Passion Play

Over at Runner's Lounge, the theme of this Thursday's TIART (Take It And Run Thursday) is the marathon. More specifically:

Why Don't They Get It? The Marathon-Explained.

The marathon is something most non-thrill seekers or non-runners will not understand. A marathon is one of those things you have to experience for yourself, whether if you just do one or several. Some people run in their first marathon and are immediately swept away in the accomplishment and know they want to participate in more events. Some people run in their first, swear they're never going to run in one again because of the sore muscles and recoup time, but once that pain is over they start looking into other races. They're hooked. Others run one marathon and they're done -- They just wanted to say they did it at least once.

For me, it all started with fitness. Running sort of manifested itself out of losing 30 pounds and becoming more fit. Prior to running, I swam a lot. I discovered that I actually enjoyed running and eventually signed up for a 5k. I had a blast.

My first marathon was inspired by a friend who decided to run at least 5 marathons before turning 50. I believe she gave herself two years to achieve this goal. At the time, I was about 45, and figured I could perhaps do at least one marathon, and I was 5 years younger. I signed up to run in the San Diego Rock 'N' Roll Marathon for June 5, 2005, just 4 days shy of my 46th birthday.

I dragged my reluctant husband with me, but did most of the training on my own, with the guidance from the book Marathoning For Mortals by John Bingham. It was a lot of work and a lot of alone time. I soon discovered that running those long distances gave me plenty of time to think and solve the world's problems. I had no real time expectations for my marathon, but I just wanted to finish on my own two feet.

I did finish on my own two feet in about 5:30, and so did my husband in about 6:18. My runner brother even flew down from Northern California to run our first marathon with us. We were sore, tired, exhausted, exhilarated, and euphoric. My husband's office took bets to see if he would walk into the office the Monday morning after the marathon. He limped into work just so he could show off his medal. My once reluctant husband now had his own marathon story, and beamed when he talked about it. I also had my own marathon story, complete with tidbits about what I saw, how I felt, and how I was already looking to next year's SDRNR Marathon. Yeah, I was hooked.


After the marathon -- Karl, me, and Michael
Posted by Hello


Since that time I have run in two more SDRNR Marathons, a handfull of half marathons and 5ks, and everything in between.

The hardest thing I've had to deal with was getting serioulsy injured just 2 weeks prior to last year's SDRNR marathon. I was able hang out at one of the hydration stops, see the elites glide by, greet all of my friends, encourage my husband, and spend time with other injured runners. I must admit to feeling a bit wistful when I saw video clips of the runners going through the finish line. I was thrilled for everyone, but I cried because I wasn't a part of that. I must admit to feeling heartbroken. No medal for me because I now had to deal with metal in my leg.

This year, with the stamp of approval from my doctor, I'm running again. I'm also training for my final SDRNR marathon. Some people think I'm nuts for wanting to complete another marathon, but it's still a passion, and a matter of unfinished business. My thoughts of attempting a BQ time have diminished, but now, as with my first marathon, my goal is to finish on my own two feet. I've gone full circle.

The marathon thing: It's all about passion. Whether if your passion is running or collecting stamps, find YOUR passion. We can all relate to passion, right?

Yesterday's song:
Rehab - Rihanna, Amy Winehouse - Barbie2be, 2nd Chances

PEACE

Rehab

I went and checked out a sports rehab center and met with a therapist for about 15 minutes, just to assess where I'm at, where I need to be, and how to get there. She told me things I already knew, such as my right leg muscles are weak, but she told me what the protocol would be to handle working with my injury - and that I did not know about. I went ahead and signed up for the first assessment meeting, which I am getting at half price with the track club referral, and something like 10 workout sessions after that, with a 15% discount. It's way less than personal training sessions, and my sessions will be about an hour each. Since this is a sports rehab place, they'll work with me on my specific sport and my specific injury, not just do generic stretches and exercises. I really should have been doing some sort of sports rehab once they released me from physical therapy.

I've been fighting a viral infection, been to the docs, have meds, been resting. I guess it was just coincidence that this viral infection hit right after I had my flu shot. I thought it was just a reaction to the flu shot. I've been to the doctor's office a couple of times, too. I haven't done much since Saturday. I just didn't have the energy. I feel like things are turning around right now, and I'm on the upswing.

In non-fitness news... My husband paid a bill at Macy's twice, so we have a credit. I thought I would use that credit for a nicer purse. The last purse I bought was while in Florida at Target, right before the PDB cruise last summer. I've been using that $9.99 purse since then, which is a great vacation/travel purse, but it's not practical for day to day use. I still couldn't bring myself to buy a well known brand name purse, about 6" X 7" in size , flat, made out of canvas, and retails for about $130.00, which is around the amount of the credit. I just couldn't justify it. I ended up purchasing another purse for a third of the price, and it's leather, plus snagged a couple of shirts for my husband, and I still have some credit left. My thoughts of creating my own smallish fabric purse have resurfaced, since I still have a ton of fancy-schmancy jacquard fabric from some unwanted curtains. As my son would say, it's another MacGuyver project. We'll see.

Monday's song:
You Learn - Alanis Morrisette - Katiefeldmom

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You Learn

The young mind is an amazing thing, especially when you get to witness the light bulb go on.

My 5 year old grandson is an emerging reader. We're just about finished with the Kindergarten version of Hooked On Phonics. He was getting the hang of it but not fully putting all together, until very recently.

He spelled out "HOTWHEELS" with magnetic letters and numbers. He did this without any help or looking at a Hotwheels toy or logo.


He said he used the "X" because it was the closest to the letter "H," which there was only one of, and an upside down "3" because it looked the closest to an "E." I never would have thought to do any of that.

I need to buy more magnetic letters and numbers. I hope my refrigerator exterior can accommodate more words.

TOE UPDATE
I had a scheduled doctor's appointment today, and had him look at my toe while I was there. It's not broken, and if it was they couldn't really do much for it, other than tape it to the other toe. It's just bruised.

Saturday's song:
Special - Garbage

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Special

Because I don't feel special enough already, last night I banged my left small toe into the corner of a door threshold. One of my cats was coughing up a fur ball while on my bed (ugh) and I was trying to get her off my bed and at least to a floor area with a wipe-able surface. In my haste, I caught my foot on the corner of the door threshold. I said a whole bunch of special words upon impact. Last night I thought I might have broken it, but this morning it wasn't so bad, but still sore. It looks weird.



I'm sorry if feet/toes gross you out. Yes, I know, I need a pedicure, which is why I didn't show the entire foot.

Because of this little pain in the pinky toe, I didn't run with the track club today, so I stayed behind to take pictures of the runners and the surrounding area.

Here's my husband:

I also came upon people who were feeding the feral cats. This morning the cats were feasting on Tilapia and Salmon. The people feeding the cats are trying get them adopted out, but many of these cats are not adoptable. The cats are all "identified" by the people feeding them, and they all have names. I must say it was a strange sight to see the cats hanging out at the bay. At first glance, in the distance, I thought they were seagulls.


Best wishes to all of my friends who are running at Carlsbad tomorrow morning!


Yesterday's song:
I'm On My Way - The Proclaimers - Barbie2be


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I'm On My Way

I had every intention of posting yesterday, which never happened. I did end up working out at home with The Bean, (push-ups, abs, obliques, back extensions, hamstrings, hips), which is a workout, it's something, but compared to the workouts I used to do, I really felt like I was back at square one even though I'm really not. I have some progress to report: I held a plank position for about 1:15 minutes, which doesn't sound like much, but for the longest time I couldn't even attempt do one second. I guess the core muscles are s-l-o-w-l-y returning. I knew everything wasn't going to come back over night. It's going to take at least a full year, and then some.

I'm on my way.

Wednesday's song:
Where To Now, St.Peter? - Elton John, Ann Wilson & Elton John


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Where To Now St. Peter?

What day is it, anyway?

Oh yeah, it's Wednesday, the day after the presidential inauguration. Everyone keeps asking, (well, people on TV) "Where were you when Barack Obama became our 44th president?" I was at home, in my blue plad jammie pants, a giant red sweatshirt and my worn out Ugg boots that I should have gotten rid of a long time ago, holding onto a warm cup of coffee, with my little girl cat Luna at my side, watching the the inaugural ceremony in my living room. Under normal circumstances, I probably would have already gotten in a walk, run or work out, have been showered and going about my day. I had a flu shot on Monday afternoon and it gave me flu symptoms - achey, fever, felt like crap. I can't remember the last time I spent all day in my jammies due to a flu. I'm glad it was just a day thing. I'm feeling much better, thankyouverymuch. I did get up and made a celebratory chocolate cake with vanilla frosting. I was craving chocolate, and I didn't want to feel left out, you know, all the celebrating on TV. (Yeah, good excuse!) To tell you the truth, I would have been happy with a single Hostess chocolate cupcake, but I had the stuff to make cake. I knew that if I had my one piece I'd be over it, and I also knew the cake would be gone before this morning -- and it was, and not by me.

Anyway...

Where was I?

Apparently, getting the flu shot also causes temporary ADD.

President Obama's speech really made an impression on many, even on those who did not vote for him. It reminded me of how far we've come as a country, but how much further we have to go. I felt the speech was very honest, and the suggestions that it's going to take all of us to get the country back on track resonated throughout his speech.

"America. In the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations."

Sunday's song:
Busy Being Fabulous - The Eagles - Katiefeldmom

PEACE

Busy Being Fabulous

Activity: Run
Date: 01/17/09 08:13 AM
Distance: 4.80 miles
Time: 0:50:35
Speed: 5.7 mph
Pace: 10' 33 min/mile
Calories: 461

Saturday's run was a 50 minute out and back run with the track club C group (9:30 m/m and slower.) It took a while to warm up, but after the second mile I felt really good. I should hover at a slower pace, but everything felt great. No sore anything and I didn't feel gimpy.

Anne has bestowed upon me the Fabulous Blogger Award!

Here's the scoop:

First, list 5 things you're addicted to, then bestow the honor on five of your favorite bloggers.

Part 1:

Right now I'm addicted to:

1. Cook books. My son gave me the Top Chef Cookbook for Christmas. I saw a cookbook on QVC today that I really want to get, but I promised to cut back all unnecessary spending. The book focused on healthy cooking with the good carbs. All the traditionally "flour" based recipes actually used nuts finely ground in the food processor and a lot of vegetables. Costco has a few cookbooks from some of my favorite Food Network TV celebrities, but I PROMISED NOT TO DO ANY UNNECESSARY SPENDING...

2. Coffee made with the shiny red French press my boss gave me for Christmas.

3. The weather we had today... Sunny, calm breezes, mid to high 70s. It's every reason why I've never moved out of state.

4. My homemade fudge. It's my grandma's recipe that came from an early 1950's church fundraiser cookbook. The recipe actually says to use a kettle. Someone found my secret stash of fudge from this year's batch, so it's completely gone until I make more for Christmas 2009. *sigh*

5. Lotion. I'm not really addicted to lotion, I just feel as if I use more than the average person does, mostly because I have dry skin due to allergies. I'm also a sucker for some of those scented body lotions from Bath and Body Works.

Part 2:

I need to bestow the Fabulous Blogger award to 5 of my favorite bloggers. This is going to be tough because all of the bloggers I follow are fabulous, and many of them had the Fabulous Blogger Award already. Hmmm....

I'm sure these bloggers know how fabulous they are. I just wanted to remind them:

Rachel
Dede
Deene
Meg
Shosh

Friday's song:
Candle In The Wind - Elton John - 2nd Chances

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Candle In The Wind

Last night I was surfing the net, looking for a few 5k's to run this Spring, and I just happened upon the Jackie Bristow Memorial 5k Race.

The name sounded very familiar.

I clicked on the link and found out that the race had already happened on January 3, 2009, but then I began to read on about Jackie's story and her struggle with anorexia and bulimia. My heart sank. She was the twin daughter of one of my closest childhood friends.

I spent first grade through eighth grade with my friend Joan. We attended different high schools, but we still kept in touch though yearly Christmas cards and though each of our children's births. Even though we've moved to different cities, we still kept in touch. I'll never forget when she gave birth to her full term twin daughters. She was only expecting one child at that time, and hoping for a girl, since she already had two sons. Emily was born and Joan was thrilled, then a surprise happened when Jackie followed, and the labor and delivery team went crazy because they were only expecting to handle a single birth. (Back then, the doctors didn't do sonograms unless it was absolutely necessary.) Her family was overjoyed. Twin daughters!

Joan and I kept in touch through a few phone calls, letters, and Christmas cards. Over the past recent years it just has been Christmas cards with a short note and her children's school pictures. This holiday season there was no Christmas card from Joan, but I just chalked that up to the state of the economy, and everyone seemed to be cutting back on sending cards.

I did not know that Joan's daughter, Jackie, lost her life on January 1, 2008 at age 19 until I stumbled upon the 5k race information last night. My heart is breaking for my friend and her family.




Yesterday's song:
Road To Recovery - Midnight Juggernauts

PEACE

Road To Recovery

Activity: Run
Date: 01/15/09 10:57 AM
Distance: 6.18 miles
Time: 1:18:29
Speed: 4.7 mph
Pace: 12' 42 min/mile
Calories: 602

I have a 10K in a couple of weeks and I wanted to make sure I could at least handle the distance, even if I went really slow. Today's run just a smidgen off a 10K but it's close enough. I probably could have gone further, at least another 2 miles with ease. I ran the over at the Mission Bay path, and ran on the grass when I could.

Yesterday I went back into my chiropractor's office. I haven't been to see him since before the injury in May, so it was nice to be back at his office. He managed to work out the kinks in my back, and also worked on my feet. I usually love to have my feet worked on, but they were so stiff, and did not feel as flexible as they had been in the past.

Yesterday's song:
Change - Taylor Swift

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Change

I stole this Obamiconme from Katiefeldmom's blog, using my kid's pictures:

And here's mine:

...and Evan's:

Yesterday's song:
Step It Up And Go - Bob Dylan - Run-DMZ

PEACE

Step It Up And Go

Activity: Run
Date: 01/13/09 06:22 PM
Distance: 2.07 miles
Time: 0:19:28
Speed: 6.4 mph
Pace: 9' 24 min/mile
Calories: 193

I was waffling between attending tonight's track club workout and not. My back has been bothering me since Thursday. I decided to go and take it relatively easy. Tonight's track workout was fitness circuits - 8 X 400m with calisthenics. I skipped the sit ups and did my wimpy version of push-ups, pushing off against the fence around the track, and did jumping jacks. Apparently, I ran a little faster than I thought I did, based on my above stats from my BiM GPS thingy on my cell phone, but it was only a couple of miles. Yay me. I also ran into AKA Alice. (You know, not really ran into, but we saw each other there.) She looked great.

Here's some pictures from my dad's 80th birthday celebration:

Happy Birthday Dad!

Erik keeping us entertained.

Niece Theresa, sister-in-law Ellen, Niece Anne.

Ellen chatting with me after my walk on Saturday mornning.

Erik, Renee, Evan and Donna.

Me, my brother Karl, my sister Donna -Mission Bay in the background.

Here's a few things I've learned over this past weekend:

• Anne and Theresa visited Europe last summer.
• Pot is legal in Amsterdam.
• Erik knows how to play a ton of cool songs on the guitar.
• None of us knew all of the lyrics to one single song.
• "Boats 'n' hoes." (10 points if you know what that's from!)
  
• I'm still allergic to dairy. (I keep trying not to be.)
• It takes my dad twice as long to do anything.
• We need to leave the plan making to the ladies in the family. (My sister-in-law confirmed this.)
• It's kind of creepy how we all we all look alike when we get together.
• Ducks just know when you have food available, even if you don't go out of your way to tell them the chow is on. (This family of ducks, pictured below, made the rounds every morning, to each suite.)
  

Yesterday's song:
Sister - Dave Matthews - Katiefeldmom

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Sister

This is my sister, Donna, just about an hour off the plane, enjoying not being in snow and 2 degree weather this past weekend. She wanted a picture of herself enjoying the sunshine.

The weekend went quite well. I'll update later.

Friday's song:
Random Thoughts - Eddie Palmieri

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Random Thoughts

One of the things I decided not to do this year is Blog365, which was Blogging every day for a year. I participated last year because there were several blogger friends who were participating and encouraged me to do the same. Even with the injury and being out, I tried to keep it up, but I ran out of steam. I even became bored with my own blog posts...

Go Chargers!

I did something to my back yesterday. I did run yesterday, about 3.8 miles, but that wasn't what threw my back out. Bending the wrong way and asthma may have caused my back some discomfort. I see my chiropractor next Wednesday. Yay.

I am *justthisclose* to home schooling my grandson for the rest of his kindergarten year. I don't want to get into details, but he's missing out on so much. He's a smart kid and is not given the opportunity to excel. 'Nuf said.

My siblings and a couple of nieces will be in town over the weekend for my dad's 80th birthday. I'm half way looking forward to the weekend, only because everyone has their own ideas on how the weekend should go. (It will be fine... It will be fine... It will be fine...)

I'll be hosting dinner for my entire family tonight. I decided to do a wine tasting party/dinner. (I found some great organic wines so that I could participate.) I figured if I hosted the first night, no one could complain about "what are we doing, where are we going, how will we get there, and did anyone think to ask dad if he would like that?" *sigh*

I'll be missing the first long run with the track club on Saturday. We'll probably do our own run, later.

See you all next week!


Wednesday's song:
I know - Drake Bell

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I Know

Activity: Run
Date: 01/06/09 06:38 PM
Distance: 2.93 miles
Time: 0:31:26
Speed: 5.6 mph
Pace: 10' 43 min/mile
Calories: 283



Last night was the workout with the track club. We ran just about 8 laps, jogged on the turns, ran on the straight-away. (The above stats include the warm up run.) I met several new people who I was running next to in the warm up, then reunited with more people I knew from last year who weren't at the first meeting on Saturday. As for the workout, I have a lot to work on with posture and NOT LIMPING WHILE RUNNING. That's going to be tough because I can't see myself run to make the correction. One lady asked me if I was hurting. It doesn't hurt at all, it's just a little stiff. It wouldn't be stiff if I could have a massage just prior to running - just like in physical therapy, but that's never going to happen. I know it's going to take time for everything to be/appear "normal" again. Just so everyone knows, I am not going into this marathon training/running thing with reckless abandon. My doctors all know. I'll also be visiting the chiropractor in about a week.

Yesterday's song:
Snow (Hey Oh) - Red Hot Chili Peppers - 2nd Chances
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Snow (Hey Oh)

My husband and Son decided to finally to do a day trip to Big Bear for skiing and snowboarding. My son received a snowboard and the accessories for Christmas, and my husband just needed an excuse to get away for the day. I did my part by waking up just before 5 am to make the coffee and get the guys up, just so they could be ready and on their way around 6 am. The one and only thing they had to do for me was to remove a toilet from the front porch. Remember, several posts ago, we had the bathroom retiled. We also replaced the toilet, but the tile guys placed the old toilet on the front porch AND NEVER MOVED IT FROM THAT SPOT. That stupid toilet was my holiday decor for my front porch. I think I had asked them EVERY DAY since it was placed on the front porch to please remove it. Right before leaving for Big Bear, my son and husband lugged the heavy toilet down to the far end of the back yard, which is somewhat downhill. When they were almost all the way down, my husband lost his footing, fell backwards, and the toilet fell on him. My husband is OK, but did get a couple of bruises on the backs of his legs, and a pretty good scrape on his shin, requiring a few bandages and making his socks a little blood stained. I didn't know any of this happened until after they came home later on that day. He said he briefly thought about not going skiing that day, but he was just scraped up and felt good enough to to. Our son did all the driving, so that wasn't an issue. Oh, and, by the way, the toilet didn't suffer ANY damage. Not a chip, scrape or crack. The reason why we're getting rid of it is because it's hard to find parts for that particular model/brand. It's not a typical fixture. My husband went back to work the next day and shared what he did over his winter vacation... Now the entire office is teasing him about fighting a toilet and losing. As for the ski/snowboaring, my two guys had a great time.

Yesterday's song:

Wash - Pearl Jam

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Wash

...And now we interrupt my regularly scheduled blog ...

The folks over at Pro Wash contacted me through my blog to test their laundry detergent. At first I was reluctant, because they contacted me through my blog, but I took a chance and said I would try their product. A few weeks later, UPS delivered a full sized container of Pro Wash at no cost to me, as long as I reviewed it on my blog. It arrived during the holidays and the same the week I was sick with a cold, so I didn't get the chance to get really sweaty and dirty from running. Now that I'm better, I'm back to running, and my husband and son recently went snowboarding and skiing, which gave me a full load of smelly clothes to try the Pro Wash on. My husband even contributed a small blood stain from a scrape he received prior to skiing, (but I'll save that story for my next blog post.) The detergent is different than regular liquid laundry detergent. It's not thick, but don't let that fool you. I used a very small amount to pre-treat the blood stain, and it fizzed up and dissolved the stain. I probably should have diluted that small amount with a little water, first. I was surprised to see the fizz reaction to the blood stain. I used the recommended amount for my front loader washing machine for the rest of the smelly load. Everything came out clean, with not much of a scent of the detergent, and all the B.O. was gone. It claims to help retain the wicking properties of athletic clothing. I don't know about that, YET. The true test will be on my running socks, but I need to use it on a new pair. I haven't done a cost comparison yet, to determine if this product is cost effective, but if you buy brand name athletic clothes, I suppose using this detergent would justify the cost. Prior to trying Pro Wash I was using Kirkland Environmentally Friendly laudry detergent (Costco) with Oxy Clean for my running clothes. I don't spend a ton of money on my running clothes, (Target and Costco or on the clearance racks at RRS) however, I do buy the double running socks, which are never cheap, and that's where I would probably notice if the Pro Wash would retain my socks wicking properties. We shall see.

Back to my regular blogging tomorrow.

Saturday's song:
Misty - Johnny Mathis - Miss Rachel

PEACE

Misty

Activity: Run
Date: 01/03/09 08:42 AM
Distance: 1.92 miles
Time: 0:19:22
Speed: 5.9 mph
Pace: 10' 06 min/mile
Calories: 185

I went ahead and signed up for the San Diego Track Club again for this year. Last year my husband was a bit reluctant, but this year he looked forward to waking up to attend this morning's first meeting at 7 am in the drizzle and mist. I noticed there weren't as many people in attendance this year, but I also noticed that many people grabbed their info packet, t-shirt, and shoe ID and left. We stayed and listened to the the opening comments, met the coaches, did a warm up run, stretched, and ran some more. I found a comfortable spot in the middle of the C group, and I'm quite thrilled to be there. As far this morning's run went, I was pretty happy with getting an almost 10 minute mile average without pushing it too hard. Last year I had a little anxiety about being right between the B and C groups (I averaged between a 8:30 to 9:00 minute mile) and eventually I found my comfort zone with track workouts with the C group and long runs with the B group. (FYI, C group is a 9:30 minute mile and slower, B group is 7:30 to a 9 minute mile, A group is a 7 minute mile and faster.) This year it isn't about a time goal. It's about being there and taking care of unfinished business. This will most likely be the last time I train for and run in a marathon. The picture is supposed to be of our beloved head coach Paul talking about the track club , but it was starting to drizzle and I hurried to get a picture with my cell phone, making it look like you need your glasses on to see it. As I had already stated, a lot of people did not stick around because of the weather, but I did see plenty of familiar faces and a lot of hugs were exchanged. My husband was equally happy to see familiar faces, too. Oh, and our C group is called "Air Supply." Ick. All's I can think of is the song "All Out Of Love" on the easy listening station we had to have on the radio at another doctor's office I worked at. The song is just OK, but it's played in the same set of about 12 easy listening songs over and over again. So much for a hard pumping, motivational running song.

Yesterday's song:
Always On My Mind - Willie Nelson

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Always On My Mind

In 2008 I...

Joined the San Diego Track Club.

Discovered that a lot of runners don't weight train, and a lot of weight lifters don't run.

Had two personal records in the 10K and 15k distances.



Met a bunch of really great people through the track club and my blog. (I'm missing a bunch of pictures - I met MANY people!)







Ran faster long distances than I ever had before.

Broke my leg and had surgery just about 3 weeks before the marathon I was training for.

Found out how lucky I am to have such wonderful friends and family.

Discovered how noisy and un-restful staying in the hospital is.

Volunteered at the 23.5 mile hydration table at the marathon.

Went on a cruise and met more great people from the PDB and JSF sites.



Discovered that all the hardware in my leg does not set of the security alarms at the airport.

Escaped tropical storm Fay before it hammered Florida.

Spent a lot of time at physical therapy so I could walk normally, again.

Began running again in the Fall.

Participated in a comeback 5k in November, my slowest ever, and still beat my husband.

Baked and cooked more of my own food from scratch and used less pre-packaged and fast foods.

Lost and gained the same 5 pounds over, and over, and over again, but lost muscle and didn't get that back.

Found out that my injury was a fluke occurrence and nothing related to disease or age.

Celebrated 26 years of marriage.


For 2009 I am looking forward to...

Celebrating my dad's 80th birthday with the whole family.

Volunteering more often.

Being a more active part of my grandson's education and well being.

Running more 5k's, and perhaps a final marathon.

Celebrating my 50th birthday.

Meeting more bloggers and getting reacquainted with the ones I have already met.

Reuniting with old friends, even if that means traveling to where they are.

Rekindling my passions for things I used to enjoy doing, such as art, music, photography, etc.

Working out to regain muscle and tone.

Having more fun and chillin' out.

Pay closer attention to getting my house to look like I really like it, instead of someplace I have to live at. (Pride of ownership.)

Heavy duty gardening.

Returning the kindness others have shown me.

Yesterday's song:
Brand New Day - Sting - Be A Good One
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Brand New Day

I had intended to blog before the year was up, but we were going out, having people over, and dealing with other everyday life happenings. I had very little computer time. I think I did manage to stop over at a few blogs to put in my two cents, but I wasn't much in the mood for writing about anything from my end. Not even filler. I was pondering doing a synopsis of 2008, complete with bullet points. I also though about writing out my goals for 2009. I have no energy to do either. I'm still a wee bit tired from ringing in the new year with our close friends. (The food and champagne were awesome, by the way.) The sentiment I've been hearing amongst friends and family is that 2009 needs to be a much better year, and so far, it's off to a pretty good start. I might work on my 2008-2009 lists with in my next post or so.

As usual, my husband and I went on our New Year's Day walk in the neighborhood this morning. Notice the look of utter joy and liveliness on my face. I'm still half asleep... Yes, I did get my hair chopped off. I'm guessing about 4 inches of length is gone. Kelly, my hair stylist, came up with "how about we do something different?" I was all for something different, and she was kind of surprised that I was so agreeable. I trust Kelly. If she thought shaving my head would be the best option I probably would have gone with it. (No, not really, but there's a huge level of trust -- I started going to her after someone else wrecked my hair color.) I do prefer my hair longer, but all of the medications I was on caused my hair to become weak and break off. It's growing back, but my longer hair looked quite stringy between the new growth and the the length I already had. I'm not used to my thin hair, and I'm also not used to this new hair style. It looks better than how it was, though. Kelly and her magic beauty tools helped my hair to appear a little fuller.

Yet another view of Mission Bay:

Before I forget, here's a couple of pictures of the bathroom. Keep in mind that it used to have a cheesy white particle board vanity with a faux green marble sink, light pink and mint green aluminum tiles that should have been replaced YEARS ago. Yes, you've read that right, aluminum tiles. They were gross and falling off. I'm so happy with how it looks now.



I have plans to put in a nicer shower curtain rod that goes behind the arch instead of below it. My family needed to used that shower, so we just put up a standard curtain and rod until I can take the time to actually make the curtain the right way. We still need a towel bar for the sink and a curtain for that window on the left, but the major remodel is done. The glass block window and round mirror were already there.

Monday's song:
Joy To The World - Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Vanessa Williams, Julie Andrews, Josh Groban, Faith Hill, etc. - Run-DMZ

PEACE