21 Random Facts: GBA_gf

I was tagged by TMB @ Racing With Babes to post 21 random facts about me me me.  Seems like all I do is talk about myself, but ~ what'ev, it's my blog~.

CORE 4:
Richmond marathon '11

 1. CORE 4:  I run with a lot of strong women.  But there are 4 of us who just fit together like a puzzle.  We're all very different, from our ages to our upbringing, but we love to run.  And that love & purity for our sport, plus the understanding that "this isn't a game" and that "any competition you have is really with yourself", is ingrained in us.  Together we're pretty much unstoppable.

 2.  NAME SAKE:  My family's roots are in Virginia.  Very very much so.  My Grandmother is a fried green tomatoes, bacon, fried apples and fried okra kind of woman.  So my entire life I believed I was named for the beautiful state in which I was born.  Uh, Grandma Hannah informed me a few years ago, I was, in fact, named for VMI.  ~um~ sure, why not.

snow run!
and yes, I'm in a skirt

 3.  RUN AWAY, RUN AWAY!:  I love Monty Python, but more than that, I love to run OUTSIDE no matter the weather.  Snow?  No problem.  Cold rain?  Absolutely.  115 degree heat index?  Sure, why not...  So, don't ask me to join you at the Y on a dreadmill "run".  I will be busy that day.  Unless you plead your case really well or are particularly hot and there are mirrors.  And a bribe doesn't hurt either...

 4.  SINGING THE BLUES:  After my marathons I'm typically shut down with a short term depression that promotes some beautiful writing.  And crankiness.  But this year, I didn't have that.  I didn't have time.  I was sick.

 5.  OFF KEY:  Actually, I used to sing.  I had enough talent that I ~ yeah ~ ok, I didn't suck.  But at a young age I suffered a serious ear infection that left me unable to hear myself very well, and I lost my Mo-Jo.

 6.  COWBOY UP:  When I was in highschool I worked on a ranch wrangling horses.  I wore a western hat, long sleeved shirts, and jeans 90% of my time.  I didn't wear skirts.  Couldn't stand them.  ~irony~.  I bottle fed calves, mended fences, and was on a horse for about 4 hours a day/5 days a week during that time in my life.  It didn't suck.

 7.  FASTINISTA:  Imagine what your reaction would be if Sarah Bowen Shea of Run Like A Mother: The Book called and asked for an interview for the magazine article she was writing for Runner's World on women's running fashion?  Yeah, well, I wasn't NEARLY that cool in real life.

 8.  BQ or DQ:  A few years ago a woman posing as my running coach told me I could never be a fast runner and that I could never qualify for Boston.  I stupidly believed her and have always told people I was never interested in a BQ.  Only, you know what?  I ran a 37:41 8K this year.  That sort of performance suggests to me that maybe, just maybe, I've been selling myself short.  So for the record:  One day I'm going to Boston.

 9.  BADA** IN LEVELS:  me ~ "I hung out and chatted with Bart Yasso tonight... I think that makes me a little bit bada**."  Q ~ "Tonight, you are a little bit bada**, on Saturday, you're going to be Galactically BadA**".  Oh, that Saturday, I totally was....  Anyway, my initials are gf, as in Girl Friend.  Thus, GBA_GF.

10.  BFF:  Speaking of Bart Yasso, he actually claims me on Twitter as his BFF.  And Facebook.  And at the San Francisco Marathon/Half Marathon.  So... I guess, yeah, I'm Bart Yasso's BFF.  You're jealous.

11.  PLAYGROUP DYSMORPHIA:  I started running because I was jealous of all my friends who were runners.  They seemed convinced that "I could do this too".  I kept running because we made a habit of "running playgroup".  That is, we would meet for a BOB run, and then let the kids play afterward.  Life was good.  Eventually we were just running with out the playgroup.  Poor kids rarely even get to play anymore....

12.  HEY WAKE UP!:  Hey Wake Up is a Sandra Boynton book.  I love her books.  Particularly But Not the Hippopotamus.  I also get up freakishly early.  I am comfortable with  a little less than 6.5 hours of sleep a night.

13.  FITS OF LOVE:  Bike fit is everything.  I never believed that until I believed it.  Believe it.  I owned a stupid brand new pink schwinn for over a year and rode it about 5 times... I bought a TREK sl1000 used and rode it about 5 times in the first 5 days I owned it.

14.  WEIRD HOBBIES I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR:  I love to decorate cakes.  I don't have time to do that.  I love to draw.  I don't have time to do that.  I love to write.... I make time for that one.

15.  WRITE STUFF:  On a whim I submitted something to a publication this year in April.  I'm now a regular contributor for a local running publication and I LOVE IT.  It's just the right amount of writing for me.  There's no pressure.  And the people who run the magazine seem to rather enjoy my articles, so that's nice too.

16.  BACK IN BLACK:  I'm not elite.  I can run though.  Still, when the advanced "black" team coach asked me to join them this year for a day, I wasn't sure it was a good idea.  Turns out it was one of the smartest things I did in 2011.  My Advice To All My Readers - sometimes it's a good idea, once in a while, to go run with people who are much, much, faster than you are...  Trust me on this one.

17.  OBX.  I go to the OBX the way some people go to the grocery store.  Yeah, like frequently for small trips.  But I love it there.

18.  I DON'T CAMP.

19.  PHOTO FINISH!  My finish photo from Suntrust Richmond Marathon this year should be an advertisement for Lululemon, Brightroom photography, and the Suntrust Richmond Marathon.  I mean seriously, who looks like that after running 26.2 miles?

20.  RUNNERS ARE WEIRD:  I came to this conclusion a while back.  Runners are weird.  We will talk about anything, whether it's appropriate or not.  Many are socially awkward.  Some are geeks.  Some are nerds.  Some are safety Nazi's.  But weirdness abounds.  Even the coolest runners are a little weird.  I get up at 4:30 almost every day so I can run before the sun "wakes up".  who does that?  A weird person, that's who.

21.  ~SAVOR THE RUN~:  I could write 10,000 words about why I say ~savor the run~.  Or I could write 3.  "I love running".  The truth is, I love to run so much that I wish I could taste it, let it melt on my tongue, let it slide down to the back of my mouth so that the flavor assaults my senses.  I would want to smell it first though, to get a hint of what was to come.  For that matter, I might look at it on my plate and just admire the vibrant colors.
I have a sensitive stomach and I'm allergic to shellfish.  If I'd known that mousse would make me sick every time I ate it, I might have really savored that first and last taste.  If I'd known I would become deathly allergic to shellfish out of the blue, I would have slowed down and enjoyed that last bite of lobster.  I would have eaten slowly because that was the last bite I would ever get.  Sometimes I think we're (Americans in general) very focused on getting to the next thing.  We're impatient as a society.
I try to be in each moment for as long as possible while I'm running.
Do I savor every run?  No, not a chance, but I think it's an ideal I can strive toward.

Now I am supposed to TAG 10 bloggers - forgive me if you've been tagged, I'm a little behind on my reading!

Alex @ Tales of an Iron Housewife
Rene @ Amherst Shuffle
Jen @ Setting you Free
Mer @ Thereputic Runnings of a Mom
Red @ CAUTION:  Redhead Running
Chris @ Heavy Steps

Shanz @ Shanz1913's 
Pam @ Life Began at 30
Jenny @ Small Beginnings
MCM @ MCMMama