Thank God It's Friday

Yesterday's Song:
Ghosts In My Machine - Annie Lennox

PEACE

Ghosts In My Machine

I've invested in a serger machine this week. I've been pricing them, but I didn't want to spend a ton of money on one either. This one wasn't overly expensive and the reviews were decent. I've never used a serger before BUT my daughter is currently taking a costume design class for collge credits and she knows how to use a serger. I'm hoping she'll teach me some tricks. I already have a few projects lined up! This machine will be awesome for stretch fabrics, especially when I attempt to make athletic garb. My mother sewed stretch fabric for YEARS without a serger. I wonder what she'd be thinking about this?


It sort of figures that my work schedule this week is rather busy, and I won't be able to play around with the serger until next week.

Having this machine is all tied into getting back into the creative side of my head.

Yesterday's Song:
How Great Thou Art - Elvis Presley - Barbie2be

Peace

How Great Thou Art

Edouard Manet - Le Bar aux Folies-Bergère

I'm trying to rework my mind to how I used to think back before I put college aside to have a family. Part of that thinking was involved with art and art history. I can't even think of the last time I went to an Art museum. My mind has been so detached from that world. It's time to get it back.

Yesterday's Song:
The Club - Ginuwine

Peace

The Club

Activity: Run
Date: 02/26/08 05:30 PM
Distance: 4.40 miles
Time: 0:40:43
Speed: 6.5 mph
Pace: 9' 16 min/mile
Calories: 417

Tonight's track run was about marathon pace and heart rate. We would run for 15 minutes then stop/walk and check our heart rate the run for another 15 minutes. We did this for 4 rounds of 15 minute running. I've finally figured out how to pause my Bones In Motion wirless run tracker GPS thingy, so my above time includes the warm up and the work out. It's not that it was hard to do, I've just never fully used that feature before, and it worked. It was also a very balmy 70 degress for our run tonight. Just last week it was long sleeves and leggings. Tonight it was a thin tech t-shirt and a running skirt.

A local news crew was interviewing women at the track club meet tonight, regarding the recent attacks on women runners here. I'm not sure what they were asking, but they only interviewed women. I'll keep my eye out for the interview and see if I can post it IF they put it on the news website.

Yesterday's Song:
Dazed And Confused - Led Zeppelin - Barbie2be

Dazed And Confused

Should I invest in pepper spray to attach to my hydration belt?

This story is just one of many. It's unfortunate that this happens at all.

Stay safe and be aware.

Yesterday's song:
Run Shoes Running - The Kings

PEACE

Run Shoes Running

Back to square one with running shoes. The Asics gel Kinsei 2, the most current version that I own, is not working out as well as the prior version. During yesterday's run, the back part of the shoe, right below the outer left ankle bone, really dug into me. That part of the shoe is just slightly too high. I'm going to try the inexpensive route first and try replacing the inner soles, just to see if it brings my ankle up higher. I never use the inner soles that comes with the shoes, I always have to replace them with innersoles for high arches. Perhaps I wore them down too quickly. I'd much rather pay $18 for new inner soles first than starting from scratch with new running shoes. Here's to hoping. I just need to wait a week or so before I try out a new inner sole. My ankle is still a bit sore and I'll be wearing my back up Adidas Supernova Cushions. I really liked the prior version of the Asics Gel Kinsei better. I wish they wouldn't change a shoe so much. I understand attempting to make the shoe better so it fits more people, and I did OK with this shoe until I ran 12 + miles this weekend. I digress.

I went looking for inexpensive fabric to attempt making a running skirt. I didn't realize spandex or 4 way stretch fabric was so expensive. I'll keep searching.

Yesterday's song:
I Can See For Miles - The Who

Peace

I Can See For Miles

Normally, on Saturday I'd have a little blurb with my run stats in red from my GPS - Bones In Motion wireless run tracker at the top of my post. I thought I was charging my phone last night, come to find out AFTER my phone died during my run, and returning home to find my phone charger unplugged, that I didn't actually charge my phone. Because my phone battery was weak, my GPS mileage was not tracking properly before it died. I went back and manually put in my route and found out that I was shorted a mile. I even worked the route twice just to make sure I wasn't adding anything extra to my route. According to the WRT, it had me finishing my 2:02 hours with just less than 12 miles.. When I reworked the map manually, it gave me 13.1. That's a pretty big difference. If that's the case, then I ran my half marathon distance in record time. I'm guesstimating that my mileage is somewhere around 12.5 miles, just to be fair to myself. I don't think I'm under estimating myself, either. My half marathon PR is 2:13:10.

Today's long run with the track club was supposed to be at Cal State U. San Marcos, but there were a bunch of us who felt the drive was too far. I met with a few other track club members and we ran at the bay. We were all at different paces, so the only time we ran together was the first mile. One lady took off like a shot-gun after that. I was next, but I was WAY behind her. Then about a half mile behind me was another lady, then behind her was my husband and another lady. We had another guy start with us, but he kind of wanted to do his own thing, but we met him at the end to chat. We also saw other track club members doing their own thing, so I guess we weren't the only renegades in the bunch.

Yesterday's Song:

Before He Cheats - Carrie Underwood

Peace

Before He Cheats

DH - "I think I did OK with everything I'm supposed to be eating today."

Me - "Oh, that's good. What did you eat?"

DH - "I had the usual oatmeal cereal for breakfast with 1% milk, plus my coffee. For lunch I had a sirloin burger with bread, lettuce, tomato, cheese, and the usual condements. Meat is supposed to be OK, isn't it?"

Me - "Um, no. Per your doctor's list you're not supposed to be eating red meat right now. Just fish and chicken. No red meat, and that includes fast foods."

DH - "Really? I thought sirloin was OK?"

Me - "Look at your list. It says 'NO RED MEAT'. No cheating."

DH - "Oh. *sigh*"

Me - "Oh, and there's the stuff you put on the burger..."

DH - *Silence*

Me - "GAH!"

My husband had a physical last month. Everything was just about OK, but his cholesterol was high. You can't eat crap all the time and expect to have a stellar physical report. They also suggested that he lose some weight, 10 to 20 pounds. It doesn't matter what I say, I give free advice daily, but he has to hear the same words from someone with an MD after their name. I guess the Mrs. in front of my name doesn't count when it comes to health issues. Sheesh. I even lost 30 pounds 8 years ago and kept most of it off. I just might know a little something about eating right...

*sigh*

Yesterday's Song:
Hair - The Cowsills - Run-DMZ

PEACE

Hair

A little while ago I had blogged about my son cutting his hair. I finally have pictures to post!

My son's hair was at least 4 four inches longer than in this picture, much curlier, and was long enought to donate to Locks of Love. I wanted to get a more accurate before picture but he cut his hair before I had the chance.

This is the after...

It's good to see him again!

Yesterday's Song:
Right Place, Wrong Time - Dr. John - Barbie2be

Peace

Right Place, Wrong Time

Have you ever gone to an appointment only to find out it's on another day? I almost did that today. I though I had a hair appointment this morning and rushed out of the house, passing the Jehovah's Witness ladies who were trying to save me as I hurried to get into my car, then drove about three blocks, only to find the appointment card in the center console in my car with the actual date and time ~ this Friday. The good thing is that I wasn't late for my appointment. Heh. The not so good thing is that I got up and out early, instead of slowly savoring my steamy cup of coffee while still in my pajamas and Ugg boots. It's a rainy day off. I did manage to visit the grocery store for the ingredients to make chicken enchiladas, so the drive was not a waste.

Here's my valid excuse for bad spelling, typos and bad grammar...



Lumpy always wants to cozy up with me while I'm blogging. It's hard to type when a 18 pound kitty is insistent on sitting on my lap, rubbing his face into the keyboard and kneading the fabric on my jeans.

Yesterday's song:
Running - No Doubt - Smartypantz

Peace

Running

I'm not quite sure why, but I worked today. They really did not need me, but there's always things to do. We had a new tech start today and she jumped right in with everything, and that's a good sign. We didn't need to show her much, other than where things were kept. We're trying not to sing her praises yet, as it seems like we've been jinxed with the recent new hires we've been through, but there is always hope.

Tonight's track club run was run for 5 minutes, walk for 30 seconds and check our heart rates, for a total of 4 times. It was a really good workout and I felt good. We also did 3 sets of 20 crunches. I wore this t-shirt at the run today, it's the one from the Sue Krenn 15k I ran in last year. I hope they offer another cool t-shirt this year, on March 1. It's still one of my favorites.



Yesterday's Song:
Walk On By - Dionne Warwick - Baribe2be



Peace

Walk On By

Activity: Walk
Date: 02/18/08 12:02 PM
Distance: 4.10 miles
Time: 1:17:22
Speed: 3.1 mph
Pace: 19' 21 min/mile
Calories: 377

I went for a walk, only intending to do about 2 miles, but the weather is mild, and I felt OK, so I went for four. I walked up *The Hill* and that made for a little challenge, but not painful. I'm glad I did the walk and not run because my right calf started to tighten up, meaning I should take it slow for now.

I really miss NOT working on Monday...

Yesterday's Song:
Every Mile A Memory - Dierks Bentley - Simply Pink

PEACE

Every Mile A Memory

PHOTOS FROM YESTERDAY'S LONG RUN

About a mile into the run, that's Sande just ahead of me on the left, and Ethel, who I had just met, on the right.

Here comes Michael! He had a very solid run yesterday.

On the way back, around mile 6, still holding on.

An oasis at mile 9! A welcome sight! That's Anne in the red jacket, ready for the next thirsty runner.

Credit for the photos goes to the SDTC. I really appreciate that they take pictures at every long run because taking pictures while running is tough, unless you stop. We get to run in some wonderful areas.

As I was scrolling through the many pictures, my grandson wanted to see our pictures. He kept asking "where's your numbers?" I told him that we only get numbers when we race. This was followed by a long winded "Ohhhhhhh." Then he discovered that there were cars in the background of some of the pictures and wanted to see just those pictures. LOL. I guess cars are more exciting than photos of Mimi and Papa when you're a 4 year old boy.

After a day of rest, I'm feeling a little better, but the ol' stomach is still a little sensitive. My calves are no longer sore, and I'm guessing it was the fatigue I felt yesterday that made my calves achey for the day. I've been staying as hydrated as much as possible, hoping to rid my system of whatever it is that's making me feel so off.

Yesterday's song:

The Last Mile - Cinderella

Peace

The Last Mile

Activity: Run
Date: 02/16/08 07:17 AM
Distance: 10.63 miles
Time: 1:47:30
Speed: 5.9 mph
Pace: 10' 07 min/mile
Calories: 1015





and

Activity: Run
Date: 02/16/08 09:12 AM
Distance: 0.85 miles
Time: 0:09:52
Speed: 5.2 mph
Pace: 11' 36 min/mile
Calories: 80






Today's SDTC long run started at the usual spot at Hospitality Point, but we ran where I normally do my long runs on my own, so this was not unfamiliar territory. On the surface it looked like it should have been a breeze for me to punch out this run, but I soon realized that I wasn't ready, since I'm still recouping from the flu last week. Sometimes I get going on a run and I quickly forget whatever is ailing me, but the more I got into the run, the more I was reminded that I really wasn't 100% ready to run. I ran with the B group and ran well for the first 6 miles, and the next 3 miles after that were just OK, but my stomach kept arguing with me. After the last electrolyte stop around mile 9 or so, that's when my stomach said it had enough. I thought I was going to lose my breakfast and there was no restroom in sight. I kept running, but slow. It was around the last mile where I just couldn't keep running and began a walk/run. I even reset my Wireless Run Tracker to reflect the walk run. 11 miles should be a snap for me by now, but that last mile just sucked the life out of me. Sandee, one of the ladies who runs just a little faster than I do, was waiting for me at the end. I usually finish right behind her, but I just couldn't. Michael had a cup of Gookinaid for me. I had attempted to stretch but the most comfortable position was seated with my head between my knees. Yeah, real attractive... Once we were home I was able to take a cold shower (yes, a cold shower for my screaming calves) and take a nap. My stomach has since settled a little, but I have no big plans today, so I'm going to take it easy and be OK with toast and tea.

One very bright spot in the run was seeing Anne at the last water stop. I wished we had time to catch up but I needed to finish my run. By the way, Anne, you looked wonderful!

One more thing, as we were running, the USA Cross Country Championships were getting ready to to start. We ran past the officials setting up the timing mats, stages and course flags and cones. This event will bring nearly 800 runners who are competing in age group and open championships in six races. I wish we could have stayed around to watch, but my husband had a client meeting and, well, you all know my story...

Enjoy your weekend.

Yesterday's song:
Weather With You - Jimmy Buffett - Barbie2be

Peace

Weather With You

Photo - Sean M Haffey - Union Tribune

Yesterday San Diego county was surprised with a freak storm. We were expecting to have no more than a few sprinkles then clearing in the afternoon. Mother Nature dumped some weather on us for a change. We had everything. In the lower elevations of the mountains it snowed. In the part of town where I worked it poured. Someone mentioned hail in my neighborhood. I'm glad the weather front moved on before I hit the road home from work last night.

Yesterday's Song - Love Is In The Air - Milk & Sugar Featuring John Paul Young

PEACE

Love Is In The Air

Yesterday's song:
Question - Moody Blues - Barbie2be

Question

How much do you know about the internet???

Well, not much, it seems.



Thanks to Not Soccer Mom, where I found this quiz. Oh, I did get a few answers right, but I honestly guessed on most of them.

Yesterday's song:
What Goes Around Comes Around - Justin Timberlake - Barbie2be

Peace

What Goes Around Comes Around

Tonight's track workout was circuit training. We ran one lap around the track and did 25 of an exercise of our choice for a total of 8 laps. I did push-ups, sit-ups and, bicep dips using the curb, and jumping jacks. My husband showed up when we were finished with the run and we were all on the infield stretching. He stayed behind to run laps. I went on home to scrape up something for dinner.

Work is going OK. I'll be working more consistently this year, instead of the sporadic schedule I've had, due the on call status. I'll be job sharing with another lady. The other lady was someone they hired just to file for a few hours, twice a week. Turns out she's actually intellegent and has really come through for us in a pinch. That probably sounds a little weird, but we've had some people come through our office who just did not live up to their resumes. Who knew we had to hire someone with a college degree to do front desk stuff?

Yesterday's song:
Gonna Make You Sweat - C & C Music Factory - Be A Good One



Peace

Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)

A big thanks to Maggie for finding this pattern:

The next trick is to find some stretchy wicking fabric for the athletic skirt/skort (on sale) and I'm going to actually give this sewing project a whirl! I think I can get away without using a serger overlock machine -- my mom did for years.

Yesterday's song:
Rockaway Beach - The Ramones - Barbie2be

PEACE

Rockaway Beach

Today is all about regrouping. I feel like I lost a few days being sick. I had a hard time resting yesterday due to a single dose of Claritin. I'm going to try just taking half a tablet today, and see if I'm less buzzy. That stuff really helped with the congestion and fuzzy head, but it sure made me amped. It put me into hyper cleaning mode. I did make the kitchen counters sparkle, cleaned my closet and have a couple of bags of old clothes and shoes to donate, and busted out several loads of laundry. The bad thing about it is that it made me feel too amped, as if I drank 12 cups of coffee. I had a hard time sleeping, plus my big boy kitty wanted cozy up with me, but he's just so heavy, and he kept interrupting what ever sleep I did get.

I was bummed that I couldn't go to the run yesterday.
This is what I missed:

I know there will be other runs near there, but, dang.
(Photo from SDTC)

Yesterday's song:
Good Times Bad Times - Led Zeppelin - Be A Good One

Peace

Good Times Bad Times

*sneeze*


Today's run was to be out at Cardiff by the Sea, right along the beach. It figures that I've come down with a bad cold and fever and had to miss out. I'm so dissapointed. I was looking forward this particular run. My husband woke up too late to make the 30 minute drive, so he went for a run at the bay and found several SDTC rockin'n'runnin' people who didn't get the message that the run was at a different spot. Oh well. I know there will be other runs at the beach. It's just that it had been a long week, especially with work, and I was looking forward to the serenity of the beach. Dang cold. *grumble*

Yesterday's song:
Sweet Child 'O Mine - Guns 'n' Roses

Peace

Sweet Child O' Mine

My son had been sporting rather long hair for a while. I'd say his hair *style* made him resemble Slash.

This past week he had his hair cut into a pompador style. It was such a shock to see him with short hair again. Sure, I was a little shocked, but in a good way. I can see his face again. Who ever styled his hair did a fantastic job. Now his hair looks more like Ricky Ricardo (Desi Arnaz).


By the way, his hair was long enough to make a donation to Locks of Love. I knew he was planning to cut his hair, and I wanted to take before and after pictures, but he's fast. I might be able to get a picture in passing, if I'm lucky.

I'm thinking he cut his hair because he's looking to get a job. Someone else suggested that there might be a girl involved... Hmmmmm...

Yesterday's song:

Rat In My Kitchen - UB40 - Barbie2be

Peace

Rat In My Kitchen

Happy Chinese New Year!



Yesterday's Song:
Kid - Pretenders - Barbie2be

PEACE

Kid

I realy did not see this one coming. I woke up with a runny nose, sneezing and unrested. I was fine last night after the track workout. I did sneeze a couple of times yesterday, but I thought it was from something in the air outside at work.

My boss wanted me to work today but I couldn't because the kid is still home and I said I would watch him today. They're not super busy at the office today, but it's nice to have that back-up of an extra person so they can rotate lunch times. Oh well. Just so the kid wouldn't be on the internet looking at cars all day or watching Cartoon Network on TV for hours, we went outside for a bit and picked oranges and avocados. The avocados aren't ready yet, as they need to sit for a week before they're ready to eat, but we juiced enough oranges to make 2 quarts. The kid thought it was fun to use the juicer. I wish he'd take a nap because I sure need one. He's at that stage of needing or not needing a nap. He slept so much the past 2 days that I'm sure the last thing he wants to do this afternoon is sleep. He's staying occupied with his Hotwheel's cars.

Since I'm home, and even though I feel like crud, I still did laundry, baked banana bread, put together some homemade chicken soup, and cleaned... I need another well version of me right now... I'm so tired!

Yesterday's Song :
Vote, Baby, Vote - Deee-Lite - Barbie2be

Peace

Vote, Baby, Vote

It's California. Did you vote?



I voted, right before going to work.

The flu is baaaaaaack. People at work, yes - the few of us - are getting some sort of flu virus. My grandson came down with the stomach flu yesterday. He could not keep anything down. The poor guy was so hungry, but he couldn't even keep down crackers. He is feeling better today but not well enough to go back to school yet. He'll probably return to school on Friday. As for me, I'm doing what ever preventative measures I can think of to stay well.

Tonight was the track workout. We did a tempo run and checked our heart rate through out the workout. I met a couple more people who sort of run at my pace. One lady has been running with the club for the past 3 years or so, and another lady who is new to the club like I am. We either ran behind or in front of eachother at some point. It was nice to have that camaraderie.



Yesterday's Song:
Saturday Morning - Eels

Peace

Saturday Morning

My husband didn't bring his camera to the run on Saturday, but there were a few SDTC members who took several pictures.

Here we are with 600 of our new best friends. That's my back side, wearing the black jacket with white side stripes and the white hat, and my husband right next to me, wering the blue hat.

Here I go, at Crown Point and right near the 3 mile marker. Yeah, I wear all that hydration stuff for just a 10k and I honestly don't like it. I really should consolodate to a two bottle hydradion belt because I don't like to carry all that stuff. It's between water stop tables that I need water or an electrolyte drink most.

Both my husband and I had DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) yesterday, and today wasn't so bad.

Picutures courtesy of the SDTC

Yesterday's Song:
Yesterday - The Beatles - Be A Good One

Peace

Yesterday

I'm still amazed by some of the sunsets we've seen since living at this house. This one was from yesterday, just from my back yard. The tree in the foreground is a Bauhinia, not in bloom right now. It's really hard to capture the wide spectrum of colors of the sunset on camera. I will forever be in awe of the sunset, and always scramble to get out the camera to capture the multi-colored sky.

Yesterday's Song:
Super Rad - The Aquabats - Barbie2be

Peace

Super Rad

Today was the first event my husband and I ran in this year. We ran in the Super Run 5k-10k. We arrived at the crack of dawn just to retreive our race numbers, then sat in the car on our heated seats until it was time to warm up and stretch with the track club. (I love that heated seats now come as a standard option on most cars!) I met Cindy, the map maker for the track club, and found Mary Sue who I ran with in the UT Race for literacy 8K and the Balboa Park 8 mile run. It's always great to see familiar faces in a sea of so many people. I was anticipating finishing this race somewhere between 57 and 58 minutes. I've never run in a 10K race before, but I've run the 10K distance many times over, as a part of my training runs for marathons past. My times for those past runs were usually about an hour and change. I guess racing changes the whole mentality. Here's my results:

414 IRENE M 48 125 7/28 F San Diego 55:19 8:55

I'm feeling really good about a new personal record for that distance, especially at a non-chipped event. I ran through the finish line at 55:12, but I know to expect the number to be slightly higher. My husband did well at this event too:

744 MICHAEL M 49 126 55/57 M San Diego 1:09:27 11:11

This is a strong finish for him, since he usually walk/runs. He ran most of the race at his pace, except for water stops. I'm thrilled with his progress!

We didn't bring the camera today, so no pics of the run scene, but there were photographers at the event. I'll see if I can post the link to their site later on next week.

Yesterday's Song:
Somewhere A Clock Is Ticking - Snow Patrol

Peace

Somewhere A Clock Is Ticking

2007 Events Complete

PF Chang's Arizona Rock 'N' Roll Half Marathon - January 14, 2007 - 2:21:12


Super Run 5K - Feburary 3, 2007 - 28:01


Sue Krenn 15K - March 3, 2007 - 1:31:01*


La Jolla Shores 5k - April 22, 2007 - 26:47


Union Tribune 8k Race for Literacy - May 6, 2007 - 44:33


San Diego Rock 'N' Roll Marathon - June 3, 2007 - 5:02:47*


Coronado 4th of July, 2007 - 5k - 28:15


Balboa Park 8 mile run - August 4, 2007 - 1:24:12


AFC Half Marathon - August 19, 2007 - 2:26:38


Girl Scouts Run/Walk for a New Day - September 29, 2007 - 27:44


Nike Women's Half Marathon - October 21, 2007 - 2:19:53


Silver Strand Half Marathon - November 11, 2007 - 2:13:11*


Run for the Hungry 5K - Petco Park - November 22, 2007 - 27:29


Jingle Bell 5k for The Arthritis Foundation, Balboa Park - December 1, 2007 - 27:26


On Deck for the Cure One Mile Walk - Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation - December 14, 2007



* Personal Record


Yesterday's song:
Don't Let Me Get Me - Pink - Smartypantz

Peace