Tuff Enuff

I spent one pain free week, then I tweaked out my left ankle at my very last Run Fit class. Doh! It figures, that with the Las Vegas Rock 'n' Roll half marathon THIS Sunday, I go and do something to throw things off. It's not a serious ankle tweak, it just feels off. With an already slow training season, this ankle tweak just means I'll be slower. Ah, well.

Since I trained with Rehab United for this race, I'll be wearing one of these bright yellow tech t-shirts:

For some reason I couldn't get the lighting just right, but the lettering is bright blue.Our group should be easy to find.  I think there will be about 25 of us this year.

I still need to pack. Gloves and scarves will be in the wardrobe.  It's going to be a wee bit too cold for this Southern Californian.


Sunday's Song:
Walk With Me  - Neil Young

PEACE

D'yer Mak'er

Yee-haw!  One week back at work full time and I've already put in overtime.  Due to the actions of the ghosts of employees past, there's a lot of  corrections to be made, pick up the ball that was dropped, and bring everything up to speed.  I realize I have plenty of catching up to do, but it's coming back rather quickly.  Every night before I leave they say:

"No texting or e-mail messages, OK?"
"We know where you live!"
"We'll make you come back!" 

The reason being is that their last two employees quit by text message and e-mail.  I'm glad to be back, even though it seems overwhelming at times. I know everything will fall into place.  I've been to this rodeo before.

Running is happening, slow, but it's happening. I'm still dealing with shin splints, although they are less sore. My last run before the Las Vegas Rock 'n' Roll half was less than stellar, but I got it in, hills, shin splints and rain.

We were supposed to do a flat run out by the bay, but we had a social networking group join us for the run, and we met out at the RU facility in Sorrento Valley, and it was much easier for the group to meet indoors, especially since it had been raining that morning. This group handled their runs differently than what I'm used to. Instead of sending people out by pace (all the 8 to 9 minute milers take off, then the 9 to 10 minute milers, etc), they sent people out by how far they we running. I was running with a pretty nice group until we arrived to the intersection where the people running 6 miles went one way, and the people running 11 miles went another way. I suddenly found myself alone, since I was the only woman over age 40 running more than 6 miles at a much less than an 8 minute mile. I don't mind the alone time, though, but that's when I was going up hill. The shins weren't too happy with me. This had to be one of the slowest runs I've had lately, but I just wanted to get in the 11 miles without walking. The run up Coast Highway through Del Mar, to the "Welcome to Solana Beach" sign is actually a pleasant run, especially early in the morning. I didn't take pictures, but it was also quite damp out, and a camera would have been a moot point, unless it was waterproof. I avoided any heavy rain until I had only a half mile to go. You just can't outrun Mother Nature. A nice, steady shower hit. It's one of those rain showers that's great if you're indoors with a hot beverage in front of a fireplace. Alas, I was running underneath the I-5 at that point, watching the rain from the underneath the bridge and I really wanted to finish. It would have been easy to just stand there until the rain let up, but maybe it would rain for hours. I made myself run the half mile in the rain back to the warm confines of RU. It honestly wasn't a huge stretch or feat to run in the rain, it was actually kind of nice. Running in the rain gave me the excuse to explain my slow pace, but we all know better.

There's so much more to talk about, especially about work -- it's like a sit-com -- but my mind is toast. 'Nite.

Thursday's (November 11, 2010) Song:
Sweet Serendipity -  Lee DeWyze

PEACE

Ramble On

Anything but a Wordless Wednesday...

RAMBLING RANDOMNESS

FYI, in my last post the dog is trying to eat the bubbles and having fun.  When she was much younger she would love to chase the bubbles with a "woohoo!!!" attitude.

It figures that now we're  into November the weather is more summer-like.  I'm  not complaining one bit, but after the overcast and sometimes cold summer, I am enjoying the warmer weather.

 Clear skies.  

I know, not exciting.  This is the view from the parking structure of my doctor's office.

Running has been less productive as I would like.  I just can't get beyond the shin splints, still.  The right leg is OK, it's the left leg shin that will scream at me when I run anything beyond 5 miles.  It's not as sore as it was just a few weeks ago.  I know if I just stopped running for 3 weeks I could probably get rid of the shin splints once and for all, but  with a half marathon in about 4 weeks I can probably take one week off.  My mileage base isn't what it used to be, either.  The most I've run (at one time since about August) is 7 miles at one time.  Not good.  I'm all set for a slow 10K, not a half marathon.  My weekly mileage has suffered, too.  I've been running about 10 to 15 miles a week -- Not good, either.  Yikes. I guess my strategy will be to enjoy the ride, so to speak. My pacing is off, too.  I should be running in the low 9 minute mile to mid/high 8 minute mile range for a half marathon, not 11s and 12s.  I was so looking forward to PRing at the Las Vegas Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon, but I guess it's not to be.  I also have a 5k THIS weekend that I was hoping to do well at, but I'll do well when I'm finished and enjoying the champagne brunch after the race is over.

I know every runner tends to go through some sort of slump due to injury or  unforeseen circumstances, but, come on already.  It has been over 3 years!  I haven't had a PR since 2007 or early 2008.  2008 was when I had the fractures and surgery.  2009 was all about rehabbing and rebuilding and I was happy just to get going again.  2010 started out hopeful  and I was making a ton of progress, but then it was one illness or injury after the next.  Perhaps I need another odd number year.  2011?  Please?

Remember those Nike Lunarglide + 2 test shoes?  I LIKED THOSE, a lot.  They're more comfortable and durable that I expected they would be.  I've had past  issues with Nike's not lasting more than 100 miles, which isn't good for marathon training.  I've put well over 100 miles on those Lunarglides and they have hundreds of miles in them.  From what I've heard,  they're featured in the November 2010 Runner's World Magazine*.  They didn't use my 2 cents, but I thought I'd give those a positive mention , anyway.

Currently, I'm testing the Saucony Pro Grid Jazz 14.  I've had these a couple of weeks.  They're super durable and, for a neutral shoe, are really supportive.  These feel much firmer than other neutral shoes I've used, but Saucony's are durable and can usually take a beating.  Bonus points that they're not making my shin splints worse.  I still have my Sauconys from a wear test I did well over a year ago, and those still have a lot of run left in them.

Although the pastel green color is minimal, I still have issue with pastel colors on my running shoes, however, the mostly black, white and silver overlays and details makes up for it. 

Last week I pulled a muscle in my right hamstring while at my RU Run Fit Class.  As usual, I wasn't doing anything extraordinary.  We were doing warm up exercises when the cramp suddenly came on.  Most of the discomfort is gone, but every once in a while  I feel that minor tension in my hammy.  Sheesh.

Halloween came and went.  The kiddo went as Ironman.  His mother went to a party as a version of Lady Gaga the night before. I didn't dress up this year. Call me crazy, but I stayed home with the dog and doled out candy to the 30 trick or treaters who came by.   Go me.  My daughter took the kiddo trick or treating closer to our house and Hubs took the kid trick or treating on a second shift in a different part of the neighborhood.  It's not like the kid needed any more candy, I just think Hubs really likes trick or treating, plus there's a street in our neighborhood that caters to the adults and hands out bowls of chili and Dixie cups filled with margaritas.

Tuesday I was at the rental house waiting for the new renter to show up with a rent check.  She called to say she'd be about 30 minutes late.  I decided to walk my old run route in that neighborhood. Not much has changed there, other than a few more homes are up for sale, but I put in my 2 mile loop.   It was a beautiful day in the old neighborhood.

Since I had my cell phone with me, I used the GPS running program, however I just found out that Bones In Motion is closing shop and we can transfer our past data to another application.**  That's nice, but my cell phone doesn't work with the new application.  My cell phone carrier is not supported.  I was planning to post that map here, but now I can't.  SIGH.  I need to migrate  three years worth of data over to the new application so I don't lose it, but it won't migrate everything, such as my notes on the run and mile splits. Now I'm really glad that I have my Garmin, but that means I need to remember to wear it every single time I run, and I don't always remember to wear it.

It's kind of funny that, as adults, we still receive stickers.  Here's two I've just received:

I always expect the "I Voted" sticker.

I did not expect the nurse to slap a sticker on me for getting a flu shot.

I'm still going though testing to figure out the intermittent fatigue I've been dealing with all summer.  Today I gave more blood for allergy testing, although I have no idea which allergies I'm being tested for. I really should have been given a referral to an allergy specialist, but we'll see if anything shows up.

Finally, I was rummaging through several item that were in storage.  I came across a series of watercolors and inks that I created when I was a sophomore in high school...  19*cough*74*cough*...

This was before the advent of disposable, pre-filled tech pens and Prismacolor felt tipped pens that comes in ten-thousand colors.  I used cake water colors, sabline brushes, and a traditional fine point calligraphy pen and dipped that into a vial of India ink over and over again.  That really was so old school.  My style has changed so much since that time due to time.  That particular piece took weeks to do in a twice a week, two hour art class.  I don't think I would have the patience to do anything like that at this time in my life.  I take that back.  With the disposable, pre-filled tech pens and Prismacolor felt tipped pens the process would probably be faster, but it still would take more than one day.  I'd rather be out running.

Last Wednesday's Song:
Something Good This Way Comes - Jakob Dylan

PEACE

*I still have not received that issue. 
** I don't care for it.  BiM offered more data. 

Keep My Head High

I really wasn't planning a blog hiatus, but the past couple of weeks have been crazy busy.  Most of the crazy had to do with our rental house.  I'll go into details about the rental house later.  Right now I just need to catch up.

I'm still dealing with shin splints, however the soreness isn't as bad as it was just a couple of weeks ago.  I've only run once in the past two weeks, twice if we count the Run Fit class at RU last night, but that was not continuous running -- We did circuit training.  I've also  made a discovery that the custom orthotic for my left shoe is most likely a contributor to making my shins splints worse than they needed to be.  I took the orthotic out of my left shoe and replaced it with the original insole that the shoe came with.  Guess what?  I had little to no discomfort in my shin.   At the Run Fit class I was able to SPRINT for the first time since about August, and there's no next day overwhelming soreness or pain. *WHEW* I must add that I still can't do a lot of side to side movements, but when I run it's not side to side -- it's forward.  I like moving forward, and not just with running.

My dad left for for a Mediterranean cruise last week.  I'm not sure of all the ports, but Morocco and the Egyptian Pyramids are on the itinerary.  It's the perfect trip for him.  He's traveling with a group from his church.

The same day my dad left for his cruise was the same day my cousin came up from Ensenada, Baja California - Mexico.  The plan was for her to stay at my dad's house while he was away, but he forgot to leave the keys with us.  My cousin had a lot of business to take care of while she was here and she ended up staying with us until we could have a set of keys sent down from Fremont, CA where my brother lives. It was great catching up with my cousin, but she needed a lot of assistance with looking for particular businesses and agencies.  It's a long story, but her purse was stolen with all of her identifications in it, including her Military ID, California Driver's License, her Mexican residence ID, and so on.  She was planning to stay with us only one or two days until the keys arrived, but it turned into four since a couple of agencies required long waits in line, such as the DMV.  The advantage to my cousin's stay with us is that we were able to catch up on all of the relatives happenings and  incidental gossip in addition to a lot of thought provoking conversations about spirituality.

My cousin is a veterinarian.  It was funny that my cats and dog seemed to know she was an animal person.  My cat, Lumpy, would not leave hear alone at all. 

Computer companion

Since just before the end of September we were dealing with our rental house.  A friend of ours had lived there for over three years, but work was about an hour drive one way.  He decided to move closer to work.  He kept telling us that he was working on cleaning the house and getting it ready for the next renter.  Hubs and I figured all we needed to do was  paint and shampoo the carpets, plus some small repairs and a little yard work.  We were wrong.  So many things were broken or dirty beyond cleaning.  We were shocked.  Our friend hired a cleaning company to help him out, but it was so dirty that even the cleaning company charged him extra... and it was still not up to par when the cleaning company left.  Trash and rotten food were left behind in the driveway.  Some personal items were left behind, even though our friend said he took everything and that other stuff was ours.  In all fairness, we did keep a few things in the garage, but mostly Hubs' drafting equipment, a desk, a dresser, rolled up blueprints, and a few toys from when the kids were little, but that's all. These items were all off to the side and out of the way.   Our friend's kid's photo album, some of his furniture, bird care supplies and clothing items were definitely not ours.  We have a long list of things that were broken and needed to be replaced such as entire closet doors.  We really did not expect this since he rented another house from Hubs folks a few years back and everything was fine.  Our friend was expecting his security deposit back, but the cost of getting everything fixed and cleaned exceeded that dollar amount.  Needless to say, our friend is a bit miffed with us, but mostly with Hubs since they handled the agreement together. I'm not sure what will happen with this relationship, and I hope we can get past this mess.    

Hubs and my son worked at the house every singe day for the past two weeks painting and doing repairs.  My cousin even helped us a few hours hauling trash and cleaning cupboards.  I sanded and varnished the kitchen floor and part of the living room floor.  I also spent time scrubbing various things like greasy drawer pulls in the kitchen, the mold off of the ice and water dispenser on the refrigerator door, and the fireplace that was left full of soot, ashes, and wood.*  Since we didn't rent a dumpster, we put trash in receptacles where ever we could, which meant hauling bags of garbage to our house, my inlaw's house,  my sister-in-law's house, a neighbors house (she offered) and  my dad's house.  New carpet has been installed and everything is beyond ready for the renter, who should have moved in when our friend moved out.

*SIGH* 

 If that weren't enough, someone rear ended the back bumper of Hubs' car while he was idling at a stoplight after a trip to Home Depot, buying items to finish fixing up the rental.  No one was hurt, just the bumper.  Hubs had to laugh because it has been a draining past couple of weeks -- then the car gets bumped.  At some point you just have to laugh because it's so ridiculous.

If there's an upside, sanding and varnishing floors is a really good workout.

Now that we have some momentum going, we need to get back to caring for the house we live in.  I need to sand and refinish parts of the dining room floor where the dog likes to hang out.

My boss turned 60 last week.  She looks amazing for 60.  If you met her you would never guess that she's even close to 60.  There's something to be said about healthy living. Her family arranged a surprise party and had a small gathering.  I was quite touched to be included since I haven't been summoned to the office in several months due to a very stable staff. One of my former co-workers flew in from Texas to be here for the occasion.  It was so good to see her again.  This birthday event was somewhat like a family reunion, even though it was people I have worked with.  I guess it's a good thing when you can consider people you work with as family.   I thought Hubs brought a camera, but he didn't use it.  My boss was given a toga, crown and gold tone asps to wear at her party.  It was great.  I must explain that my boss is notorious for pranks, and you know what they say about payback.  It was awesome.

Good news.  My daughter finally got into San Diego State University.  SDSU was being a bit stingy with admissions, but recently let more students in. SDSU is only a 15 minute drive down the interstate, but it will take much longer just to find parking.

Saturday, October 16, is my daughter's 27th birthday.  Since she has a gig working behind the scenes at a college play on Saturday evening, we'll be taking her out for lunch.  She has plans to spend next  weekend  in Las Vegas to celebrate.
 

1983

2010

There's plenty of blog fodder ruminating in my head, but there's so much that it would quality as the longest blog post ever if I were to write it all down.  Two extremely busy and emotional weeks will fill a head.  I'll spare you all.  Besides, there's too much fodder to even process.  I'm exhausted.

Song from 9/29/2010:
It Happens - Sugarland

PEACE


*My cousin kept calling me "Cinderella."

It Happens

I received almost ALL of my lab results back.  I'm still waiting to do the pulmonary tests in a few days.  Nothing unusual showed up which would explain my fatigue, but I was sort of stunned to see that my cholesterol was borderline high.  I exercise and run on a regular basis. My weight and BMI are within a normal range for my height. I eat really healthy 5 to 6 days a week, with a couple of splurges during the week, usually Thursday date night with Hubs and maybe a one meal splurge with breakfast or dinner on Saturday or Sunday.  I rarely eat foods that would cause my cholesterol to be high, and I eat a lot of foods that are supposed to help it stay low.  I'm perplexed, but genetics is a funny thing.

Saturday morning's group run with Rehab United turned out to be just Hubs and myself.  Everyone else had other plans or run events.  We ran from the RU 2 location near Sorrento Valley Road to the Coast Highway near Torrey Pines State Park and back.  Hubs has never run this route before and I needed to slow my pace so that he could keep me in sight, but it was just as well because of my shin splints.  We ran about 5 miles. Lucy says it was 4.9, but I forgot to hit the start button when we set out.

The novelty for the morning was sun.  All summer our runs have been with overcast skies.  We haven't had much of a Summer this year, and it figures that we're a few days into fall and we get hit with hot weather.  It was inching into the 80s by the time we were finished with our run.  I managed to get a decent photo of this stretch of run along the coast with my cell phone camera:

I almost forgot what clear skies looked like! It was gorgeous.

Here comes Hubs. He's wearing a blue shirt, almost in the center of the picture.

Just so you know, shin splints still suck. Shin splints make it hard to achieve runner's high.

My son turned 23 on Wednesday.  He didn't want a big to-do because he was volunteering at the food bank.  I made him chicken enchiladas with all the trimmings, which he later ate, and we still had a cake with candles and sang  "Happy Birthday To You" because we just HAD to.  Hubs made margaritas because I said he had to, and, well, why not?

Cheers!

Also on Wednesday, Evan came home from school with a different smile. It turns out one of his buddies at school assisted him by pulling out his dangle-y tooth.

I'm surprised Evan let his buddy pull out the tooth since he didn't let any of us near it.

A friend of ours, Tim,  is temporarily in town to say goodbye to his father who passed away last week.  I met Tim a zillion years ago at a church group function while in high school.  We dated for a few months until he thought he found the love of his life* and dumped me. It's just as well because Tim was a lousy boyfriend, but turned out to be a good friend, and I met Hubs through him.  Saturday afternoon we attended  a "Celebration of Life" for Tim's father instead of a funeral.  It was actually quite lovely.  Family and friends met at Tim's parent's house, and three military (Navy) personnel were there to present the flag and play taps. Tim,  his brother, and sister-in-law each said a few heartfelt words about their father, then we proceeded into the house for a reception, and to reminisce while viewing a slide show of happier times.  We were also able to catch up with friends from the past, such as the lady (who was the girl) Tim dumped me for, and other mutual friends. It was somewhat of a walk down memory lane.  It was a bittersweet event, not only because of the passing of Tim's father, but because his mother attended and is dealing with the latter stages of Alzheimer's disease.  It was the first time she had been back to the house in a few years, and will be the last because the house will be sold. It's hard to let go, sometimes, but there are always the memories.

Tuesday's Song:
Push - Matchbox Twenty

PEACE

*She ended up dumping Tim for someone else and got married.  ;) ... and everyone sort of lived happily ever after.  Tim now resides in Texas and is happily married to his  lovely wife Kristi, and has two teen-aged children. Tim's family could not make the trip from Texas.

Push

Wow.  I have a moment.   I can get in some blogging...

I did see the doctor last week for the fatigue I've been dealing with.  He ordered  fasted blood tests (thyroid, iron, vitamin D, adrenals, celiac panels, B 12, etc) and a pulmonary function test.  The fasted blood tests are done, and now I'm just waiting on my appointment for the pulmonary tests.  He also put me on a steroid inhaler (Qvar) in hopes that will help open up my lungs more, and to see if that helps lessen the fatigue. 

I started working out with a group on Thursday evenings with Rehab United. Last Thursday we did endurance testing.  Last year I kicked bootay.  This year...  um, not so much.  Most of my numbers were cut in half.  I couldn't do nearly the same number of push ups and pull ups I could do last year.  The fatigue has really taken it's toll on me. I guess the good thing is that I now have a new baseline to start with, and I know I can get it back if I just keep pushing through -- at least I hope it works out that way.   The only thing that looked half way decent was my timed mile.  We were supposed to run one mile as hard and fast as possible.  I was timed at about 7:15 for that mile, but I think that's wrong.  We run around the complex where RU is located, which is just under 400 meters by several feet.  We ran 4 times around the complex, and I know that's just short of a mile.  I'm guessing that my  mile is more like 7:45 or 8:00.  It's certainly possible that I could run 7:15 for just one mile if I'm busting out some speed, but I wasn't, except for maybe the last 100 yards or so. I didn't have my Garmin with me, so I couldn't check exact time or distance.  The good part about working out on Thursdays is that I'm with people I already know from last year's group, and they're a lot of fun.

The last time I ran was Saturday morning with the Rehab United group.  The plan was a 40 minute, time on your feet run. Most of the people who showed up ran about my pace or under, which is unheard of.  Last year I was the slow-poke of the group since most everyone's slow pace was an 8 minute mile.  (Yeah, yeah, speed is all relative, but when you're shooting for an 10 or 11 minute mile for a long run, there's a lot of waiting around involved on their parts.)  Our fearless leader, Justin, and his girl friend were the speedy ones -- probably in the mid 7s, low 8s.  I  held an average 9:30 m/m for  the 4.4 miles I ran, but I just couldn't push harder than that due to my ongoing issue with shin splints and fatigue.  I should be able to hold around a 9 minute mile with ease. I was a little frustrated, but glad I was able to hold my own without going any slower.  I was able to pace with my friend Renata, and I think having her just slightly ahead of me kept me from slowing. Renata and I came in ahead of the group, which was a novelty to me.  I'm NEVER at the head of any running group when it comes to speed.  (This year several people are opting out of the Las Vegas trip due to the expense, and a lot of those people were MUCH faster than me.) Everyone else came in just after us, so it's not like we were channeling our inner Kenyans - we were just pushing through as best as possible.  As for my left shin, it was not too happy with me.  I even wore compression socks, which helped tremendously, but still not a fix for my screaming shin.

I booked air fare and a room for the Las Vegas Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon. I was planning to register for the half marathon on line, but the processing fee is $11.00. That's just ridiculous. I thought I'd be able to use my $10.00 discount code, but that processing fee negates the discount. I'll sign up the old fashioned way, with pen and paper and no processing fee, AND a $10.00 discount through Rehab United.

Just in case, if you're planning to run Las Vegas, a lot of the hotel web sites say they're sold out for that Saturday. Call the toll free number and ask for group reservations. I was able to book a room at Luxor that way, even though the site said it was sold out.

My sister and her husband were in town last weekend. They are so happy to be back in California, and the job transfer has been smooth. They stayed in Coronado at the Glorietta Bay Inn and we were able to share dinner with them. We (sort of) celebrated my brother-in-law's birthday. Long story short ... BUT, He was constantly joking around with our server, so she brought out a huge slice of mud pie  -- on the house. Hubs suggested a candle for the mud pie because it WAS (supposedly) my brother-in-law's birthday. Not really, his birthday was in July, but since there was a mud pie, it only seemed fitting that someone was sung to.

We were all laughing, not only because it wasn't his birthday, but because the people at the adjacent tables were singing, too. The server was a really good sport.  PS: That's my sister on the right side.

Monday's Song:
I'm Gonna Love You Just a Little More - Barry White

PEACE

I Shall Believe

I was hoping that with the start of school would mean time to catch up on blogging and checking in more regularly, but it hasn't quite worked out that way. I don't know whose idea it was to have school start the day after Labor Day, but it always makes for a very short and busy week.

Right after Labor Day, Hubs and I went to see Sheryl Crow in concert at Humphreys.  Most of the songs were from her new CD "100 Miles From Memphis, " but several of her well known hits were scattered through out the show.  The encore included her hit "All I Wanna Do" and a Michael Jackson tribute "I Want You Back."  She puts on a great show and we were in awe of her extremely talented band and back-up singers. Hubs is more of the Sheryl Crow fan than I am, but I had a lot of fun, too.

4th row, center.  

Hubs snapped this photo. 

Sheryl Crow is super fit, by the way.  She has some serious muscles, and looked fabulous.  You can't fake a healthy lifestyle, that's for sure.

I hooked up with Rehab United to train for the Las Vegas Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon in December. I missed the first group strength training class because I had prior plans, but I made it to the first group run. There were only 7 of us for a 30 minute run, but several people were participating in other running and sporting events. We should see more people this weekend. I ran about 3.2  miles, but it felt like a lot more.

Running isn't as effortless as it should be these days.  I just can't fight the fatigue I've been dealing with all summer. I'd have a glimmer of energy for a day or two, but it doesn't last.  It's not like I haven't been running, I would do at least 4 to 6 miles for most of my Saturday runs while concentrating on building speed, plus do some high intensity interval training on the treadmill gym during the week, run at the bay or my neighborhood once or twice a week, and fit in a weekly session at RU. I believe this is something other than just a case of feeling burnt out and is not psychosomatic.  On top of the fatigue I've been dealing with a ridiculous case of shin splints in my left inner shin. Newbies get shin splints from wrong shoes, running too fast, far, too soon. I'm far from newbie status, but the shin splints started (a few weeks ago) when I was wearing heels, and would sort of go away after I warmed up while running. Now the shin is just constantly reminding me that it's there, warmed up or not. I'm doing all the stretches that I'm supposed to do, massaging it with the stick, plus ice. I even backed off running a bit last week. I'm not sure if the shin splint is a result of the fatigue I've been dealing with, but I have plans to call the doctor this week.  Good times.

In other news,  I just found out that I'm going to be a great aunt!  My niece is expecting her first baby in early December.  I'm not sure why things were kept secret for so long, but we're all excited.  My grandson is excited to finally have another kid in the family.

Wednesday's Song:
Be True To Your School - The Beach Boys - Run-DMZ

PEACE

Don't Stop Believing

 Guard(en) dog

It has been kind of a long and busy week.  I even missed Wordless Wednesday.  I would have posted the above picture. I'll try to catch up as best as possible without putting you all to sleep.

Tuesday
Went into orthopedics for X rays and chat with a PA. The PA seemed to think my bone was calloused over enough and I could resume normal activity, with reason. She suggested building up to running again, giving myself 3 weeks to do so. The boot got the boot and they don't want to see me any more! 9 weeks is how long it took for the bone to heal enough. It's still healing, but now I can move around without that boot again.

Wednesday
I went in to my usual RU session. I had sent Bryan my very last set of x-rays, and he knew I was good to go. First thing he gives me a big hug because I've been given the OK to resume "normal" life, but then it's business as usual, and I was back to a really good and sweaty workout. He also had me work out longer than normal. My time slot is usually an hour, but I put in about 2 hours, plus I had my foot and shin worked on due to shin splints from the 6 mile walk last Saturday, then ice. The the foot massage still isn't a fun experience, but having the shin worked on was extra special. I really had to dig super deep to find my happy place. He said it would feel better later, but in the mean time he told the PT next to him to hide all sharp objects from me, because I might hurt him after that therapeutic massage. Oww.  All joking aside, I no longer had any foot discomfort what-so-ever because my shin hurt so much after that.

After fun and games at RU, I actually set foot in Costco. I was very aware of foot placement in conjunction to other people's carts. I wouldn't use the term "paranoid." I was just more mindful. It figures that in the time I've been out, they've rearranged where they put some of their items. I couldn't find the only dog treats my dog will eat, but I did discover chocolate Cheerios and big bags of precooked frozen brown rice.

Once I got out of Costco I soon discovered two phone messages from my grandson's school. He's sick and his mommy isn't available, and it's up to me to rescue him. Poor kid. He was pretty miserable with his "throat on fire," but didn't have a fever. The fever kicked in later, though. Mommy took him to the doctor but there's still no infection, it's just a bad cold/flu.

Thursday
I stayed at home with the kiddo. He's feeling good one minute, lousy the next. He camped out on the sofa with a big blanket, some herbal tea and toast while I sat next to him and hemmed my jeans, the ones I bought at AKA Alice's party a over month ago. I actually had some place to wear my new jeans!

Thursday evening Hubs and I went to a MS fundraiser sponsored by RU. It was held at the Double Deuce downtown, only $20 per person, which included 2 drinks, substantial appetizers and a raffle ticket. The Double Deuce is sort of a Western-ish bar/night club, complete with electrical bull riding and a stripper pole. The stripper pole was in the same area as the appetizers and I made the mistake of leaning on it, to which Hubs immediately made some snarky comment. Sheesh. I was able to catch up with a lot of people who ran the Las Vegas Rock 'n' Roll Marathon and Half Marathon in December '09. People paid to see the PT's ride the bull, with all the proceeds going to the MS Society. I also got to see my PT, Bryan, ride the bull, which was pretty funny, since he was wearing a few pairs of underwear and a pink women's tank top.

He really needs to come out of his shell...

Not just the guys did this.  Jessica, a PT, was amongst several of the women who rode!

Friday
The kiddo is still sick at home. He spent the morning sleeping. I took that time to garden a little, and discovered that some insect got into the roots of my seedlings and killed a whole bunch of them. I did what I could to save the rest and I might have planted a few too early, but with the hopes that they'll do better in the ground.

Friday evening Hubs and I attended a live art exhibit. A friend of ours paints models bodies, methodically and very strategically, then the model lays on a canvas or foam core board to make an imprint. It was quite the event and fascinating to watch.

  It was incredible to watch him work. 

Saturday


I went running with the track club. It started out as a walk/run, with a ratio of 2 minutes of walking to 2 minutes of running. That walk/run thing only lasted for about the first couple of miles. I found it less stressful to actually run, but at a much slower than normal pace. If it were not for the stop lights I probably would have ran the entire way back. I wasn't intending to put in 9.3 miles, but I felt good and just went with it. We also had PERFECT running weather, which was cool and overcast. It felt chilly afterward, while we were sitting on the grass listening to our guest speaker. Even though the speaker was fun to listen to, I was chilled and decided to warm up in the car. My foot feels OK, just a little weirdness in the ankle, but my knees are telling me that there's a storm on the way, but that has been an ongoing issue due to arthritis. I don't feel thrashed or as if I had never run before. 9 weeks is a good chunk of time off from running, and I feared not being able to handle more than the 6 miles I walked last week. I could of handled 13.1 slow miles today.

Hubs brought his camera on today's run:

 Mik and AKA Alice

"C group, GO!"

The next couple of weeks are going to be busy ones:

• Getting in what ever running I can get in, within reason, of course.
• Making sure my garden survives.  Some of my seedlings in K Cups were eaten at the roots. Stupid bugs.
• My sister and husband will be in town for a week.
• My in-laws are celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary.
• My daughter is graduating from community college with two degrees.
• My nephew will be in and out of town (a few times).
• The pasta dinner with the SDTC is the Friday before the marathon, and it's going to be a full house.  
• The 2010 San Diego Rock 'n' Roll Marathon and Half Marathon is in just two weeks.
• My birthday. Edit -- It's not until June
• Life.
• And laundry...  It goes on, and on, and on, and on...

Monday's Song:
Feelin' Alright - Joe Cocker


PEACE

Feelin' Alright

"May Gray" is now with us.  We've had such pleasant weather up until yesterday, where it stayed overcast all day long.  It never really warmed up, either.  If I were running it would actually be perfect weather.

On Saturday I decided to attend the track club's run.  This particular run is normally a 20+ mile run.  I'm still not ready to run, but I decided to walk and see how far I could go.  It has been over two months since I've run or even walked more than a couple of blocks.  I kept an open mind, but remained cautious.  This is also the first time I've been able to really test out the custom orthotics.  I've been wearing the orthotics since I first put them in my shoes, but walking further was a better test.   I had no specific distance goal, but I knew I wanted to put in at least a couple of miles.  Coach Paul stopped and walked with me for a short time just to make sure I was OK and inquired about my foot.  Several of my friends ran by in the opposite direction and it was cool to give out some high fives along the way.  It felt weird being at the very back of the pack, but I wasn't putting in the high miles, I just wanted to see what I could do.  Here's the route I took:

I did an out and back from Hospitality Point to Mariner's Point and back, logging in 6.3 miles.

I felt OK, and that 6.3 miles was just enough. I'm not sure if it's the orthotic or if it's my left foot overcompensating in different places, but I have a shin splint near the outer side of the left calf. Shin splints are normally caused by going too fast or far too soon, or the wrong shoes. In my case, I don't think it's going too fast or too far too soon, and I know it's not the shoes. I think it might be the custom orthotic in the left shoe and some overcompensation. I haven't had shin splints in YEARS. I've been doing the R.I.C.E. thing, which I do for my foot anyway, plus using the stick to massage the shin. I'll address this at RU on Wednesday.

I enjoyed reuniting with many of my friends again and seeing how wonderfully they're doing.

The "Welcoming Committee" did an awesome job and had a tape to run through at the end, plus a cooler full of Otter Pops.  That's Molly (and me) recreating running through the tape.  No, she didn't run in sandals. LOL.

Group photo.  Brownie points if you can find me.  I'm wearing a white hat.

Hubs did OK. He doesn't run with a GPS at all, but he thinks he put in about 16 or 17 miles.

Based on how I walked on Saturday, I can definitely WALK the half marathon under the 4 hour time limit. I might be able to attempt a walk/run pattern.  I just have to be open minded to whatever happens. I'm just happy to be participating.

Thursday's Song:
Such Great Heights - Postal Service E-Speed

PEACE

Such Great Heights

Randomness
As careful as I have tried to be, I still gained 5 pounds while not running.  While this is not a huge amount of weight gained, it's still weight gained that could easily double, then triple.  Been there.  When I do get back to running, it's going to be sort of like starting over again, and that includes paying super duper attention to every thing I eat.  I suppose running, for me, makes all the difference in maintaining my weight.  Due to my height (or lack thereof - I'm 5ft 3in) 5 pounds = a whole size.  NOTHING fits, unless it's stretchy, like yoga pants or running shorts, but those aren't fitting quite right, either.   I  haven't gone hog wild with eating, but it makes me realize that if I ever do stop running I better replace it with something that keeps me from gaining back the 30 pounds I initially lost about 10 years ago. *

I had an appointment at RU on Wednesday and did a real workout and worked up a real sweat.  It was great. I also had my foot worked on, and that wasn't so great. I'd say it was a foot massage, but that sounds like something relaxing with vanilla scented candles and  Enya's Watermark playing in the background.  This was anything but relaxing.  I tensed up.  I guess I'm subconsciously guarding my foot and anticipating pain.  I need to go to my happy place in my head. Once Bryan made me aware of my tense foot, I was able to relax a little more, but it wasn't vanilla scented candles and Enya's Watermark playing in the background.  It still hurt. Yes, there's a method to the madness, but holey moley guacamole. Ouch.

I've transferred my yellow squash and zucchini seedlings into the garden.  They look so tiny and unprotected out there, but those usually end up being large, productive plants.  The next seedlings to be transferred will be some of the romaine lettuce.  I'm having a tough time starting tomato seeds this year.  I might have to break down and just buy a tomato plant already started.

 My babies are growing!

This Saturday is a long run for the track club. For many of the runners it will be a 20 mile run, maybe more.  I won't be running at all, but I'm going to walk a couple of miles.  I need to do something.  I'm also missing my friends.   I'm not sure what Hubs has planned for that particular run, but even with PF, he's been doing well.

Do you ever have days where you feel like you're 12 years old, but only to be followed by days where you feel like you're 100?  My week has been as such. 

Yesterday's Song:
Worn Out Welcome - Jackie Greene

PEACE

*I cross train with weights and resistance bands, but without cardio, maintaining weight has been tough, and I would really have to cut calories to something ridiculous, and I'm not going that far.

Miles In These Shoes

I'm still busy not running.

Yesterday I attended an outing with my office gang. It seemed fitting that we would have dinner at PF Changs for Oriental-ish cuisine, seeing how it was Cinco De Mayo.* Actually, it was a birthday/good-bye party for a coworker, and PF Chang's was her choice since she can easily navigate around the menu with her allergies -- Mexican cuisine, not so much, especially if it's typical tourist food. Since I work on call and haven't been needed lately, it was a grand opportunity to catch up with everyone as best as possible.** Long tables don't lend to conversation with everyone, just with the people across or to the sides. I still had a wonderful time listening to coworkers plans for the summer and filled them in about my fun at Costco and a broken foot.

Since PF Chang's is at a mall, after dinner I visited Macy's to check out some Fit Flops. They have a thick sole and are relatively light, and they would beat wearing that blue boot with the velcro or the Frankenstein boot. Don't tell my doctor. They had quite a selection of Fit Flops, just not in my size. I did find one pair. This is what I ended up with:

Bling!

Yep. White with gold sequins. Not quite my style, but they beat the ortho boots, hands down. I was kind of looking for something neutral that I could wear in the garden and not worry too much if they got dirty. They're actually not too bad, and with a pair of jeans they're not all that glitzy. Too bad they weren't red sequins and then I could of had a Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz moment.

There's no place like home, or nothing like being injury free.

I wore the Fit Flops home. Hubs noticed them right away and said, "are those the shoes that make your ass big?" I responded with,"no, they're supposed to make it tight." He came back with, "yeah, make your ass big." *GAH!* He's an ass man. What else is there to say? Any way, the Fit Flops are very comfortable and do not bother my messed up foot. As far as the workout aspect of these shoes, I really can't tell much of a difference. Time will tell, I suppose.

My next doctor's appointment is in two weeks. I better see some progress on those x-rays, or I'm really going to have a moment in the doctor's office, and not a good moment. I am so over this.

Yesterday' Song:
Shine Through - Elton John

PEACE

*Cinco De Mayo really isn't a true Mexican holiday, but it sure is a good excuse for a damn good party.

** It makes me miss being at the office on a more regular basis. I keep checking to see if they need me, but they have been fortunate with a solid group of people. There was a time that I was called in just about every other week because someone would flake out and not show up for work, quit without notice, or be so inept that they would be asked to leave. Some people just don't live up to their resumes.

Waiting In The Weeds

PROGRESS REPORT. Sort of.

I set foot in Trader Joe's. I was guarding my foot so no one would step on it or ride over it with their carts, but TJ's has dinky little shopping carts and most of their wares and food items aren't that heavy, and there was nothing to worry about. I did go sans ortho-boot so I could wear my new orthotics. Sure, this really isn't earth shattering news, but I haven't really gone to the store since the Costco incident. I did go to Target once, but with that ortho-boot, and my ankle hurt something fierce afterward, and it's not my ankle that was injured. This time was rather uneventful, other than the timing, which was when hoards of college and high school students began to take their lunch breaks.

My skin IS breaking out in a itchy rash around the nape of my neck and around my left collar bone. I can't figure this one out, so it's back to selective food elimination. I can't think of what's causing the itchiness, since I haven't tried anything new with food, soaps, lotions, etc., or have done anything differently, but I've found that allergies come and go. Now I get to play food detective.

Gardening is in swing, and I should have a full garden in about a month. Snails or gophers ate some of my marigolds and zinnia seedlings, and I'm having to start all over with those. I knocked out some tall weeds and tilled a large section of the garden area by myself*. My vegetable seedlings are still separate, as I started those in small pots and used K-Cups. Those are doing well, so far. Corn was a bust, as none of the seeds germinated, but the seeds were from last year's seed batch. I'll start over with a new corn seed packet in about a week. Planted in the garden area are a row of strawberries transplanted from another section in the yard - last year's plantings, rosemary, jalapenos and poblano chilies.

Some of my babies.

I enjoy gardening, but I just don't get the same adrenaline rush from gardening as I do from running. Unless I'm tearing up soil with a hoe and pick ax, there's no adrenaline. Gardening tends to be a "Zen" type of thing, and I suppose it can be therapeutic and calming, but I need my running fix. I've also realized that I put all of my eggs in one basket with the running. Many people have suggested triathlons, but I'm not quite at that point in my head. I have the ability, I'm just need to be 100% on board with the idea, and I'm not right now. Maybe later. I need to figure out some sort of activity that gives me the same rush that running does, which does not require feet.

The San Diego Rock 'N' Roll Marathon/Half Marathon is looming with about one more month to go. Hubs did an 18 miler last weekend, but has just discovered that he has plantar fasciitis. I have to get on him about stretching and icing the foot, since he complains about it, but does nothing to remedy the situation. He's thinking about switching over to the half marathon. I'm encouraging him to stick with the whole. He's put in the miles already. I'm (mentally) set for the half. It concerns me that I haven't been able to do ANY training, but it will be around that time when I'll be able to at least walk/jog 13.1 miles. Unless there's some miracle, it will be my slowest half marathon ever, but I'm OK with that. Just being able to participate makes me very happy.

Thursday's Song:
Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Out Of - U2 - Run-DMZ

PEACE

PS
May the 4th be with you!

*The dog supervised.

Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Out Of

This morning I woke up thinking I should go for a run, then I remembered I couldn't.

F***ing injury.

I'm having a moment.

It's hard to keep a positive mind set when my entire schedule has been whacked due to this injury. I know that goes without saying, but that's how it is. The diversions I enjoy aren't available every day, either.

I had another ortho appointment on Tuesday and I honestly can't see a lot of improvement in the x-ray. Of course, I'm not am x-ray tech and I don't know what to look for, but it looks about the same as it did two weeks ago. The PA didn't say too much, just to return in three weeks. *gah* Three weeks...

Wednesday I had RU, which used to be twice a week, then was cut to once a week due to my PT Bryan's change of schedule, now it's every two weeks because of the injury. It was almost stretched out to the next three weeks due to my ortho appointment being in three weeks, but I don't think I could hold out an extra week. I still need THAT diversion at RU, even if it is two weeks apart.

At Wednesday's RU session I received my custom orthotics. I've heard mixed reviews about custom orthotics, and they're not cheap if your insurance does not cover them, but it was sort of like having a Cinderella moment when I tried them for the first time, except without the music, singing mice and prince charming. I have very high arches and the insoles I buy to accommodate my arches don't accommodate the entire foot properly. These babies felt really good, made just for my feet. Since they need to be "worn in" before running in them, now is the best time to do so, since I can't run right now. * In addition to receiving my new orthotics, Bryan had me do trimmed down versions of certain exercises, just to keep some mobility in my feet. He also worked on my foot and ankle, just to keep everything circulated. I mentioned that my calf muscle in my left leg was still pretty tight, even though it had been 6 months since I blew it out. I sort of forgot how brutal having my calf worked on can be. Silly me. I should have kept my mouth shut.

Yesterday's Song:
I'll Wait - Van Halen

PEACE

*A silver lining, I suppose.

Life in Technicolor

This Week's Recap:

1. Taxes - Done, and with several hours to spare! Woohoo! Paid some to Federal, getting some back from State.

2. Healing - Still in progress. 4 more weeks, I hope. Still using the bone stimulator.

3. Doctor's/orthopedics visits and Rehab United - Back to both in two weeks.

4. Marathon - Switched to the half. See #2.

5. House - Clean. I had someone else clean it.

6. Work outs - A lot of upper body bands stuff, push-ups, abs work, plus some squat matrices within reason.

7. Nutrition - Back to tracking. Trying to stay with in 1500 calories per day so I don't turn into an Oompa Loompa due to the lack of running. Will fine tune the macros later. Calories first.

8. Sugar Free Jello - A lifesaver.

9. Muscle Milk - No longer works for me. I broke out immediately, even though it's lactose free. *sigh* Back to square one and soy protein.

10. Daytime TV - Still sucks.

11. Dreams - Been having some weird ones. I had a dream I was a shopping at Macy's in Chicago, went to the top floor, but could only get to the first floor by getting on a water slide. In another dream my PT Bryan carried me across a football field while I was sitting in a Igloo ice chest. The crazy thing is that I've stopped taking pain meds 2 weeks ago, so I can't use the drug excuse. Analyze if you wish, but on the surface it seems I have travel issues, but how in the heck did I end up in an Igloo ice chest?

Yeah, I look *just* like this when I sleep. *cough*

12. Lentil stew with brown rice and warm, crusty bread - It's what's for dinner.

Wednesday's Song:
Winner - Justin Timberlake

PEACE

Melancolia

Randomness

Sunday was only the second time that I paid for a race in which I didn't run, and both times due to injury. The Carlsbad 5000 looked like a good course, plus there's no major elevation changes, just very small ones. The timing for this race was chipped (D tagged) which meant more accurate results. I went to support my hubs and all of my RU and SDTC friends who were running, brought the big-ass camera* (she needs a name) and watched on the sidelines. It was fun watching and snapping photos, but I really wanted to be running, too, and that made me a little melancholy. A bright side to my day was breakfast and mimosas with some of The Herd after leaving the event.

Celebrating! Aka Alice and my hubs had PRs!

After an wonderful breakfast and mimosas, Hubs decided that he really needed to attend his soccer game, and I went to drop him off at the soccer field, but no one was there. Turns out we were at the wrong field. Hubs was determined to get to his game, even though he was already a half hour late. We then trekked out to the correct soccer field. I wasn't planning to stay, I was planning to just drop him off and head home, but since he was late, I figured it would be easier for me to just stick around. It was a wee bit chilly so I stayed in the car and checked phone messages and listened to music on my iPod. I really wasn't watching the game, but soon saw hubs playing goalie. Eeek! (Please, Lord, no trips to the ER!) He normally plays mid-field, but their goalie was out and the team needed back up.

Hubs getting ready to block a goal. Big-ass camera came in handy for this shot from the car and through the chain-link fence!

Psychology - I really should have taken a few psych classes in college. Perhaps if I had the knowledge or understanding of why people do what they do, or why they act how they act, perhaps I could deal with people's/a person's reactions (or lack there of ) in a better way. Perhaps I wouldn't take those reactions/lack of reactions so personal. I get the whole concept of how I react to a situation is a big key to blowing off that particular situation, but sometimes that really is easier said than done. I still have feelings and I can't help but feel dissed. Maybe my expectations are too high. Confused? Yeah, me too.

My dog loves me. I am the only one she will follow through out the day. She won't get up for the day until I am up and out of bed. She won't do this for Hubs or any one else. If I'm doing something like putting laundry away she has to follow me. If I'm outside gardening, she's in the dirt with me. Too bad she's a senior dog and has some heath issues because she would have been the perfect running companion and protector.

I swore I'd be on top of exercising and paying attention to what I eat while not running, but I haven't been good. I am getting some activity, but I haven't been paying attention to nutrition. I've been feeling sluggish, and it has to do with eating. I've lost muscle, even though my weight has stayed relatively the same, and I'm feeling that shift in my clothes. Nothing is fitting right. Maybe PMS is screwing around with my head and body at the moment, but I feel anything but physically fit. Time to track nutrition again.

Tomorrow is my ortho appointment and x-rays. My foot is still a little sore, but I'm hoping to see improvement. I hope I can toss the boot completely, but I have a gut feeling that the doc will tell me to keep wearing it.

Landry - Ugh. Piles of it.

Happy Monday.

Saturday's Song:
Same Ol' Situation - Motley Crue

PEACE

*I posted some of the race pics on Facebook, but mostly shot pics for my friends.

Same Ol' Situation

Not running is really messing with my blogging and Daily Mile updates. It's more of not being as mobile which throwing things off. I'm attempting to keep busy with in reason, but when you're used to doing certain things as a part of your daily life it puts a kink on the chain of daily events to not do THAT thing, and running is that thing for me. Yes, this is a temporary situation, and I hope I'll be back to doing some sort of running and training in less than three weeks.

Gardening has been the activity of choice these days. It really isn't the fun part of gardening, yet, it's the prep part, like pulling weeds and digging up the dirt with a pick ax*. I have a big back yard, but it has gone by the wayside since May 2008 when I had the hip fracture and surgery. There's no problem with the lawn, that gets mowed and trimmed regularly. It's the planter and garden areas that have become unruly. Those areas were sort of my thing, and when I could no longer squat and easily get up and down after surgery, gardening was out of the question. When my grandparents were around, gardening was a serious thing. They planted just about everything, apricots to zucchini. The garden area was beautiful and always lush. They also had a beautiful array of of flowers growing, no matter what the season. It seemed like the Land of Oz to me when I was a kid because the yard was so pristine and colorful. I've told this story before, so I won't recap it, but I'm back on the gardening thing, perhaps not with the same verve my grandparents had, but at least it will be less unruly. Hubs and I thought putting in a lap pool(fire pit, new patio, granny flat/office, etc...) would solve most of the gardening issue, and it would, but maybe when the economy turns around and we actually have funds for something like that. Meanwhile, it's just me, a shovel, and some seeds.

Photo from May 2005- Currently looks about the same - Sad, I know....

Hubs celebrated a birthday on Wednesday. Since it was a work/school day, and everyone's schedules were all over the place, it was just Hubs, the kid and me celebrating. The three of us went out for sushi at the neighborhood place just blocks away, then we came home for cake.

I swear, I do have some mad cake decorating skilz and a degree in Art, I even own special cake decorating tips, paint brushes and gear, but that would have required a trip to the store, and I wanted to use what I had on hand. I made a cake from the Cooking Light cookbook , "Old Fashioned Caramel Layer Cake," decorated with fridge magnets and an Ikea tea-light candle.

OK, not my finest moment in artistic creation, I'll never work for Ace of Cakes, but the cake was delicious.

"Happy Birthday dear Papa..."

Thursday I attended a "Pants and Pinot" party at AKA Alice's home. Her sister brought over a really great inventory of jeans, tops, dresses and accessories. There was also a friend who was buying gold jewelry on the spot, but I didn't think ahead of time to look through my jewelry for things to sell. I wasn't planning on drinking wine (the allergy thing) and planning on buying just one pair of jeans. It has been AGES since I've had a decent red wine, but a certified wine snob told me that my best option for wine would be pinot noir** (less likely to have a reaction, not sure why) so I indulged in a glass of wine. I keep trying because I really miss red wines, and it's a crap-shoot with the taste of organic wines which don't warrant an allergic reaction. After a glass of wine and some really good nibbles of food, I was really relaxed, took a look at the awesome selection of jeans. I grabbed a few pairs to try on , just thinking I would purchase just one, but I also found a pair of jeans with my name on them. I rarely run into anyone who has my same name, unless they're 80+ years old, and to find my name on a pair of white jeans was just hysterical. Amazingly, the jeans fit well, so I had to purchase those in addition to the one pair I was already planning to buy. Score! This was a very smart retail event -- Alcohol and shopping. Fun for the guests and a major score for the retailer with all of those relaxed shoppers. I also saw some of the herd at the party. The funny thing is that we looked so different from our running selves, that we were not readily recognizable. One of the Heffers, Betty, walked right past me and said she didn't recognize me with my hair down, and I didn't recognize her when she walked past me - she had just come from work. We're used to seeing each other in running garb, all sweaty and dusty.

Oh, by the way, AKA Alice puts on a really good party. :)

Tomorrow is the Carlsbad 5000. I'm still not able to participate. I was hoping I'd be able to at least walk it by now, but I'm not there yet. I will be attending since Hubs and my friend Rich will be running, plus the Herd, RU buddies, and track club friends. *sigh* I'll bring the big ass camera and take pics. This so sucks not being able to run this one since the timing is chipped, and it's a 5k. Next year I'll be all over this one.

Wednesday's Song:
It Amazes Me - Tony Bennett

PEACE

*I really need to get a roto-tiller.
**Bummer. I still broke out, but it was so good!