I Sew Sweepy!

Don't shun me, guys! I haven't been running in 2 days :(

I have not been this tired since my internships in Kentucky. Oh. Em. Gee.

1st day of work in Kentucky with my awesome Medusa hair (July 2009)

Eventually I got used to all the work and managed to run after hours too. I also ate like a cow and had nothing to show for it. It was awesome!

So my shifts yesterday and today were from 7 AM to 3:30 PM. Honestly, not that bad. The only really sucky part is having to wake up at 5:15 AM, which is also similar to my wake-up time in KY. The exhausting part is being on my feet 8 of the 8.5 hours I am there...and having crappy inserts in my rubber boots that don't cushion (my bad for not buying Dr. Scholl's and getting an off-brand instead).

Yesterday was my first day. I did a lot of standing around watching everyone else work. I did get a little bit of training/education but not a ton and I felt so inept compared to all the techs. I have soooo much to learn! I did get to help in NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) with an enteritis foal and Medicine with a 106* fevering mare. I don't know if they figured out what was wrong with her yet.

The foal and her mama

Today I got to do a lot more, which was greatly appreciated. After helping out with the NICU foal in the morning and not being able to complete a basic math problem in helping create the proper dosage of meds (doh...so dumb!), I was put in the ICU barn where we had 3 horses. One was a 5 year old filly with a bowel torsion who eventually went off to surgery. I got to hold/twitch while they put in a new catheter, which was cool to watch. A gelding had had colic surgery yesterday and wasn't feeling well. I got to see how they put in a nasogastric tube to flush his stomach out (horses can't vomit, so when their tummies hurt, they have no way of eliminating the contents; the tube does this for them). Another gelding had also had surgery but was a few days post-surgery so he was bright and chipper. I got to walk him for 10 mins in the parking lot. I was warned he was flighty and crazy, but he and I had a great time on the lead with no chain shank. Baller status right here! I also ran a bunch of errands and got to fill up a syringe with some sort of solution.

Hopefully tomorrow I get to do more but I also don't know how to do much, so my "doing" might not be much. They don't exactly want me screwing up something important and having to explain it to the owner. I do need to learn how to do stuff, though, so hopefully I can get some training!

I Chicked a Dog. Booyah Puppy!

Workout: Ran 3.4 miles in 27:41. Such a good run! OMG. Running in the evening is so totally my thing. I can not do morning runs. For serial. The last run I did was at noon and I added 2 mins onto this time. Obv evening running produces kickass times. 

Pictures of small children (Mama RNG at 3) showing their booties makes me feel awkward.

On my run, I chicked a dude and his Lab puppy. Homie, you have a Lab. Labs are super energetic. Run that thing! I guess maybe they could've been going on a long run so Dude didn't want to wear out the pup, but still. Anyway, I was stoked and sped up probs way too much. I would've gotten a negative split if I actually had a Garmin or paid attention to that kind of thing. At the corner after I passed Dude and Dog, normally I get there around 9:20 mins into the run. I got there at 8:50 mins. So speedy! My left shin was slightly bitching, but not too much and I only had to stop and stretch it a few times. Time for the Stick tonight. 


I got to think a little bit on the run about the thing I can't really tell you guys about. Such a tease, I know. But I also sort of shut off my brain and just ran, which is exactly what I needed. It's been a while since I've been able to turn off my thoughts and just enjoy the run.

Still perplexed, but not as much as before.

Mama RNG bought the wrong Crystal Lite powders for me at the grocery store. I love that woman to death, but even after 16 years of living here, she still doesn't know where most things are in the grocery store. It kills me! Alas, she bought the normal Crystal Lite powder, not the Fitness kind. Oh well. It honestly probably makes zero difference for my body. If I was pulling off 20 milers on the reg then we'd have some problems, but I'm pretty sure my usual measly 3-something milers are doing a whole lotta nothing. I still drink this stuff like it's going out of style. I love me some seizure-inducing aspartame! 

This stuff is crack.

ZOMG

I'm feeling a bit of this:

So much going on, I don't know what to think. The internship starts tomorrow.

I'm a little lotta bit scared. And nervous.

Eye twitching is totally normal. As are creepy faces. 

Other good things are happening. But I've got questions, damn it, and no one can answer them except for the one person who can (is my vagueness bothering you yet?!). Hopefully all will go well, but it might not and I'll be disappointed.

So many nose freckles, like woah. I swear I wear sunscreen. They never ever go away.

Weird post. I know. I'm sorry. I'm in a strange mood thinking about a lot. I will go running today. And then post about it because this is supposed to be a running blog not just the crazy-thoughts-in-my-head blog.

I Fail and Belated Music Monday

I think that week where I didn't get the chance to blog because my computer was dead got me into a bad habit of not blogging. So, I'm sorry I'm not on the ball lately. I have lots to say but at the same time don't really feel like saying it. I make no sense, I know.

Workouts:
Monday: 3.1 miles in 29:34 mins on the treadmill followed by an intense arm workout.
Tuesday: 3.4 miles in 29:08 mins. This run sucked balls. I don't know what's going on with me lately, but I'm super tired and my lungs hurt. I was just not feeling this. The fact that I ran at noon and the sun was hot might have played a big role. I hate running between 10 AM and 5 PM.

So running just hasn't been great recently. I'm losing my motivation or something. I really am not sure what's going on. I get tired sooo easily and I'm eating a bunch of protein and carbs and veggies so it's not like I'm lacking on nutrients. My sleep for the last week or so has been pretty shitty. Normally I fall asleep and stay asleep all night, but in the last week I can't fall asleep or stay asleep for more than an hour. Maybe that's why I'm tired...duh Jen! I've also been basically lying around the house doing nothing now that school's done for the summer. Energy doesn't spontaneously occur from hanging out on the couch all day. I guess I do know what's going on but it sure isn't helpful when I'm trying to run. Oh well. The sleep schedule will change drastically soon because...

...I start my internship at the UC Davis Vet Med Teaching Hospital on Thursday!!!!!! I'm so stoked! And scared and nervous. It's pretty intimidating knowing that I'll be caring for sick horses but at least I don't have the super responsibility of a vet. As some of you may know (and if you don't, go read my About Me), I went back to school for a vet tech program (I swear to God, if someone asks me another time how I'm enjoying vet school even after I've explained that it's nursing, I may scream!). That's animal nursing. Not doctoring. Anyway, I got this suh-weet internship lined up for the summer and next year in which I get to take care of sick horses 3 days a week. One of my supervisors who I spoke to on Saturday for my orientation told me that just based on the amount of horse experience I have (been riding since I was 6, studied Animal Science at UCD, did 2 internships on Thoroughbred farms in Kentucky), that she would hire me right now if she could. The VMTH Equine Clinic is short on staff and many are retiring soon, so she thinks I'll be able to be hired in the fall of this year! So they're going to train me like I'll be working there soon, not as just merely an intern! This is beyond good news! If I'm hired in the fall, I'll have a job while in school (I'm so broke, it's not even funny!) and then will have a job as soon as I graduate and get licensed!!! OMG! Set. For. Life!

In other news, I had an awesome weekend that probably accounts for some of my exhaustion (I'm sooo not 20 anymore!). On Friday, I celebrated Erin's birthday.

We had delicious Korean BBQ, although I got a salad with tasty BBQ steak on top. Yummy!

Afterwards, Sarah and I went to downtown Sac for a Pirates and Wenches pub crawl.

Sarah, Petey the Parrot, me, and Kristen

About as wench-y as I get.

Daniel and Sarah

Cassie interrogated my date

Kristen and I found amazing faucets at Golden Bear

And we enjoyed drinks with cute lawyers at Golden Bear :)

On Saturday, I went out with my date from the previous night to see Tainted Love, a local 80s cover band. I had such a blast rocking out to "Sweet Child O' Mine", "Mickey", and "Don't Stop Believing", among others! Great night indeed. Except that I couldn't really walk very well the next day due to wearing 3.5" tall stilettos, but whatevs! It was worth it! :)

And The Rapture...totally didn't happen. Duh.

Ok, here's the belated Music Monday. I'm obsessed with this group and they're engaged! How cute! She can rap like no other. If you haven't seen this video yet, check it out!

The Rapture

The Rapture is apparently upon us. Save yourselves!

There will be lightning. Wear your wooden suit of protection.

I find these doomsday things kind of ridiculous. Already on the other side of the world it is May 21st and no one has experienced any sort of catastrophic chaos yet. I think we're good to go, my friends. This does not mean I will not participate in the whole end of the world festivities that will occur. I am most definitely either going to throw an end of the world party or go to one. Or I'll just party with these guys:

They know what's up.

I didn't run today. I spent my "last day on Earth" helping Mama RNG's 2nd graders make corn husk dolls.

Not this fancy. 2nd graders don't do fancy.

They loved me and we all bonded over wet, slimy, corn silk-covered corn husks. It's ok to be jealous.

I have 2 parties to go to tonight, so that if the world does end, at least I'll be enjoying myself, which I think is the way it ought to be when you travel up to the heavens or whatever The Rapture is about (I inferred the flying up to the heavens part from the pictures I found. I have done zero research). The first is my friend Erin's 25th birthday party at this amazing Korean BBQ joint, called Oz. After that, I'm off to a pirates and wenches pub crawl hosted by my friend Cassie. I'm throwing together a costume, but I have a red velvet skirt, black boots, a white shirt, and a fake parrot. I think I'm golden. I might even black out a tooth, although I doubt Sharpie tastes very good. Or that my dentist would appreciate my dedication to the costume.

I hope everyone is having an amazing "last day on Earth"!

I Have Nothing Witty for This Title

Workout: Ran 3.4 in 29:23. Yeah...let's not talk about how slow that was. Ugh. I started out soooo well and then I took a minor walking break at 12 mins and that was my downfall. I need to stop stopping! It always does me in. The rest of the run was just exhausting and I was pooped. Damn periods and uteruses (uterii?!). Am I the only one who gets SUPER tired during "that time of the month"? I could sleep for days if I was able!


Enough about my Aunt Flo. Look at these shirts. I want them soooo badly! If anyone wants to contribute money to the "Jen's Super Broke" fund, I am gladly accepting donations at this time. Or just buy me a shirt in size Small and ship it to me. I will love you forever! Pinky swear!


I finally caught up on everyone's blogs. Holy Moses, you people post too much! I think it took me darn well 3 or 4 hours to read through them all! Luckily I am on summer vacay right now, so I don't do anything productive anyway, but still. Way. Too. Many. Blogs!


I've wanted to talk about waving while running for a while now. Yeah, I know, waving is kind of a weird topic to talk about. Who does that?! Me, that's who. 

All hail waving kitty!

So I started waving to people when I was running when I lived in Kentucky. Everyone in Kentucky is gosh darn friendly, it's ridiculous. Am I right or am I right, Julia? I loved it! California is a pretty friendly place if you're up in NorCal. SoCal is a whole 'nother kit 'n' kaboodle that we won't get into right now. Anyway, so I got to Kentucky and when I wasn't doing this:

I love the smell of urine and poop in the morning!

...I would be running. My coworkers thought I was crazy. After an 8 hour day of mucking stalls, I would go run anywhere from 3 to 7 miles. I lost a lot of weight and was more buff than I had ever been in my life. I also could eat the biggest burrito Harrodsburg, KY had to offer, which, I'm proud to say, my boss couldn't even finish. Take that, men! My metabolism was off the charts awesome! Ok, back to waving.

So when I would run on beautiful roads next to my farm...

...trucks, cars, SUVs, and sometimes the occasional tractor would drive by and they would all wave to me! It might not be a huge, Miss America-type wave, but I always saw them. Usually it would be a pointer finger flicking up in acknowledgment of my presence or a fast hand-up gesture. I never got a middle finger wave. Usually I was the one handing out those because some dipshits thought it was fun to try to run me off the narrow road. Anyway, waving became a thing I got used to receiving and giving. It was a friendly way to say hello when we obviously couldn't appropriately greet one another.

These guys saw me run by them all the time.

When I moved back to California, I was so used to this that I waved to everyone...and everyone looked at me like I was crazy. Sad panda :( I persisted. No one was going to stop me from being friendly, damn it! So I kept waving and eventually people waved back. Some days, when I'm grumpy/tired/PMSing/angry, I keep my eyes on the ground and run quickly by pedestrians or bikes. I don't wave to the cars because there are far too many and I usually run on busy streets with 2 or 4 lanes of traffic. But most of the time, I have those awesome endorphins going and I'm waving at everyone.

I love waving at someone who looks angry or grumpy and they suddenly perk up, smile, and wave back. It makes my day! I always think that maybe, just maybe, my small act of kindness changed their whole day around. You never know! I would hope that my minor wave wouldn't be the best thing that happened to them that whole day, but it could be, and I'm not going to prevent someone from having a little bit of happiness headed their way.

The best waving experience happened about a week ago. I was on my long run, struggling at the halfway point because, I, well, have been sucking lately with the whole breathing thing. I was running toward a young guy headed my direction on the sidewalk. He had his pants hung low, a baggy shirt on, and a stern face, obviously trying to act tough and hard, like my suburban neighborhood had been rough on him. I waved at him, and he, in shock, stuttered out a "Hey! How's it going?" I didn't reply because at that point I was past him and it would've been awkward to stop and turn around to answer him. But it was one of the longest replies I've received and it was from this hard looking, wanna-be thug. Day made :)

Do you wave to people on your runs? Does unexpected friendliness from strangers make you happy or weird you out?

I'm Baaaaack!

Glory, glory hallelujah! My dear ol' Betsy has returned from Apple and now I can blog away like the blogging fiend I was becoming/read all the blogs you guys have posted that I need to catch up on!

I'll try to cut down on the lengthiness of this post as much as possible, but there's a lot to cover, so prepare yourself for a novel :)

The night of my Kentucky Derby party, Betsy crashed on me, so I suppose we should start there.

In my Derby dress and hat

Me and Mama RNG

We made a ton of food for the party, including pasta salad, spinach salad, grilled chicken (no fried food for this party!), fruit salad, pecan pie, Derby pie, bourbon bread pudding, and baby Hot Browns.

Yummy pasta salad

So much fruit!

My pecan and Derby pies

The party was a success and I think everyone had a good time. We did a Derby trivia game and had everyone place bets on which horse would win (congrats Animal Kingdom!).

Sarah, me, and Cassie

The next day was Mother's Day and my mom and grandma wanted to go to a baseball game. Sacramento has a local AAA team called the Rivercats (apparently they're Maine Coon cats...wtf?!). The forecast predicted rain, wind, and clouds. So we brought a bunch of blankets...

Mama RNG with 39472357 blankets

...only for it to end up being sunny and around 70*. No need for all those blankets now! It was a great day hanging out with the madre and the grandmadre. So much laughter and fun times. I love the women in my family :)

I also love the Rivercats' garlic fries. Edward Cullen better watch himself around me!

The whole next week was preparing for finals. I should have studied more. It would've been a good idea. But I did well enough on my finals and I easily passed every class (I'm expecting straight As!). During finals week, at just the perfect time, Stephanie at RUN ON! sent me a box of Jolly Rancher chews for participating in trying to get her up to 100 followers for her giveaway she did. It was so perfect because I need to munch when I study.

Thanks Stephanie!

I ate those suckers up in about 5 mins flat! I have zero self-control when it comes to snack foods. If you put a bowl of crackers, chips, cookies, candy, etc in front of me, I will eat the whole bowl. No will-power.

Sugar coma!

Finals came and on Friday, after my last one, I went out with my friend Erin for celebratory drinks at Lounge On 20 in downtown Sacramento. I had never been there before and it was quite a classy establishment. Sacramento is really trying to become a utopian mecca.

I love hanging out with this girl! Constant laughs :)

Our fancy girly drinks. Mine was a strawberry basil concoction and hers was a sparkling fruit wine thing.

I walked Erin back to her car after we were done because Sacramento isn't the greatest of places for young, pretty girls/women to be walking around alone after it's dark. A few parking spaces over from her car was this monstrosity:

I don't understand the need for the ghetto schoolbus. Why, oh why is this appropriate?!

So now that we're caught up with life, we can get back to running, which is the whole point of this blog, correct? There hasn't been anything of epic proportions to inform you guys about, except for my run on Monday. It was supposed to be a 5.3 miler, my long run of the week. I started out fine, but after 5 mins I could tell something was up with my left foot. My baby toe and the 4th toe were rubbing against each other and it didn't feel very good. I took my shoe and sock off to evaluate, but couldn't find anything inherently wrong, so I put both back on and continued on my run. The pain eventually went away and I didn't think anything of it again. I got home, cooled down, and stretched. When I looked at the bottom of my left sock, I saw this huge bloody stain! I ripped the sock off and discovered that my pinky toenail had dug a chunk out of my 4th toe and it was bleeding. Yuck!

Ignore the chipped polish!

I bandaged it all up and set to cutting my nails suuuuuper short, which I know was the problem that caused the bloodfest. All was well...until a few hours later, I randomly looked at the bottom of my right foot and found this beauty:

What the heck?! (High five for "Roman Holiday" on the TV!)

I apparently had gotten a huge blister on the bottom of my foot that managed to pop itself open during the run! What happened on my run?!?!

Neither of the boo-boos hurt at all, so I can go back to running like normal. But still, sooo weird!

Do you feel caught up now? I do! Whew! That was a long post and if you made it through all that, high fives for you!