, but also challenging, which is perfect.&amp;nbsp; &lt;STRONG&gt;Thoughts?&lt;/STRONG&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;That's it for now.&amp;nbsp; I'll be back with my Diary of a Hypochondriac post later (it all started when I was in the 5th grade and thought I had Yellow Fever - honest to God!).&lt;/P&gt;</description><comments>http://monilark.xanga.com/694535151/thangs/#firstcomment</comments></item><item><title>I NEED YOUR HELP!!</title><link>http://monilark.xanga.com/693877175/i-need-your-help/</link><guid>http://monilark.xanga.com/693877175/i-need-your-help/</guid><pubDate>Wed, 25 Feb 2009 16:31:56 GMT</pubDate><description>&lt;P&gt;I almost forgot to post this information in my beloved little blog!&amp;nbsp; &lt;IMG src="http://s.xanga.com/images/winky.gif" width=15 border=0&gt;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;We took some professional photos last year and one of the shots was entered in the photgrapher's Imnage of the Year contest.&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;&lt;FONT size=4&gt;PLEASE GO TO &lt;A href="http://www.devine-memories.blogspot.com"&gt;http://www.devine-memories.blogspot.com&lt;/A&gt;&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;&lt;FONT size=4&gt;AND VOTE FOR IMAGE #2, "SISTERS ON BED".&amp;nbsp; THOSE ARE MY DAUGHTERS!&amp;nbsp; &lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;&lt;FONT size=4&gt;I NEED YOUR HELP GETTING ANOTHER 60 VOTES TO WIN THIS THING, OR AT LEAST ENOUGH VOTES TO MAINTAIN OUR SECOND PLACE SPOT!!&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;&lt;FONT size=4&gt;PLEASE GO VOTE, AND TELL A FRIEND!!&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;&lt;FONT size=4&gt;&lt;/FONT&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;&lt;FONT size=4&gt;THANK YOU!!!!!&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;&lt;FONT size=4&gt;P.S.:&amp;nbsp; VOTING ENDS&amp;nbsp; T O N I G H T&amp;nbsp; AT MIDNIGHT!!!!&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;&lt;FONT size=4&gt;&lt;/FONT&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/P&gt;</description><comments>http://monilark.xanga.com/693877175/i-need-your-help/#firstcomment</comments></item><item><title>Mardi Gras Half Race Report</title><link>http://monilark.xanga.com/692354048/mardi-gras-half-race-report/</link><guid>http://monilark.xanga.com/692354048/mardi-gras-half-race-report/</guid><pubDate>Wed, 11 Feb 2009 21:31:16 GMT</pubDate><description>&lt;P&gt;So ... I'm not good at race reports. Even a report about what is probably my best race, ever.&amp;nbsp; I mean, I was seriously GRINNING after I crossed the finish line.&amp;nbsp; To know that I achieved my goal (no matter how close I cut it) made me so.freaking.happy.&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;Umm, let's see.&amp;nbsp; Well, Ju and I arrived in New Orleans the day before the race and took a cab to our hotel.&amp;nbsp; We were staying at the Hilton, which was the race hotel and&amp;nbsp;which is a huge monster of a hotel.&amp;nbsp; We unloaded our bags and headed right downstairs to where the expo was being held.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;The expo was small and dark compared to what we're used to in Dallas for the White Rock Marathon.&amp;nbsp; I ended up buying a short sleeved shirt and a sports bra (I'd brought both, but wanted something new) because I started freaking out about the humidity.&amp;nbsp; We picked up our race packets and headed back upstairs.&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;We ended up ordering room service, which actually tasted ok.&amp;nbsp; We got showered and dressed for bed,&amp;nbsp;watched some television and turned the lights out at about 10:30 p.m. with the alarm set for 5:00.&amp;nbsp; I'd been fighting this weird stomach bug, so I took the only thing that worked to calm my stomach - plain alka seltzer - and went to sleep.&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;Next morning we woke up right on time, got dressed and headed out.&amp;nbsp; I'd decided to wear a very ightweight long-sleeved shirt and shorts.&amp;nbsp; I could have definitely gone with short sleeves, but oh well.&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;Race started at 7 a.m. and we lined up pretty close to the front.&amp;nbsp; We started off running from the Superdome to the French Quarter.&amp;nbsp; It's amazing how familiar the French Quarter looked even though I had not been to New Orleans for 6 or 7 years (!).&amp;nbsp; They had just washed the streets, which&amp;nbsp;folks said I should have been thankful for, but the streets were REALLY slick and there&amp;nbsp;was a REALLY strong smell of laundry detergent in the&amp;nbsp;air.&amp;nbsp; Uugh!&amp;nbsp; It was also really crowded in this area, with runners basically on top of each other.&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P align=center&gt;&lt;A href="javascript: doWhat('Person','56893722');"&gt;&lt;IMG alt="" src="http://www.marathonfoto.com/image_server.cfm?customer_number=T12E04&amp;amp;negs_number=56893722" align=center border=0&gt;&lt;/A&gt;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;Running through the French Quarter was nice, but I was glad when we finally got out of that area and into downtown (?).&amp;nbsp; I&amp;nbsp;knew I was running&amp;nbsp;"fast", but I was feeling good, and I told myself not to back off the pace because I knew that I had to average 9:09/mile for the entire race if I wanted to get in under 2 hours.&amp;nbsp; Miles 2 - 6 were all sub 9 miles.&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;Around the halfway point, I was still feeling pretty good, but I was starting to fade a little bit.&amp;nbsp; I was definitely propped up by various guardian angels who would run alongside me and give me something to focus on for awhile.&amp;nbsp; Then, either I'd pass them&amp;nbsp;or they&amp;nbsp;would pass me, and it would be onto the next person.&amp;nbsp; Around Mile 9, there was a guy who ran with me for a good little while.&amp;nbsp; He was really a godsend because right as my energy started&amp;nbsp;to flag, I notice he was running alongside&amp;nbsp;me.&amp;nbsp; Just as I decided to run with him, he picked up the pace ever so slightly.&amp;nbsp; That is the critical difference between running alone and a race - having other people around helps alot!&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P align=center&gt;&lt;A href="javascript: doWhat('Person','56880734');"&gt;&lt;IMG alt="" src="http://www.marathonfoto.com/image_server.cfm?customer_number=T12E04&amp;amp;negs_number=56880734" align=center border=0&gt;&lt;/A&gt;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;I just kept telling myself that it was better to pick up the pace a little bit now, than to&amp;nbsp;have to try to sprint the last mile.&amp;nbsp; I think that was the best thing I could have told myself - because if I'd waited to "turn it on", I probably would have had nothing left!&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;One reason why the other runners were so important, is that the crowd support was SERIOUSLY LACKING.&amp;nbsp; Compared to White Rock, there were SO few people out, and what few people there were, were&amp;nbsp;as quiet as church mice.&amp;nbsp; Every now and then, someone would say, "Go runners."&amp;nbsp; It was crazy!&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;But&amp;nbsp;get this.&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;There were NO BANDS.&amp;nbsp; IN New Orleans!&amp;nbsp; In the MARDI GRAS marathon!!!&amp;nbsp; Not a single band!&amp;nbsp; I kept waiting to turn a corner to see bands lining the street.&amp;nbsp; NOTHING.&amp;nbsp; I don't turn my music on until 1/2 way thru a race, so this was painful!&amp;nbsp; I just couldn't believe it!!&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;I wa getting tired, and it was definitely tough to try to keep the pace I needed, but I just kept telling myself that after all the&amp;nbsp;training I did, there was no reason why I should not achieve my goal.&amp;nbsp; I kept checking my Garmin, doing the math (poorly), checking my Garming, doing the math ...&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;Finally, when I made a turn onto the final stretch, I could see the race clock, which said 1:59:xx.&amp;nbsp; I did not see how many seconds.&amp;nbsp; I didn't need to know how many seconds.&amp;nbsp; I just literally started sprinting as fast as I have ever sprinted in&amp;nbsp;my entire life.&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P align=center&gt;&lt;A href="javascript: doWhat('Person','56910054');"&gt;&lt;IMG alt="" src="http://www.marathonfoto.com/image_server.cfm?customer_number=T12E04&amp;amp;negs_number=56910054" align=center border=0&gt;&lt;/A&gt;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;DIV&gt;&lt;DIV align=center&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/DIV&gt;&lt;DIV align=center&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/DIV&gt;&lt;DIV align=center&gt;&lt;A href="javascript: doWhat('Person','56910141');"&gt;&lt;IMG alt="" src="http://www.marathonfoto.com/image_server.cfm?customer_number=T12E04&amp;amp;negs_number=56910141" align=center border=0&gt;&lt;/A&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;&lt;DIV align=center&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/DIV&gt;&lt;DIV align=left&gt;&lt;TABLE style="WIDTH: 800px" align=center&gt;&lt;TBODY&gt;&lt;TR&gt;&lt;TD style="WIDTH: 250px; HEIGHT: 33px; TEXT-ALIGN: center"&gt;&lt;P align=center&gt;&lt;A href="javascript: doWhat('Person','56910155');"&gt;&lt;IMG alt="" src="http://www.marathonfoto.com/image_server.cfm?customer_number=T12E04&amp;amp;negs_number=56910155" align=center border=0&gt;&lt;/A&gt;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;/TD&gt;&lt;TD style="WIDTH: 250px; HEIGHT: 33px; TEXT-ALIGN: right"&gt;&lt;/TD&gt;&lt;/TR&gt;&lt;/TBODY&gt;&lt;/TABLE&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;&lt;DIV&gt;&lt;TABLE id=grdResults style="FONT-SIZE: x-small; COLOR: #333333; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; BORDER-COLLAPSE: collapse" cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=4 rules=all align=center border=1&gt;&lt;TBODY&gt;&lt;TR style="BORDER-RIGHT: black 1px solid; BORDER-TOP: black 1px solid; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; BORDER-LEFT: black 1px solid; COLOR: black; BORDER-BOTTOM: black 1px solid; BACKGROUND-COLOR: silver"&gt;&lt;TH scope=col&gt;Pos&lt;/TH&gt;&lt;TH scope=col&gt;Race No&lt;/TH&gt;&lt;TH scope=col&gt;First Name&lt;/TH&gt;&lt;TH scope=col&gt;Last Name&lt;/TH&gt;&lt;TH scope=col&gt;Gun Time&lt;/TH&gt;&lt;TH scope=col&gt;Net Time&lt;/TH&gt;&lt;TH scope=col&gt;Category&lt;/TH&gt;&lt;TH scope=col&gt;Cat Pos&lt;/TH&gt;&lt;TH scope=col&gt;Gender&lt;/TH&gt;&lt;TH scope=col&gt;Gen Pos&lt;/TH&gt;&lt;TH scope=col&gt;From&lt;/TH&gt;&lt;TH scope=col&gt;Status&lt;/TH&gt;&lt;/TR&gt;&lt;TR style="COLOR: #333333; BACKGROUND-COLOR: lavender"&gt;&lt;TD vAlign=center align=middle&gt;1007&lt;/TD&gt;&lt;TD vAlign=center align=middle&gt;&lt;A href="http://www.accuchip.racetectiming.com/Splits.aspx?RaceId=1&amp;amp;EventId=2&amp;amp;AthleteId=2239"&gt;****&lt;/A&gt;&lt;/TD&gt;&lt;TD vAlign=center align=left&gt;Monica&lt;/TD&gt;&lt;TD vAlign=center align=left&gt;C*****&lt;/TD&gt;&lt;TD vAlign=center align=middle&gt;02:00:04&lt;/TD&gt;&lt;TD&gt;01:59:49&lt;/TD&gt;&lt;TD&gt;&lt;A href="http://www.accuchip.racetectiming.com/Category.aspx?RaceId=1&amp;amp;EventId=2&amp;amp;CategoryId=5&amp;amp;Gender=Female"&gt;4044&lt;/A&gt;&lt;/TD&gt;&lt;TD vAlign=center align=middle&gt;44&lt;/TD&gt;&lt;TD&gt;&lt;A href="http://www.accuchip.racetectiming.com/Gender.aspx?RaceId=1&amp;amp;EventId=2&amp;amp;Gender=Female"&gt;Female&lt;/A&gt;&lt;/TD&gt;&lt;TD vAlign=center align=middle&gt;328&lt;/TD&gt;&lt;TD align=left&gt;&lt;A href="http://www.accuchip.racetectiming.com/Country.aspx?RaceId=1&amp;amp;EventId=2&amp;amp;CountryId=246"&gt;TX&lt;/A&gt;&lt;/TD&gt;&lt;TD vAlign=center align=left&gt;Finished&lt;/TD&gt;&lt;/TR&gt;&lt;/TBODY&gt;&lt;/TABLE&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;&lt;P&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;Ju had a great race and finished in 1:55:56.&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P align=center&gt;&lt;A href="javascript: doWhat('Person','56919575');"&gt;&lt;IMG alt="" src="http://www.marathonfoto.com/image_server.cfm?customer_number=T12E04&amp;amp;negs_number=56919575" align=center border=0&gt;&lt;/A&gt;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;P&gt;&amp;nbsp; Done!&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;</description><comments>http://monilark.xanga.com/692354048/mardi-gras-half-race-report/#firstcomment</comments></item><item><title>I Did It</title><link>http://monilark.xanga.com/691297811/i-did-it/</link><guid>http://monilark.xanga.com/691297811/i-did-it/</guid><pubDate>Mon, 02 Feb 2009 04:36:45 GMT</pubDate><description>1:59:49&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Just under the wire, but I am still so happy!  I finally achieved my goal of under 2 hours for the half, and also set a PR!!!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Details later!</description><comments>http://monilark.xanga.com/691297811/i-did-it/#firstcomment</comments></item></channel></rss>