BIG news!

Okay for those of you who do not know, I am OBSESSED with Marilyn Monroe.  I wrote a biography on her in 4th grade and I've been hooked ever since.  A new movie "My Week with Marilyn" is coming out towards the end of November.  I am EXCITED!  Check out the movie trailer!

Of course I will be disappointed because no one can ever match the beauty of Marilyn, but I am thankful that someone is giving tribute to at least a small part of her life on the big screen =)

And just a few random things about this weekend:

• Last night I had two drinks and was drunk, like woohoo go to sleep now drunk
• I will be running a marathon in exactly 7 days
• I have three huge papers due next week, including a 12 page recommendation report I have yet to start =/
• Today is the last day of my beginners running group.  In 8 weeks I was supposed to take a group of 5 women and get them ready to run a 5k-guess what?  Only one made it and is walking a 5k this a.m. due to hurting her back at home
• My friend who is a psychologist diagnosed me yesterday with Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder.  Who DOESN'T spend 5 hours on their day off cleaning their house/apartment/car in some sort of ritualistic pattern?
• I will be dog sitting THIS guy for 3 days-cannot wait!

Anyone with any marathon tips-highly appreciated =)  I am a rookie at this business and just trying to survive.  Have a great weekend!

Dear Marathon

Dear Marathon,

You are now less than two weeks away.  I am getting more nervous as you are approaching.  I had a BAD experience with you two years ago and I will not let that happen again dear Marathon. 



You have made my legs hurt, my lungs burn, my lunch come back up and my body feel like crap on Sundays.  You have made my feet really ugly and made my clothes really smelly.  You have made me get up earlier than I've wanted to (most days of the week) and made me run in the rain lately-boo.

But-you have motivated me in so many ways!  You always make me feel better after I get out there and run.  You make me feel like I have a purpose while running.  You have relieved me from school and work related stress, you have made me shed unnecessary pounds I was carrying and you are making me better for triathlons. 



I think about you every day and I cannot wait to meet again on November 5th.  We will have a good date this time marathon =)

Sincerely,
Shelby

Detroit Marathon and Spectating

I was supposed to run this race.  I did not run the marathon.  Boo.

I got to spectate some of my fast friends and also my pregnant friend who ran the half.  Now that is awesome.  She found out she was pregnant about two months ago and never even thought about NOT doing the race, and she finished 15 seconds faster than last year when she was not preggo!  Amazing!



I met up with Melissa who ran a nice half, not a PR for her but great considering her recent traveling/being sick episode...



Colin ran a great race.  He has not been training a lot and some IT band issues have left him with 0 miles lately.  He still managed to pull of a 1:21 half marathon and felt good afterward.  Go Colin!

We saw Leah cruise in for a 3rd place finish overall in the half as well-congrats Leah!  She earned some $ for that one =)

Overall, a good day.  I was supposed to run the 5k but a recent calf issue has left me with a crappy running schedule last week and I decided I'd try and give it a rest.  I don't really want to strain this muscle even worse than it is already three weeks before Indianapolis!

And finally a few random questions for you all to ponder:

Who is your celebrity crush?
I have many, Lance Armstrong really and Tyrese



When was the last time you cried?
When the Secretary of State lady turned me away for the 3rd time which meant no Detroit Marathon for me

What is your middle name?
Jo, I am named after my mom's dad who was a WWII veteran and a great person.  Unfortunately, my middle name is VERY hillbilly-Shelby Jo.  Yikes.

Now THAT is Exciting

CONGRATULATIONS to the World Champions:



Yep, that's U-S-A!!!  Bring it on London 2012.  We've got this.  This was not even our star line up!!!

And now this is something exciting to watch...enjoy =)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btGEHyzSIjo

Not the World Championships, but your National Champion.

WHOA WOLRD CHAMPIONSHIPS!!!

HOLY crap weekend you have SO much going on, it makes my stomach flip flop!

Today begins the WORLD GYMNASTICS CHAMPIONSHIPS!!!
And the IRONMAN WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS!!!

And tomorrow my friends in Chi Town are running their hardest to qualify for the Olympic Trials.  That's a 2:46:00 marathon ladies and gents-that these tough chicks have to run!

My predictions for gymnastics World Champion:



The current US National Champion, Jordyn Wieber-bring home the gold!!!

Ironman World Champion Female:



No introduction needed here!

Ironman World Champion for men:



Andreas Raelert, super sad brother Michael could not be here to help him.  This dude can RUNNN!

And during all of this excitement I will be confined to a pilates workshop from 10-5 =(  Oh well, at least when I get back I can answer a few of your shoulder, low back pain and hip problems =)

Have a GREAT weekend and please send strong thoughts to those ladies trying to reach that Oly trials qualifying mark tomorrow!

Food! Recipes! Food!

Lately I have been a food monster...NOTHING out of the ordinary, however, I have consumed an odd varitey of foods considering I usually crave empty calories and junk.

I go through 1.5 big tubs of greek yogurt per week:

I have also been eating broccoli like it's my last meal:

I'm not complaining about my latest food craving, just mystified.  Anyhoo, I'd like to introduce a recipe I stole from one of my Facebook friends.  I have NOT made it yet, I will make it tonight for the first time!



FRUIT PIZZA!

• Bake a sugar cookie at recommended temperature/time
• Let cool for at least 15-20 minutes
• Mix up 2 blocks of cream cheese with 1-1.5 cups of powdered sugar
• Spread frosting over cookie and add fruit

I DID not promise a healthy recipe!!!

Now onto my personal favorite,
HOMEMADE SALSA!

• Seed then dice 4-6 roma tomatoes
• Dice 1/3 cup onion (more or less to taste)
• Dice 1 small, med or large jalapeno (the more the spicier yeeeowww!)
• Optional:  Dice 1 pepper of choice (I usually use an Anaheim chile, a mild pepper...)
• Dice 1/3 cup celery
• Finely chop 4-5 large sprigs of fresh cilantro (be sure to pull the leaves off first chopping only them)
• Mix together
• Squeeze the juice of 1 fresh lime over top of mixture, mix again
• Let sit at least 1 hour in the fridge to mix all of the yummy tastes =)

ENJOY!  I realize the salsa recipe may be a little late, considering everyone's gardens are done producing for the year around Michigan =(

What a Weekend!

First of all, congratulations to fellow blogger/friend Leah from Chasing Atalanta on her engagement!  Read the story here it is an awesome story so check it out!



Friday I had a long run then drove 5 hours to Chicago for a Thai Massage certification, part 1 of numerous parts.  BAD idea-do NOT get into a car after a long run.  Your muscles will seize up and feel like bricks.  You will have to stop at every rest area and pee-oh and your legs will feel like $hit the rest of the weekend too.



I have not been to Chicago since I was about 12 years old so I really forgot how beautiful the city is.  I am still a NYC fan (the busier the better for me) but Chicago was pretty cool on it's own.

Have you ever heard of Thai Massage?  The name can be deceiving, considering it is more of a stretching, range of motion series coupled with a few trigger point releases and much more.  Check out this video to learn more.



The guy I took the workshop with is a genius.  Not only does he know every bone, muscle, tendon and ligament in the body without hesitation, he's studied in Thailand for years, has multiple degrees/certifications concerning massage and the human body, and he is an awesome guy.  He works in a hospital performing a 4.5-5 hour sequence to help relieve chronic pain and several other things such as plantar, sciatica, migraines and much more.

Anyone interested in me doing the 1 hour sequence on them, let me know!  I need to do 30 hours before my next class =)

My running schedule took quite a fail these last two weeks with school and work getting in the way.  I had an awesome long run on Friday so that gave me back some self confidence.  

I am officially registered for the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon on Saturday, Nov. 5th.

 

I am very disappointed that I cannot run Detroit but I am super excited to still run the 5k, see Colin run the half and several other people run as well.  It honestly gives me more time to run so I can hopefully reach my time goal on Nov. 5th.

And finally, good luck to Erin and Sue who are trying to qualify for the Olympic Trials in Chicago this upcoming Saturday!!!



These are some seriously fast ladies and I am going to be biting my nails to see if they are able to hit the qualifying mark!