Not The Doctor

I've been dealing with asthma for a while now, and the back spasms and more recently the breathing difficulties have really gotten to me. I did find some relief from my chiropractor, but I thought it was time to get checked out by my general practitioner, and see about upgrading my asthma meds. The current meds get me too amped, then I quickly crash and burn, and I don't like that feeling. Coffee usually does the trick for me, with out the crash and burn, but it doesn't always work, especially if breathing becomes more difficult.

My insurance is through Kaiser, so I see who ever is on the schedule. I only get to see my personal GP (who I like) if something serious is going on OR if I get lucky. Sometimes I get lucky and I'm assigned to a great new doc on duty who really listens,as I did when I was diagnosed with arthritis. I was not lucky today. The Dr assigned to me did not once ask about my life style, what meds or supps I'm currently taking, and so on. I did volunteer that there are a couple of meds that disagree with me and that I have asthma/back spasms right now. He listened to my lungs and looked in my ears and nose, asked me where my back hurts, checked my arms for range of motion, and that was it. He totally blew me off to anything I said and wrote a prescription for the two meds I can't take plus three other things. I even went as far as telling him what meds I could take that are similar. He didn't listen. He was too concerned with entering his information in the computer. I kind of felt like I wasn't even present at my own appointment. When I went down to the pharmacy to pick up my 'scripts, even the pharmacist that was sent out to talked to me was perplexed. I did refuse two of the meds, and the pharmacist pretty much backed me up. GAH! Basically the meds that I did get were band-aid fixes for the symptoms, not really a treatment. Since I was there at the pharmacy, I did pick up a bottle of Arthritis Formula Tylenol since I was out, and the pharmacist said THAT was better for my needs than the stuff the Dr wanted to prescribe to me. I guess I am spoiled by working with doctors who do have a fantastic way with their patients. They ASK a ton of questions pertaining to lifestyle and health issues, they always ask what medications and supplements a patient is currently taking, plus they are personable and LISTEN to their patients.

Things do get a little better, though...

On the way home from my time at the medical clinic, this young guy in an older style, souped up BMW was completely checking me out as we were driving next to each other and at the traffic lights. I don't even know how to react to stuff like that anymore. I'm probably old enough to be the guy's mother, for all I know. Perhaps it's because I drive a Jetta, a car that you see people younger than myself drive? Maybe he thought I was his mom? Maybe he just liked my car? I dunno. I had my giant sunglasses on, so my face was pretty well covered. It was weird, but in a good way, and it made up for the jerk of a doctor I had today. So, thank you, guy in the BMW, even if you were just looking at my car.

Yesterday's Song:
Modern Nature - Sondre Lerche

PEACE

Modern Nature

I'm not an enotmologist, and I tried to look up this bug, but have you ever been to an entomolgy website? There's THOUSANDS of bugs, and that's in the listing for the Southern California area. This one probably falls under the beetle category. I'm just guessing...






















Even in neglect, some plants thrive and are quite beautiful. This daisy is from a pottted arrangement I had in my front yard last year. Only the daisies came back, and with full force. They're quite lovely.






















Duck! This is just one little concrete duck left over from a set of lawn ornament ducks my grandparents had in the yard. They were a family of about 6 or 7 concrete ducks, ranging in size from the parent ducks all the way down to the little bitty runt duck. I don't know what happened to the rest of the ducks, they're either burried under bushes in the yard, were picked up at the estate sale, or just thrown out. So far, this one is the sole survivor. I did find a concrete frog. I wonder if the plastic pink flamingos are still around? We keep finding things...























You know it's really Spring when the fig tree that my husband has butchered, I mean pruned, comes back every single time.


















Yesterday's Song:
One More Cup Of Coffee - Robert Plant, Bob Dylan - Barbie2be

PEACE

One More Cup Of Coffee

My husband went on the run with the track club today. He explained that they began the run in their usual spot at Hospitality Point, but they went north, towards La Jolla and back to Hospitality Point to finish. I decided earlier in the week that I would not attend today's run. I'm having all kinds of shoulder and back issues brought on by asthma. I'm setting an appointment with my GP for Monday so I can get a new Rx for an inhaler or SOMETHING. Not being able to breathe properly makes for a tight upper back/shoulders and unnecessary fatigue. Strong, hot coffee usually does the trick for me - in diverting the asthma, but today it didn't work so well. My left quad is still a little sore, and that's actually not so bad, but I also felt that if I ran the 14 miles that was scheduled today I might risk injury to the quad. This time I took the advice I often give others and rested.

It's not looking so good for my chances of running in the Nike Women's Half Marathon. Several people noticed their credit cards were charged to the event and also it showed up on their Active.com account. There was no charge on my credit card account for the event, nor was there any new information on my Active.com account, where I signed up. I suppose I have until April 1 to learn my fate. I'll be greatly dissapointed if I don't get in. Right now I'm not counting on being in.

Things aren't totally gloomy in my little world. I managed to purchase 4 tickets to see/hear Robert Plant with Allison Krauss at Humphrey's on June 30, 2008. Tickets went on sale this morning at 10 am, and we did get decent seats. I was going for the cheaper seats but those were already sold out! We managed to get into the front section, a few rows back, so that's pretty sweet right there, plus we bought the dinner package. It wasn't cheap but we don't go to a lot of concerts, either. We've seen Robert Plant in concert before, but the venue was huge. Robert Plant was just a small figure on a large stage from where we were seated. Humphrey's is much more intimate. I'm very much looking forward to this concert.

Yesterday's song:
All I Really Want - Alanis Moresette

PEACE

All I Really Want

I've just found out that someone from the track club received an e-mail from the Nike Women's Marathon/Half Marathon saying that she got in. I'm a little perplexed because notifications were supposed to happen on April 1, and she's not a part of Team In Training or another fund-raising group. I'm hoping I get in. I really, really, really want to go so that I can meet up with my running blog family/friends -- well, provided they get in as well. One of my coworkers even signed up. I guess there's 20,000 spots available and about 30,000 entrants. Yes, I'm getting a little anxious... For real.

I've decided not to attend tomorrow's 14 mile run with the track club. My left quad muscle is still sore. Sure, I could chance running on it, but I'd also like to remain without injury. Sore muscles happen all the time in marathon training, and that's kind of obvious, but a soreness that doesn't go away in a few days needs rest. Instead 0f being hard-headed and ignoring the quad, I'm going to actually listen to the advice I have given to others and REST. This doesn't get my husband off the hook. You know I'm going to set the alarm so he can be up and ready to run tomorrow morning without me. He needs the miles!

Yesterday's song:
My Friend Goo - Sonic Youth - Barbie2be

PEACE

My Friend Goo

Today a coworker had a surprise for me. She had two full, 24 count, boxes of Gu energy gels. Her boyfriend had purchased them a while back and he's not going to be using them any time soon, since he's deployed right now, and not training for any type of physical event soon, so she GAVE them to me. It was like Christmas! The boxes are assorted flavors, so I get to try some of the flavors I haven't tried yet. Hooray!

Yesterday's Song:
Old Man - Neil Young - Be A Good One

PEACE

Old Man

Photo - Our old man cat, Cruiser. He's about 16 years old. We adopted him as a kitten when my son 4 years old. My son will be 21 this year.

Yesterday's Song:
Push It - Salt 'n' Pepa - Barbie2be

PEACE

Push It

Activity: Run
Date: 03/25/08 05:31 PM
Distance: 5.30 miles
Time: 0:52:22
Speed: 6.1 mph
Pace: 9' 52 min/mile
Calories: 511

Today's workout looked like this on the calender:
1min/2min/3min/4min/5min/4min/3min/2min/1min

It was actually an interval/pyramid workout. For example, we'd run fast for one minute, then have a recovery jog and check our heart rates, run fast 2 minutes, then have a recovery jog and check our heart rates, and so on, building up to 5 minutes, then eventually ending back down 1 minute. This was a good workout, and I started out conservatively, but I pushed hard once I got into it. A couple of times I hit in the 7 minute mile range, but it was only for a few seconds. For someone like me, it's pushing hard. I am no where near or want to be where the A group folks are at, as they can hold a 7 minute mile or better for MILES. These people make running look effortless and graceful. I'm just trying to go a little bit faster without throwing up.

By the way, the yellow dot is where I paused the tracker after the warm-up, and the green dot is when we started the interval workout several minutes later.

I haven't been pushing myself hard at the track work-outs. I hope I didn't push too hard. I'll know tomorrow morning, if my muscles decide to be sore.

Yesterday's song:
Good Morning Sunshine - Aqua

PEACE

Good Morning Sunshine

Photo - Tidelands Park at Cornonado, CA - Courtesy of Cindy at the SDTC

The above picture shows where we began and ended our run on Saturday morning. It's a nice way to start the day, to watch the sunrise across the bay, as we begin running.

Yesterday's song:
Halleluja - Leonard Cohen - Run-DMZ

PEACE

Hallelujah

Happy Easter!

I'm not following American Idol as I had in the past, but I'll catch it every now and then, just out of curiosity. I happened to catch it in passing when this song was on. I like this rendition of the song, even though it's not perfect. There's something to be said about simplicity. I just wish I knew a little about video editing so I could cut out the chatter before and after the song.

Yesterday's Song:
Oh, What A Beautiful Morning - Rodgers & Hammerstein's musical Oklahoma! - Barbie2be

PEACE

Oh, What A Beautiful Morning

Activity: Run
Date: 03/22/08 07:15 AM
Distance: 13.52 miles
Time: 2:15:00
Speed: 6.0 mph
Pace: 9' 59 min/mile
Calories: 1273

Today was another run in beautiful Coronado with the track club, and let's not forget about the outstanding weather we've had today, in the mid to high 70s. I feel blessed to be here! Today we ran a different route. Instead of running to the Silver Strand and back, we ran around the island twice -- and a little more to fit in 2:15 hours. I had my GPS all set to go, but I must accidentally hit pause when I placed the phone in my armband because it paused any recording. When I finished the run there was nothing but zeros. I did use my stop watche on my heart rate monitor, so I had an idea, but I started the stop watch after I was already running. I had to manually track my run. After entering that information on the Bones in Motion site, I realized that I shorted myself about a half mile. I just can't go in and edit the map once I've saved it. I'm guessing I did close to 14 miles. Since it's also the day before Easter, we were missing many runners, but there were still a lot of us on the roads.

Yesterday's Song:
True Colors - Cyndi Lauper, Phil Collins - Be A Good One



PEACE

True Colors

Yesterday's Song:
Put Your Hands In The Hand - Various Artists, often heard at church - Barbie2be, Run-DMZ


PEACE

Put Your Hands In The Hand

I rarely go for manicures and pedicures anymore, especially with the tremendous amount of house remodel projects and weekend yard work. My hands and nails were looking rather sorry, so I made my way to the local nail salon. I normally do not visit the particular salon I went to, but I like their products and my manicures/pedicures last a little longer. The last time I went into that salon was right after last year's Rock 'N' Roll marathon. Since I wanted the works at that time, they didn't try to sell me on any extras. This time I asked for the basic, no extras. They wanted to sell me all kinds of treatments. I just wanted my toes to look pretty without taking off any callouses right now because of all the running mileage I'm putting in. I don't want to start from scratch and have to deal with blisters. Even while I was being worked on, they kept pushing for extra special treatments, lotions, scrubs, waxes, you name it. I just kept saying no. Granted, feet are kind of weird to begin with, and runner's feet take a beating. I just wanted my toe nails prettied up and painted, and this presbyopic person needs help just seeing her toes... I often miss where I put the polish when I do my own pedicures and manicures since my near vision isn't what it used to be, even with glasses ... It's easier to have someone else do it. One lady did the pedicure, then someone else did the manicure and did the hard sell for the extra treatments. Ugh. I'm not buying a car, I'm having my toe and finger nails cleaned up and painted. That's it! Perhaps the manicurists get a bonus for all the extras? I dunno. What should have been relaxing was somewhat stressful because I kept having to say no. I'm not quite sure what was being said about me since most of the employees there spoke Vietnamese. I kind of felt like Elaine in an episode of Seinfeld. They did do a decent job, and the manicure and pedicure has lasted for more than a day, so that's good, (I've had some peel off with in hours) but I will only return to that particular establishment if I have the intentions of having the works.
Yesterday's song:
Filler - Slayer - Barbie2be

PEACE

Filler

Blog filler.

It's one of those times I wished I had decided not to do Blog365.

Yesterday's Song:

Circle Game - Joni Mitchell - Be A Good One

Peace

The Circle Game

Activity: Run
Date: 03/18/08 05:27 PM
Distance: 4.86 miles
Time: 0:48:02
Speed: 6.1 mph
Pace: 9' 53 min/mile
Calories: 460

Tonight's track workout was run 12 laps, 3 times at threshold pace with 2 minutes easy jogging between the intervals. It was a well organized run and everyone knew what they were supposed to do this week. I did well today. I paced myself with a few B group runners.

Yesterday's song:
Uninvited - Alanis Morresette



PEACE

Uninvited

Over the past several months, many blogs that I have followed are now only accessed by password OR they have completely disappeared. The reasons behind going to a private blog or getting rid of it are numerous. I know some people don't want members of their extended family to read their blogs because it would be one more way for some family members twist that blogger's words. Some bloggers are going though hardships, such as divorce, and only want certain people to comment. I know of one blogger who had a creepy commenter. I know there were several bloggers in the workout community who took their blogs off the net because others in the same community had something to prove, and in a bad way, by leaving bad comments and twisting words around just to pick fights. Those being attacked verbally felt like they were being stalked. *Sigh*

I blog to log in my workout and/running adventures, and some things that interest me - a creative outlet. I try to leave controversy out of my blog. I know I have a heap of spelling and grammatical errors, but I'm not trying for any literary awards. It is what it is -- a journal.

There were a hand full of blogs that I had on my Google Reader account that I didn't have listed on my blog roll on the right. These were blogs that I was inspired by, that I looked forward to reading. I would rarely comment on their blogs, and many of those have gone private as well.

I guess what it comes down to is that I'm missing many of my favorite bloggers. Once that private access goes up, I am out of the loop. I realize that since I don't comment on some of these blogs that it's only natural to be out of the loop. I understand all the reasons behind a person going private, I respect that. I guess I am just saddened that so many of my favorite people have been forced into the position to go private or delete the blogs completely. I was hoping to see some of them come back with new blogs or invitations to access their blogs, but it's only happened once.

Yesterday's song:
Every Picture Tells A Story - Rod Stewart - Barbie2be

PEACE

Every Picture Tells A Story

Photos from yesterday's run:



Yesterday's Song:
A Little Less Conversation - Elvis Presley - Barbie2be

A Little Less Conversation

Actually, a little more conversation today.

Activity: Run
Date: 03/15/08 07:24 AM
Distance: 12.86 miles
Time: 2:05:15
Speed: 6.2 mph
Pace: 9' 44 min/mile
Calories: 1213


Today's long run with the track club was a marathon pace run along a 2 mile stretch near Hospitality Point on the jetty, running out and back until 2 hours was up. My goal was to run between a 9:45 and 10:00 minute mile, and I did an average 9:44 m/m. Before this run I was really dreading what I thought was going to be monotonous. The bay is usually very scenic, and the meeting place at Hospitality Point is nice, but that 2 mile stretch along the jetty can get kind of ho-hum after just a couple of times. The thing that kept this run from becoming stale was all the people. Since I was going for a slower pace, I was able to have some nice conversations with many people and meet some different people. Since we were running out and back a few times, we were able to high five our friends, spouses and significant others as they passed by in the opposite direction. I ran very consistently and kept my pace where it needed to be. I followed one of the Yellow Hat volunteers that run with the group for support, a Ye-ha, and his pace was a 9:45 minute mile. I was able to run with/follow him or catch up to him for the majority of the run. There is always the urge to go faster, and I had to constantly remind myself to hold back and go slower. I finished my run with Elvis. Really. A pot-luck brunch was held afterwards.

I hope to post run pictures tomorrow.

Yesterday's song:
Happiness Is - Ray Confiff (and many others)
PEACE

Happiness Is

...digging up your favorite toy and bringing it in the house to share with your people.

Photo - Logan - A very happy good girl with her favorite toy. This toy, a Booda hedgehog, is THE toy she'll prance around with and show off when she's really happy. I know the photo is fuzzy, but with animals it's sometimes hard to capture just the right moment in focus.

Yesterday's song:
Back In Your Own Backyard - Madeline Peyroux - Barbie2be

PEACE

Back In Your Own Back Yard

Photo - California Poppy from my backyard yesterday

Yesterday's song:

I Try - Macy Gray - Barbie2be

Peace

I Try

Photo - California Poppy up close, from my backyard today.

Tuesday night SDTC workout recap:
Last night's track workout was supposed to be 12 laps of strides: 200/100 for the first 6 laps, stride 200/50 for the last 6 laps.

After the 3 warm-up laps and stretching, I started the workout OK but had a left quad cramp right away. I tried, but I ended up not doing the workout as stated above, and jogged just about the entire 12 laps. It was warmer than usual last night, and the cramping was most likely caused by not getting electrolytes before I needed them.

I also did not use my BiM to track my workout last night, so no official stats, but I figured I did about 4.5 miles, including the warm up laps.

Today
Luckily I had an appointment with my chiropractor this morning. Even with the quad cramp, my feet and Q-angle were OK, but my clavicle was off. I thought I was feeling the tendinitis returning, but that wasn't the case. Since the adjustment I feel better.

No workout today. I'll go for an easy walk later on. I have a 2 hour marathon pace run with the track club on Saturday. I want to be good to go for that.

Other stuff:
How in shape are you? There's piece from the New York Times about doing push ups. How many can you do? I personally know that I can do at least 20 regulation, knees up, push ups, not just the girly, knee down ones. I was surprised to see the women in this piece. Yes, they are thin, but thin isn't always fit. Thanks to Maggie for bringing this piece attention. I thought it was worth passing along. You can check out the article and video piece HERE.


Yesterday's song:
I've Got To Be Me - Sammy Davis, Jr. - Barbie2be

PEACE

I've Got To Be Me

Photo - flowers in my backyard this morning.

Leslie - Be A Good One, did this meme a little while ago. I thought I would give it a try, plus I need to post something while I have the time...

5 names you like
Steven (I wanted to name my son Steven but my husband and I couldn't agree on the spelling...)
Alexandra
Kathryn/Catherine
Dustin
Michelle

5 names you don't like
Hortencia
Hildegard
Ursula
Eunice
Constance (My grandma wanted me to have this name)

5 of your most overused words or phrases
Peace
Hugs
Put your dishes in the dishwasher.
Roll over, you're snoring.
Sit, shake, speak, good girl.

5 things you do, or should do, daily
I eat breakfast, every day.
I wear sunscreen, every day.
I watch the news at least once a day.
I should paint/draw daily.
I should meditate daily.

5 of your favorite stores
Bluefly.com
Overstock.com
Itunes Store
Road Runner Sports/ roadrunnersports.com
Target


Now, for the explanations:

Names I like:
*Stephen or Steven? We couldn't agree. Stupid, I know. My son says he likes his name, Erik, just fine.
*Alexander was my great grandfather's name and I wanted one of my children to have a form of the name. Alexandra is my daughter's middle name.
*Kathryn,Catherine, or even Katherine or Catheryn, etc... When I was in grade school I felt quite left out because I was the only Irene. The only other Irene I knew of was an elderly woman, and I just couldn't relate to her. I felt like I was stuck with an old lady name. My best two neighborhood friends at that time were Kathryn and Catherine, or Kathy and Cathy. Everyone could say the name "Cathy," even the Spanish nuns. The nuns massacred my name.
*Dustin - Before I ever met my husband, I thought Dustin would be a cool name for one of my kids, but Dustin does not go very well with our last name.
*Michelle was my *bestest* friend in the 3rd and 4th grade. We were glued toghether until she had to move out of state.

Names I don't like:
No offense to anyone who has these names. I know a Hortencia who is a beautiful person, inside and out, but I just don't care too much for the name. Same with the other names on the list. My great-grandmother was Constance, which is why my grandmother pushed for it. My mom didn't want me to be a Connie since that was her sister's name.

Overused words or phrases:
*Peace and hugs - I always end my blog posts in peace. Hugs - I like hugs.
*"Put your dishes in the dishwasher" and "Roll over, you're snoring." Do these really need explainations?
*"Sit, shake, speak, good girl." When my dog begs for treats, she needs to earn them. She begs for treats a few times a day.

Things I do/should do daily:
Nothing too exciting, but that's all. The meditation part should probably come in with some sort of praying thing, but I'm having a *thing* with structured religion right now. Meditation is different, though, and it would be good to make the time for it, even if it is for a few minutes out of the day.

Favorite stores:
Getting in the car to go out and spend a day out shopping just doesn't float my boat. All of those years working in retail took the joy out of going out shopping, which is why I listed my favorite on-line stores. There is some satisfacion in getting things like free shipping and other special on-line only offers. Target I like because they have fun stuff to look at if I go when they're not busy.

Yesterday's song:
Home - Chris Daughtry - Barbie2be

Peace

PS
I had to edit the post a gazillion times because, for some reason, blogger wasn't saving my edits!

Home

Today's workout:
Upper body, 5 sets of 12 pushups and bench dips, resistance bands -- shoulder presses and bicep curls 3 sets of 10... Tendinitis acting up. I also did 3 sets of 100 crunches on The Bean.

I didn't go in the office today, but I **worked** at home. It sure is nice to have everyone out of the house so I can actually get somthing done, and there was plenty to do! I must add that it was a stellar day with temps in the mid to high 70 range and not a cloud in the sky.



Yesterday's song:
Lousy Pictures - Wolf Parade - Barbie2be


Peace

Lousy Pictures

For some unknown reason I can't get blogger to upload any pictures, and I for a minute thought I would be able to post any, but I then remembered Photobucket.

Here's a picture of my husband from yesteday's track club run. There were pictures of me but his was much better. ;)



I went to a social function with my husband today. It was lovely and the hosts were great. I did, however, have to explain my work nick-name of Eyeballrene. Heh.

Yesterday's song:
On Your Shore - Enya - Barbie2be

Peace

On Your Shore

Activity: Run
Date: 03/08/08 07:17 AM
Distance: 14.25 miles
Time: 2:18:18
Speed: 6.2 mph
Pace: 9' 42 min/mile
Calories: 1353



Today's run with the track club started in Coronado at Tidelands Park ~ pictured above, just right of the bridge ~ went past the Silver Strand State Beach, towards Imperial Beach (but not quite all the way there) and back. I was feeling quite happy with my run today because I beat my half marathon time by 5 minutes, and still beat my Nike Women's half marathon time in San Francisco (2:19) and put in an extra mile to boot.

The new running shoes are keepers. No screaming ankle issues.

Yesterday's song:
One Of Us - Joan Osborne - Work(s)In Progress

Peace

One Of Us

I have that song stuck in my head after hearing it on the way home from work last night.

Yesterday's Song:
The Grand Finale - Styx

PEACE

The Grand Finale

I've followed season 4 of Bravo's Project Runway continuously this time around. It was no surprise to me that Christian won.



The guy is only 21 and talented beyond his years. I didn't always agree with his point of view, but he remained consistent through out the competition, with outstanding work.


I enjoyed this show because of the creative process, and because I grew up with a mother who sewed to perfection. I know I've said this before, but my mom grew up handling a lot of the finishing work for her mother who was the town seamstress/tailor. My mom was very anal and precise about her sewing and would have been all over Project Runway. Too bad a show like that wasn't around when she was alive.

I pretty much agreed with the top three finalist, but I really enjoyed a few of the contestants who just fell short of the top 3, such as Chris March, known for his outrageous costumes.


I also enjoyed seeing what the other top contestants had, such as Rami's great attention to detail with his passion for draping and pleating,

and Jillian's intricate styles and fabulous coat designs.


This show was the only one I currently paid attention to. I didn't follow any TV dramas or sit-coms, and the most TV I had watched was the morning news. This was my little escape for the evening when it was on, and if I happened to miss an episode, there was no worry. Bravo rebroadcasts their shows a gazillion times. I enjoy the creative process, even if it's me watching someone else be creative. I must add that I did get inspired, but I might make a simple pair of shorts that will take me a good part of the day to complete, and not an entire formal outfit. Now that season 4 of Project Runway is over, I'll be catching the next season of Top Chef.



Yesterday's Song:
The New Transmission - Lost Prophets - Barbie2be


Peace

The New Transmission

Last night's track club workout:
Activity: Run
Date: 03/04/08 05:30 PM
Distance: 5.54 miles
Time: 0:52:56
Speed: 6.3 mph
Pace: 9' 33 min/mile
Calories: 526

Last night the BiM site was down and they were having transmission problems. I couldn't save my activity and upload it to get my stats. When I was able to save my activity and upload my info, It has my first mile split at something like 23 minutes, but the above stats do not reflect that extra time, which makes no sense. I checked the support section on their website and it turns out that I wasn't alone.

Today's workout:
Yoga - 30 minutes. Does the treadmill at RRS to try out their shoes count? I tried on 5 pairs of shoes and ran on their treadmill each time for about 2 minutes each, then I went between a couple of pairs of shoes a few times. I'd say I spent about 15 minutes total on their treadmill. ;)

I had the people at RRS do the entire analysis of my feet ~ how I run, my foot strike, etc... I've never done that before, they even took a video of me running and did a computerized foot strike analysis, which was rather cool, but I didn't learn anything new. They said what I was wearing, the Asics Gel Kinsei 2, should have been a good shoe choice for me, but with the style change brought on issues I'd never experienced before. My ankles shouldn't hurt. I'm back in the Asics Gel Nimbus, the 9 version (pictured right), and they're going to be discontinued. I stopped wearing the Gel Nimbus when they changed the style on the 8 version. I also liked the Nike Air Max Moto + 5 (pictured left), but I'm really hard on my shoes and Nike just doesn't hold up as well as Asics. The Nike is my second choice if I can't get the Asics Gel Nimbus 9 again. I did get an extra 10% off because I belong to the track club, in addition to my 10% VIP discount, so I saved some cash there. I really didn't want to get another pair of running shoes, but pain is not an option.

Yesterday's song:
I Found Out About You - The Gin Blossoms - Barbie2be

Peace

I Found Out About You

I found the photo! That's my husband running on Fiesta Island at the Sue Krenn 15K. Luckily, more photos were posted the next day, and sure enough, there was his. I believe this is while he was still feeling good.

I've managed to sign up to be in the random drawing for the Nike Women's Half Marathon. It was a little difficult to even sign up for the random drawing because the site was busy. They do not give any consideration to people who have participated in this event before, unless they have run in all of their events for the past 4 years or so. I'm hopeful that I'll be selected. Someone suggested that I try going through Team In Training, but I don't want to go that route, or at least not yet. Don't get me wrong, I think Team In Training is a wonderful thing to do, and I've heard nothing but great things about being a part of it. I still want to do this run independently.

Tonight's track club run was was a tempo run for 20 minutes, walk/jog for 5 minutes, run for another 20 minutes then walk for another 5. I started out with C group but finished with the people in B group. I'm anxious to look at my stats but the BiM site is down. I'll try and post those tomorrow.

Yesterday's song:
Take A Chance On Me - Abba - Smartypantz

PEACE

Take A Chance On Me

I've received e-mail notification that the entry for the Nike Women's Marathon and Half Marathon in San Francisco on October 19, 2008 will be done by lottery. Sign-ups for the lottery start tomorrow, March 4, 2008. Just to refresh your memory, this is the event that offers a Tiffany & Co. sterling silver necklace to all finishers. If anyone is interested check out this link. I hope to get in for this year's event! I had a wonderful time (last year) meeting up with many women from the running blog family and just soaking in the event! If I get in I plan on staying in San Francisco for a long 3 or 4 day weekend. It went too fast last time. Anyone wanna try and join me?

Yesterday's song:
For The Roses - Joni Mitchel - Barbie2be

PEACE

For The Roses

I know I've said this before, but I really appreciate that someone from the track club is there to take pictures at every long run, including the Sue Krenn 15K event yesterday. Here I go, around the 5 mile marker. I always look so pensive when I'm in these track club photos. I figured it was time I "cheesed" one.



All the women finishers received a rose. Here's mine up close, which is a very bright, pinkish red color.



I haven't found a picture of my husband at the run yet, but I need to look carefully through the hundreds of photos from the day.

Yesterday's Song:
Move Along - All American Rejects - Run-DMZ

Peace

Move Along

Activity: Run
Date: 03/01/08 06:58 AM
Distance: 9.47 miles
Time: 1:25:11 PR
Speed: 6.7 mph
Pace: 8' 59 min/mile
Calories: 902



Today was the Sue Krenn 15K. The weather was overcast and a little drizzly. I used my BiM wireless run tracker GPS and remembered to charge it last night. I forgot to wear my stop watch, just to keep track of my minute/mile as I ran, but sometimes ignorance is bliss. This was not a chipped run, so my times are a little higher, and not so accurate, plus I turned off my GPS after I ran through the finishing chute, and that added time. The event time-keepers had me at 1:25:12, a new personal record. That still puts me over 6 minutes faster than last year. I was kind of surprised because it was cool out this morning and my legs felt like lead for the first two miles, which were actually my fastest miles of this run. The times aren't posted on the website yet, but results were posted at the event. I came in 9th out of something like 20 in my age group. There's some phenomenally speedy women in my age group. Oh, and before I forget, all the women finishers received a rose.

This event is also very grass-roots and has no corporate sponsors. They rely heavily on the kindness of volunteers. We did not receive race T-shirts today. Since the track club was already signed up for this run, we did not have the option to pre-purchase a race T. I had to order one today. This year's T shirt is red and black, which is my husband's favorite color combo. Of course, it has "No Wussies" on it.

EDIT****
I almost forgot to mention that this is the event where I met Anne last year! I swear I didn't forget and it is worth mentioning because, if it weren't for Anne, I probably would not have joined the SDTC!

My husband did OK but cramped up around mile 4. He met a bunch of guys who helped him through this cramping episode, and they all run/walk like my husband does, so he felt, for the first time, like he belonged some place in the group, and not alone in the back-of-the-pack group.

For March, my fitness goals are still the same until June, so there's not much to update there. My morning weight is stable and I hope to keep it that way until the marathon. I'm prone to weight gain while marathon training. Non-fitness goals will include getting back into the creative mode again. I'm attempting my hand at making my own athletic wear, and see if it's worth the effort. I also want to get my art-brain back. I want to feel as passionate about it as I did when I was in college.

Yesterday's song:
Thank God It's Friday - R. Kelly

PEACE