26.2 DONE!

Just a quick note to my bloggy friends that I finished 26.2 miles all in one piece. It was hot...it was crowded...it was hard but totally worth all 4 hours and 50 something minutes of it!

I just got home from Chicago with a lovely cold as a parting gift.  After I'm healthy I plan on gathering my many thoughts and feelings on running 26.2 miles for all of you to enjoy :).  Congrats to everyone who completed marathons this past weekend, I now understand just what an amazing accomplishment it actually is!

pre-race and VERY nervous!

I DID IT!

It's the FINAL Countdown - 3 Things Thursday!

First things first, go to Redonkulous Runner's blog and donate to her NOW!  She is giving away some super awesome runner swag that you'll be eligible for by just donating $5 to St. Judes.

Okay, so the anxiety that I will be running a marathon in a couple days has finally set in.  I've had millions of fears, doubts and excitements running through my head but I'm trying to keep the thought that I AM READY for this marathon in the front!

So, what have I been up to this week to prepare you ask?  I've been trying to rest as much as possible with minimal running.

Three things I've found online to help motivate/prepare me or just make me laugh :)

1. Spirit of the Marathon documentary: A couple friends told me about this documentary which is about the Chicago marathon.  It follows a handful of people from first time runners to elite athletes, including the women who won that year Deena Kastor. I'm not gonna lie...I cried for them as they crossed the finish line and realized what an emotional mess I might be when I do the same thing.  If you are running Chicago or any marathon WATCH IT!  If you have Netflix you can play it now.

2. Reading every recap from last year's Chicago Marathon I can get my hands on:  Luckily this was easy since another fellow Chicago runner blogger put them all together...thanks These Happy Miles:

1. Theodora of Losing Weight in the City (recap)
2. Susan of Nurse on the Run (recap)
3. Page of Twenty-Six and Then Some (recap)
4. Meghann of Meals and Miles (recap)
5. Kelly of Beneath It All (recap)
6. Bobbi of N Her Shoes (recap)
7. Morgan of Caution Redhead Running (recap)
8. Brie of Brie Fit (recap)
9. Carla of I Run, You Run (recap)

3. LOL Marathon Video: Another blog I stalk is Run Eat Repeat and she is also running a marathon this weekend (who isn't?)!  She posted her favorite marathon video and I was laughing so hard I was crying and secretly hoping I don't have the same experiences as this guy.



If you are running a marathon soon or even thinking about taking on the challenge I recommend checking out everything in this post!

I'm flying out to Chicago tonight with my favorite gal pals and meeting many more friends and family in Chicago in a couple days!  Not sure I'll be able to blog before I get back next Tuesday but I'll try to at least post that I didn't die before crossing the finish line.

Saturday Sunny Hi 82 °F

Saturday Night Mostly Clear Lo 59 °F

Sunday Sunny Hi 79 °F

If you thought you were getting away without an updated weather report you were wrong.  I've been analyzing the weather daily and figured out that Chicago doesn't see it's high temp until around 4PM, so I'm confident it won't get above 70 before I cross the finish line, I'm ok with that!

GOOD LUCK to all the Chicago runners and everyone else running a race this weekend!

My Cheering Squad

I have run plenty of local races and while I have had amazing support from my parents and friends at most of those races, nothing compares to the people coming to Chicago just to see us all run.  I am overwhelmed with excitement and gratitude and the feeling of support from all of these peeps! 

Here is the rundown of our support, in no order of importance of course :)

1. Lindsey (EY) and Mandy - Coming all the way from Seattle, EY and Mandy are going to be our full course support/photographers for the 26.2 miles.  EY has already informed me that she will have a backpack full of everything we could possibly need mid race...sports beans, water, extra socks, a charged ipod, Vaseline, body glide, am I missing anything?  Mandy will be in charge of my camera for the event...I hope she has taken some photography classes cause I want some professional pics!

Thanks good lookin ladies!

2. Janel, Brad, and Brady - Coming from the great state of Indiana, my first cousin and her hubby and kid will be coming to cheer us on.  I hope Janel is already teaching Brady some cheers to yell at me as I run by!

Is this is not the best looking family you've ever seen?  Too bad Maddy can't come and cheer (um..woof) me on.

3. Andy the husband - Andy is Stace's hubby and he is in charge of finding us the best steak house for a post marathon meal.  Andy is good at a lot of things, but finding the best red meat to consume is one of his finer qualities.

Yes that bouquet is ALL orchids!

4. Mike and Sharon - Parental support! Mike and Sharon are Stacey's parents and since my parents can't come to Chicago they will be my adoptive parents for the weekend.  They have yet to see Stacey cross the finish line of one of her races, they definitely saved the first for the best!


5. Kath's Aunt and Uncle - I don't know their names but they are local Chicagoans (is that a word?) so they will be an excellent source of information on where we should eat, where to watch the race, and how to get around this new to me city!

Of course ALL the support I've received from my blog friends has been amazing and has definitely helped me along this training journey.  I never imagined when I started this blog that I would actually make friends and be obsessed with following their training journeys as well...so much fun!  I would list all the blogs I try to read on a daily basis but then this post would be 5 miles long so I'll just give you the top 5 that have inspired me from the beginning (again, in no order of importance):

1. Redonkulous Runner - I think Ashley was one of my first non-family non-friend followers and reading about her training and receiving such thoughtful comments from her has been awesome and I still can't believe we didn't meet at Rock and Roll!

2. Tall Mom on The Run - Mel is seriously the woman that does it all...runs, works a big girl job and has a family.  I got the chance to meet her in person during the Seattle Rock and Roll and she is super sweet in person, I hope we get to run together again.

3. Fitting into the Windy City - Kate is training for the Chicago marathon with her husband and lives in Chicago!  Reading her training recaps and especially seeing Chicago through her pictures is getting me really excited to get to the start line. 

4. MegaNerdRuns - I think I love this blog because MegaNerd reminds me of myself in lots of ways from running to living life.  Plus, I'm kind of a nerd so I can relate!

5. Runner's Kitchen - I'm pretty sure this was the first blog I started to read on running and I think I found it from goggling "running blogs".  Megan is a super duper crazy fast runner chick that still managers to have a full-time job and have fun NYC at the same time.  She believes that preparing for some runs with a night of wine and good food with friends is quite alright and I like that!

Other blogs that deserve attention because they are also running the Chicago Marathon!
These Happy Miles
The Running Historian
MotivationMamaDrama
Pain is nothing

Question: Who is your biggest support when running a race in real life and blog life? 

Week 10 - Marathon Trainin Recap

With all the thoughts twirling around in my head realizing that the marathon is only ONE MONTH away, I didn't really have time to stress about actually running 20 miles until the morning of.  I was feeling tired all this week and decided to skip one of my runs in favor of resting my legs for the 3.5 hours of torture I was going to put them through.

Monday - 5.0 miles easy - DID IT
I didn't take the Garmin on this run so I would just run it for myself.  It was a hot evening and I decided a Mexican lunch included a margarita was a good idea...NOT.  My stomach was cramping for the first 3 miles but I just ran through it since I knew I wasn't near a bathroom.  I survived!

Tuesday - 6.0 miles marathon pace - DID IT
1:02:00 - 10:20 pace
Love these marathon pace runs.  Did 3 miles out and back on the Burke Gilman trail right after work and it provided some much needed shade in the 80+ degree temps Seattle has been witnessing lately.

Wednesday - Personal Training - DID IT
Sara was kind to me this week since she knew I had a big run in a couple days.  We focused on the core and did a lot of yoga flow moves and stretching of the IT band and hips.

Thursday - Run with Sonia - REST
My legs were telling me to rest today so I listened to them.  Instead I took Stacey on a walk and we had a photo shoot since I got my camera back...FINALLY!

really bad self portrait!

Friday - REST - DID IT
Didn't do a thing except cooking a healthy salmon dinner and got to bed early before my 5:30 wake up call to run.

Saturday - 20 mile long run - DID IT
3:27:00 - 10:21 pace
Stacey (the human friend) and I set out at 7:30 for our 20 miles.  Outfitted with our hydration belts packed full of sports beans we ran on the Burke Gilman Trail to Montlake Park, around Lake Union, into Ballard and back to my house.  It was SUPER sunny and we filled up our belts at Gasworks Park before conquering the last 6 miles.  My right hip started hurting around mile 14 which was not welcomed.  I had some shooting pain down my leg for about a mile and then I think I just mentally blacked the pain out.  We were thrilled to hear the Garmin beep 20 miles and we hobbled back to my place where we chugged Gatorade and drank some recovery chocolate milk.  After hearing all these amazing things about ice baths I figured I should try one and man I'm glad I did.  The minute I got out of the ice my legs were pain free and I felt surprisingly good the rest of the day!

Sunday - Yoga - REST
I'm bad at doing yoga, but I'm going to try and focus on it much more in this last month of training since I know it will help with my long run pain.  I spent the day with my best friend and we went to the Puyallup fair and looked at the animals, ate super greasy food, and brought home fair scones!

This beast weighed over a TON!

Super weird looking chicken!

Rach and I with our fair scones!

Total Mileage: 31
Total Strength: 1
Total Yoga: none...FAIL again

Marathon Training Week 11 - Say It Do It - September 12-18
It's TAPER TIME.  I've read a million blogs and articles about how people struggle with reducing their mileage and feeling guilty about it...umm...what is wrong with those people.  I can't wait to reduce my mileage and prepare my body to run 26.2 miles WELL RESTED!
Monday - 5.0 miles easy...really easy + YOGA
Tuesday - 6.0 miles with 4 repeats
Wednesday - Personal trainer
Thursday - Take two with run with Sonia, run is her call
Friday - REST or YOGA
Saturday - Long run (haven't decided the distance for this one...)
Sunday - REST

QUESTION: Have any of you marathon runners out there had troubles tapering? 

Check out all my marathon training recaps here!

ONE Month Until 26.2!

It's official, ONE month until the Chicago Marathon....see that ticker at the top of my blog...that little runner chick is almost to the end!

Well in Chicago time it's less than 30 days!

I thought I would break down my current fears and excitements in an attempt to talk myself out of my fears and get more pumped about my excitements :).
 
FEARS:

1. WEATHER - There is no reason this should be my number 1 fear because I can't control it at all but I've heard of past Chicago marathon's in the blazing heat and then some in the freezing cold.  I would like to put in an order for partly cloudy skies with temperatures from 55-65 degrees please...thanks! And don't even get me started on the wind and thunderstorms.

Source: weather.GOV <---the only trusted source for accurate weather

2. INJURY - I'm certain everyone has this fear going into a marathon and while I've been injury free during training so far (knock on wood) I'm still nervous that at mile 6 or something super early in the race I'll start getting hip/IT band/knee pain that will make it unbearable to run.  I know I just have to trust my training and my body that this won't happen but it doesn't mean I won't worry about it and analyze every little twinge of pain I feel on race day.

3. GETTING SICK - This has never been a race worry for me, since I'm a very healthy person and rarely get sick.  Well, that changed with the Kirkland half marathon that never was and you better believe I'm starting a Vitamin C regimen right now to boost my immune system anyway I can.

And now for the positive stuff:

EXCITEMENTS:

1. RUNNING 26.2 MILES - Never in a million years (okay 4 years) did I believe I would be running a full marathon when I began running in 2008.  I know the emotion of crossing that finish line will be overwhelming and I hope I can keep it together and not start bawling for the last .2 miles.  My friend Lindsey and the motivator behind us all running this marathon had the BIGGEST smile across her face as she ran the last stretch of her first marathon in 2010 and she said she immediately started bawling at the finish line and a lady ran up to her and started hugging her and said "I'm a crier too!".

2. I FEEL STRONG - As corny as that sounds I definitely feel as strong as I've ever been since I have run more than I ever have and been consistent about weight training.   I'm confident that my body will survive the marathon and am actually looking forward to doing it.

3. MY FRIENDS - I can't say enough about how excited I am to be sharing this experience with two of my best friends, Stace and Kath!  We have shared countless emails, phone calls, and runs with each other leading up to October 9 and I'm just as excited for them to cross the finish line as I am myself!

I have hot friends...don't be jealous!

Another one of my best gal pals, Lindsey, will be coming to cheer us on and support us along the entire course (stay tuned for a post on all of our fabulous support peeps). I can't wait to explore the city of Chicago with all these ladies, we have traveled together plenty before and there is never a dull moment!

See...we are fun! In case you're wondering I am being superwoman, Lindsey is being some strong person, and Kath is being a flamingo.

I'm running 20 miles tomorrow, wish me luck!  Stacey and I are headed out around 7AM to beat the blazing heat that has decided to finally show up in Seattle and by blazing I mean 80 degrees, all Seattleites are heat babies. 

QUESTION: What goes through your mind one month before a big race?

The 100 Mile Club!

Okay, I just made up that club, but when I realized it was the end of August I took a peek at my Daily Mile stats and WHOA!  125 miles in the month of August!  Far and away my highest mileage month of my life, which clearly makes sense since I'm training for a marathon but it still surprised me.

I officially started training for the Chicago Marathon at the beginning of July, but was in training mode for half marathons since March.  It is really amazing to see my mileage creep and then BAM...over 100! 

You can visit my training page for details on all the marathon training weeks. 

I can honestly say I feel like I'm in the best shape of my life right now and I'm ready to take on this marathon with everything I have!  I guess you could say after realizing that I ran 125 miles in August I had an "a-ha" moment as Oprah says...as in "a-ha, I really can run a marathon".  Something I never dreamed would happen when I began running 4 years ago. 

I just got a mac at work and took some time yesterday to discover the photo features that I'm sure will be useful in my everyday job duties.

This is called "comic book"...I don't know why I decided to be scared about it.

Question: What has been one of your running a-ha moments?

Week 6 - Marathon Trainin Recap

SOO proud of myself this week.  I managed to get all my training runs done while on vacation...woohoo!  I'm sure it had something to do with the fact I realized the Chicago Marathon is 2 months away.

I was in upstate New York visiting my mom's side of the family and the week FLEW by.  I felt like I was there for a day, not a week!

Monday - 5.0 mile run - DID IT
48:00 - 9:38 pace
Got up as soon as I woke up and hit the pavement in the humidity.  Ran on main roads from my uncles house to my aunts house.  It was super muggy, but pace felt good and I had breakfast casserole and french toast waiting for me at the end.

Tuesday - Yoga for Runners podcast or rest - REST!
Went to a state park with the family and then celebrated my 30th b-day with my whole family that night.  Super fun day with all my cousins, aunts and uncles.

Resting on the beach!

Wednesday - 6.0 mile run - DID IT
1:00:00 - 10:00 pace
All the bad food I had been eating during the week was starting to catch up with me so I took it slower.  I ended up running most of of these miles in this amazing park called The Crossings.  It has tons of trails, water ponds and borders a farm with baby cows that greeted me when I ran in.

picture from landscapeonline.com

The rest of the day was spent at the Saratoga race track where my brother's friend got us access to an owner's box and we even went up on the roof for one of the races.

Thursday - Rest day - DID IT
Me and all my first cousins went to a New York Yankee game in the city.  We took a tour bus down and I'm pretty sure we were on the bus longer than at the game, but it was a fun day with all my cousins!

I wouldn't call myself a Yankee fan but when in New York right?

Friday - 5.0 mile run - DID IT
This was the first time I did a run first thing in the morning with no food in my stomach and I did pretty well.  I think my limit is 5 miles though because I was pretty drained after.  I ran in The Crossings again and discovered a couple new paths.  The rest of my last day in NY was spend shopping with my cousins and BBQin with the whole fam.

Saturday - Rest - DID IT
Flew home early in the morning, picked up my VERY happy to see me pup and went to a friend's birthday party that night.  I was so nice to be back in my own bed and I slept forever!

Sunday - 8.0 mile long run - DID IT
1:17:00 - 9:40 pace
Nothing too exciting to say about this long run other than it's done!  I pushed myself a little harder than normal on long runs and it felt pretty good.  Weather was cloudy and cool and I did an out and back on the Burke Gilman trail.  I have a feeling after all this marathon training I'm going to boycott the BG trail for a few months. I love that it is flat and you don't have to stop for a million stop lights but it gets a little boring doing the same thing over and over again.

Post run treat at Greenlake after purchasing some new runnin shoes

Total Mileage: 24

Marathon Training Week 7 - Say It Do It - August 15-21
Monday - 5.0 miles easy / Yoga!
Tuesday - 6.0 miles with 5 3-minute pickups followed by 3 minutes of slow running
Wednesday - Personal training
Thursday - 5.0 miles easy to moderate pace
Friday - REST or yoga
Saturday/Sunday - 16.0 mile long run <---haven't decided which day to do this and will decide after weekend plans come together.

QUESTION: What thoughts/fears go through your head when you are really really close to running a marathon?  I think my biggest fear is being in too much pain to continue running.  I know my heart can handle running that long but my legs and hips give out before that.

Week 1 - Marathon Trainin Recap

Week 1 = DONE.  Only 13 to go, that doesn't seem so scary...at least not yet anyways.  Here is the rundown:

Monday - 4.5 miles easy - DID IT
Didn't wear a watch, just out for a fun run
Since this was the kickoff to marathon training, I probably had the most motivation I'll ever have to complete a run :)!  I met up with Kath, Kelly, and EY to do the Greenlake loop with an added bonus around the Woodland Park Zoo.  We all took it at a leisurely chat worthy pace before trucking it up a giant hill to reach the zoo.  Although, this part of the run wasn't exactly easy I really enjoyed the challenge of it and realized I should probably incorporate some more hills into my running.  We finished with a nice walk and some self service frozen yogurt from a new place on Greenlake, Zoe. 

Tuesday - 6.0 miles with 4 x 30 second pickups - 5.0 miles + 1 mile walking
I was so mad at the treadmill I didn't record my time
It was H-O-T in Seattle on Tuesday and by hot I mean 80 degrees. I realize this is nothing compared to what most of the country is dealing with but when you run in 40-60 degree weather for most of the year, 80 is hard to adjust to.  And since I'm a baby when running in the heat I took it indoors to my new gym that has amazing air conditioning.  I ran on a treadmill that was looking over Lake Washington so it was like I was outside.  5 miles was all I could take and decided to walk the last mile to finish the Sex and the City episode I was watching.

Wednesday - Strength Training - Walk with dog plus rest
I was actually still semi-sore from the Jackie Warner DVD I did on Sunday, plus I woke up with a major kink in my neck this morning so I decided to take it easy and just take the dog for a nice walk.

You know it's a nice day when the mountain is out!

Thursday - 4.5 miles easy - DID IT
44:30 - 9:43 pace
Nice outdoor run after work with the pup.  Found a good loop around my place that is 4.5 miles so I'm sure I'll be doing that one a lot since 4.5 miler seem to be popular in the marathon plan I'm using.

Friday - Rest or morning yoga - 40 minute power circuit DVD
Did my favorite Jackie Warner DVD before hoping on the train for Portland.

Saturday - REST- DID IT
And boy did I REST.  90 minute massage + manicure + pedicure = relaxation heaven.

Sunday - 6 miles marathon pace - DID IT
1:00:30 - 10:00 pace
I had every attempt of trying to run this slowly like I'm supposed to but I didn't and I paid for it after mile 2.  It was hot out and I was not properly fueled for a longer, warmer run after all the fried/fatty foods and beer I had over the weekend.  Took off WAY too fast and had to take some walk breaks toward the end.

Before the 6 miler...I look tired and I haven't even ran yet!

Total Miles: 21
Total Strength Sessions: 1
Total Yoga: none - but I did stretch at least 10 minutes almost every day and I figure the 90 minute massage is just as good...right?

Marathon Training Week 2 - Say It Do It - July 11-17
Monday - 4.5 miles easy
Tuesday - 6 miles with intervals with Kath (4x2 minutes + 2 minutes easy)
Wednesday - Personal training strength session
Thursday - 4.5 easy to moderate
Friday - REST
Saturday - Warrior Dash which I have NO IDEA what I'm in for but I know it includes 3.5 miles of running and a bunch of crazy obstacles...scary!
Sunday - 10 mile long run - try to actually maintain a 10:00-10:30/mile for the entire run.

Total mileage: 25 + Warrior Dash which I'm not sure to include since I've heard there is a lot of hurry up and waiting at the obstacles

Links to All Marathon Talk:
OFFICIAL Marathon Training: Week 1

Question: Can you run in the heat?  Any advice?

OFFICIAL Marathon Training: Week 1

So...here we go!  Although I've been in training mode for some time now and running races I haven't officially started a marathon training plan. That changes tomorrow!  Kath, Stace, and I embark on our 14 week journey to the Chicago marathon.  We are meeting for a 4.5 mile run around Greenlake and then meeting to discuss our training plan, set long runs so we can do them together and talk about how nervous we are to run for 4+ HOURS!

The training plan I'm going with is from Nike and was actually posted for last year's Chicago marathon.  I like that it is 4 days a week of running (5 is TOO MANY!) and I also like that the really long runs (14+) are separated by semi-long runs (6-9).   We are starting on week 4 from the beginner runner plan.

I'll attempt to post weekly recaps and goal's for the week ahead so you can all keep me motivated and don't be afraid to tell me I'm slackin!  Speaking of goals, my goals for the ENTIRE 14 weeks before the marathon are:

• Never miss a long run
• Strength train at least once/week, ideally twice
• Run 3-4 times week
• One yoga or long stretch session a week
• ENJOY a rest day or two a week and really rest...no short runs or long walks...my legs need to REST

I'm also going to steal an idea from the Fit Chick in the City blog and implement a Say It Do It in my weekly posts.  Basically, it is just writing down your goals for the week to help you stay accountable.

Marathon Training Week 1 - Say It Do It - July 4-10

Monday - 4.5 miles easy pace with friends to kickoff marathon training
Tuesday - 6 mile run with 4x 30 second pickups
Wednesday - Strength training (Body Pump at gym or Jackie Warner DVD at home)
Thursday - 4.5 mile easy to moderate pace
Friday - REST or Morning yoga
Saturday - REST
Sunday - 6 miles marathon pace (thinking about 10:30)

Total mileage goal: 21

I hope everyone is having a great 4th of July weekend!  I'm off to go exercise these two critters, I'm watching my friends golden this weekend.  Toni and Stacey are BFFs!

QUESTION: Anyone else out there training for a fall marathon?  Any advice is WELCOME!

4 Months to Marathon Time

So I meant to do a post when it was exactly 4 months until the Chicago marathon but life got in the way and I decided to pick my social life over my blog life for now.  I have been working on a training plan which will start on July 4 and I will share it with all of you when I'm done.  Of course, I have already been training for the past few months for half marathons but I don't really follow a strict plan.  My "plan" consists of running 3 times a week and making sure one of the runs is a longer run and gradually gets longer the closer it comes to half marathon time.  Meanwhile watch this video about running form (you have to click outside google reader to see vid):



On Friday, I ran my last "long run" before the Rock and Roll half in two weeks with my good friend Stacey, who you may remember from the Mercer Island 10K.  We set out with the goal of running 11 miles and it ended up only being a 10.6 mile loop but Stacey was diligent and finished the last .4 with a small out and back to my car...I opted to stop to walk and drink Muscle Milk.  We started off pretty strong and kept a pretty consistent 10:00 / mile pace for the first 8 miles.

Mile 1 - 10:00
Mile 2 - 9:57
Mile 3 - 10:00
Mile 4 - 9:56
Mile 5 - 10:07
Mile 6 - 10:08
Mile 7 - 10:15

After the run Stacey and I were analyzing what happened at mile 8 and we realized that was right around the time we were stopped at a stop light for what seemed like 4-5 minutes.  It was too long to be resting and it was really hard to get back in the groove after that.  However, knowing the end was in sight was good enough for me to power my painful legs through to the end.

Mile 8 - 10:27
Mile 9 - 10:25
Mile 10 - 10:04

Total Time: 1:47
Total Distance: 10.63

My hips and legs were really feeling the last few miles but it was the kind of pain I knew I should stop running for.  After some good foam rolling and stretching I felt good as new.

It was SOOO nice to get the long run over with so early in the weekend and we were even able to join our friends for happy hour at Ivars on Lake Union over-looking the Space Needle.  Since I didn't have to stress about when I was going to run over the weekend I did a first for me...ROCK CLIMBING! Always a sport that has scared me a little but a friend invited me to Vertical World in Seattle for an event sponsored by Vertical Girl clothing and a benefit for Girl Effect.  It was an awesome night filled with good friends, 4 total climbs for me (that was all my poor forearms and fingers could take!), and an amazing aerial performance!

Watch this video about the Girl Effect...you will be moved!

Okay, just breathe and don't look down.

Still not looking down!

Amazing aerial performance by Beverly!

Emily is such a poser :)

Carol was like a spider running up the rocks!

Just a quick note on the future of this blog.  I realize it has been a bit random overall but I plan on posting more regular running updates as I actually start to officially train for the marathon so you can all hold me accountable and cheer me on.  As for the design, please bear with me as I try some new stuff out.

A question to all you bloggers out there:  Was your blog well thought out before you clicked the create button?  Do you have any great websites for blog templates that are easy to use?