Airborne.

Hello down there!

Yes. I am up here. As in...in the air.

(No, not George Clooney style. Sadly.)

Today’s adventures find my traveling to Virginia on business. Lovely.

I don’t recall the last time I was on a plane this small. Or this empty.

It’s slightly erie.

And it wouldn’t be an adventure without some unnecessary airport drama. So thank you to the old man in front of me in the security line who tattled to TSA, snidely alerting the staffer that “that girl behind me has a razor in her carry-on.”

Enter slight hysteria in my immediate surrounding area.

Uhmm, yeah. It’s disposable, dude. I’m not going to be causing any damage (less you include skinning my knees with the damn thing)...and the likelihood of me being on your flight is slim to none (though if you were on my flight I’d have to sit directly next to you and exchange evil plotting glares throughout the duration of the trip). Get over it and travel more often. Not my fault I know my 3-1-1 rules.

But it’s been years since I’ve been back in Virginia and it’ll be interesting to explore an area of the state that I’ve never visited. And by explore, I mean “work.”

Right?

Riiiiiiight.

Some of you new to this game may be asking just what it is that I do all day long...you know, since swimming, biking, running, yoga’ing, stretching, lifting, eating, sleeping, showering, being awesome and blogging doesn’t exactly pay the bills. Though if it did, I’d be a multi-millionaire and happily share with you fine folks. Well, some of you.

In short? I work on the commercials that you begrudgingly fast forward through on your TiVo as you eagerly try to see what ridiculous statement Simon Cowell will say to his next unsuspecting, vulnerable victim.

It’s a fun job. Keeps me on my toes. And not many people can claim that they work for a dancing blue lightbulb. Plus my job apparently sends me to the southern areas of Virginia. Though next time, I’m requesting we do focus groups in Hawaii...something tells me those Hawaiians have a pretty valuable opinion of the brand I work on and frankly, I’m quite interested to see what they have to say...

But anyways. It’s been a busy, busy week. Made no less hectic by these travel plans.

Hence, why the blog has been neglected lately. Between college hoops (thank you South Carolina and suck it, Mizzou!), craziness at work and trying (and failing) to hit all my target workouts this week, I’ve found myself with minimal sanity and a handful of late nights.

This past weekend I ran a little race calling the F*cking Freezing Frozen Lake Half Marathon & 5k...aka F^3. Naturally, I elected to run the 5k as I’m still building mileage for the St. Louis half mary. I’m currently working on a guest blog for the Pace on the race, so I’ll direct you over that-a-way once it’s all done and published.

As usual, the CompuTrainer brought the pain and the Punisher is starting to get on my case about ramping my cadence up to level out around 90-95. It’s frustrating since I’ve allowed myself to slip into a habit of pushing a little harder at a lower cadence...but I know it’ll be good for me. I can already feel my cycling improving and leaving class each week soaking in a pool of my own sweat is surprisingly rewarding.

The long runs are getting a little bit better as I dished out 6.4 miles at a 10:59 pace over the weekend. I’m still trying to find my sweet spot in regards to a training pace this season...the 10:59 felt comfortable, but I wasn’t left feeling dead--so I know I can give a little more. I’m always just nervous about blowing my mojo in the first mile or two and having a craptastical rest of the run as a result. PR’s certainly aren’t set in the first 5k of a half marathon. Somehow I need to find time to get in a 7 miler this weekend and that’ll wrap up my first month of training for the St. Louis half.

And since I clearly don’t have enough going on in my life these days, I’ve allowed ourselves to get suckered into participating in Chiditarod.

Chi-dita-wha?!

Chiditarod.

An urban iditarod.

Part food drive. Part pub crawl. Part thievery. Part hook your drunk friends to a shopping cart dog-sled style and run amuck around Chicago in crazy costumes. Part self-humiliation. But the best part? Sabotaging other teams is not only encouraged, but rewarded as well. In the end it equals total awesomeness.

I’m thinking it may require a mini-webloggy docu-drama of sorts with altar-egos to protect the innocent and a fanfare of cheesy heroic music. We’re in the process of forming a team, so stay tuned for more details on the ridiculousness that will throw down in March.

Because like so many things in my life...it certainly won’t be short of comedy.

And if I can’t laugh at myself...well then I’ve at least got you guys to laugh at me instead.