Come Out and Play

RANDOM

The last time I ran was supposed to be a 10 miler with the track club on my day off.  I was looking forward to it  and we had perfect running weather, meaning overcast skies and temps in the low to mid 60s.  I woke up that morning not feeling right, but a lot of times I'll get past that "not right" feeling and run OK.  I only made it a little more than 2 miles before I had to turn around and walk most of the way back.  I ended up in bed from the time I returned home until the following Tuesday when I decided I needed to go into work and produce a paycheck.  Wednesday I had a session at RU and that was difficult at best.  Thursday it's a visit to the doctor's office.  I came home with antibiotics, Rx nose spray, a netti pot, and a big bottle of Tylenol.

I hope with all this rest that my IT band will ease up. It's better than it was a month ago, but still reminds me it's there.

I was asked to review the book Train Like a Mother  - How to Get Across Any Finish Line and Not Lose Your Family, Job, or Sanity by Dimity McDowell and Sarah Bowen Shea, authors of Run Like a Mother.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book!  I honestly didn't want to put a lot of preconceptions into this book before reading it because I've often been disappointed with running books written for women.  This book is written with real life in mind, a healthy sense of humor, and serious support and concern when needed.  It's as if you're getting training advice from your very knowledgeable running friends who know what it's like to fit in a training schedule and juggling kids, school, family, work, etc.  I like that they go over things that everyone talks about, but nobody ever addresses in other training manuals, such as going commando, race goals, running music, women's nutrition, etc.  The training schedules are very straight forward and not too technical -- they explain everything as if they're talking to you without being condescending.  I liked that there were little reminders to not skip a particular workout and get a babysitter. Both authors give their spin on explaining things, which I liked, because no two experiences are the same.  This book is a good read for the new runner with constructive tips on how to get started, as well as the seasoned runner with chapters affirming that what you're doing (or thinking) is actually right on par, or that you might need to change a few things. This book can be read in a weekend and is a good "go to" or reference book.  If I gave stars to books, I'd give this a 5 out of 5 stars.

I'm also reviewing another pair of running shoes.  This time it's On Cloud - Cloudrunner.

Yes, purple and fuchsia, but I actually like the colors, which aren't too foo-foo.  Photo from the On Cloud Facebook page.

I've never heard of this brand until I received them.  They're engineered in Switzerland and relatively new on the running shoe scene.  I've received them a week ago, and haven't run in them since I got sick, but they're very comfortable.  My only concern is that they might be too cushy, which might aggravate my plantar faciitis.  I have some miles to make up next week, and I'll be able to judge on how well they ride then.

This weekend is the La Jolla Half Marathon and 5k, which I am happily not running in, but my brother and sister-in-law will be here to participate in the 5k.  My sister, the one who concocted the whole running weekend has backed out, which sort of throws things off. My sister has participated in only two, maybe three 5ks in the past 5 years or so.  She likes La Jolla because she doesn't really race it.  She's more of a walk/runner.  That's all fine and good because she can enjoy the scenery.  I personally don't like this race.  I like the course on my own terms because it is a pretty course that goes along parts of La Jolla Shores and ends near La Jolla Cove.  If I'm in a 5k race, well, I'm in to RACE and try to edge out that lady in the red tech shirt just ahead of me. I'm far from being 5k race ready at this point,  my IT band aches just thinking about it,  and running La Jolla, with the steep hills and bumpy running surface for the last mile, does not bode well in my mind.  Hubs and I are planning to be at the finish line to see if my bro can score a podium finish.  My sister-in-law has been running for a long while, but sort of new to racing.  I'm looking forward to seeing how they fare on Sunday, then head out for brunch. 

In a little more than a month is the San Diego Rock 'n' Roll Marathon/Half Marathon.  I'm not 100% certain, but I think this will be my last race for the year.  I almost put in for the lottery for the Nike Women's event in San Francisco in October for 2012, but I reminded myself that I do need the break, and would need to continue training and be half marathon ready.  No to Nike, and probably most other races until January 2013.

This year will be the 30th anniversary of Title IX.  Even though Title IX happened in 1972, I personally did not see any changes until I was in high school in the mid to late 70s. It also took my parents longer than that to be on board, even though my high school finally had girls track team started in my Junior year. There was no support (or transportation) to stay with the team.

Because of Title IX, my niece was able to participate on the high school wrestling team and sparred against boys and girls in her weight class. 



Song from Saturday, April 14, 2012:
Part of Me - Katy Perry

PEACE

Rolling in the Deep

The La Jolla Half Marathon Race Report or S*** Happens


Well?  What can I say about this one. Another race done?  Yes.

Hills?

Yes, but I rocked those hills.

Hills were not the issue.

Race day started out as it usually does, at the butt crack of dawn, getting a quick something to eat, and out the door while we're not fully awake.  We always forget something.  Half way up  to La Jolla Hubs realizes he does not have his ID, meaning he can't get into the beer garden after the race. Oh well.

Fast forward to a few hours later.  We're at the Del Mar race track parking lot area waiting for the race to start.  This included several trips to the port o potties, stretching, attempting to warm up, and socializing.

                                                          Hubs and I waiting... and waiting...

While we were waiting an announcement was made that they needed someone to volunteer to sing the National Anthem.  Amazingly, two people offered and it was awesome.  It turns out this couple sings at weddings.  They harmonized the National Anthem.

Once the race starts it's the usual all systems go and everyone takes off.  No problem.  I make it up the first small hill.  No problem.  Make it to the Torrey Pines ginormous hill and up.  No problem.  Past the very top of the Torrey Pines hill near UCSD I needed to use the rest room.  Problem.  The last restroom was at the ranger station on Torry Pines hill, a mile back, and I kept thinking  "there's usually a port or potty or two along the race."  No.  The next port o potty was about 4 miles away, where the 5k started. Since the race course goes along UCSD, the landscaping is impeccably manicured, and there were no obscure bushes to hide behind, no public restrooms, nada, zip. It was awful.  This made me sick to my stomach, and slowed me down.  I kept running, but it wasn't pretty.  I was miserable.  I finally made it to the 5k area, and that really wasn't pretty, but I was at least able to take care of business, compose myself as best as possible, and then finish the race.  Before the race I was thinking I could possibly finish in around 2:20 to 2:25, even with the hills.  I finished in 2:28:28. Meh. I finished the .race

I was supposed to meet blogger Chris of The Manly Runner in the beer garden, but I couldn't make my way in.  They would only let a certain number of people in at a time. I found Hubs, my sister (who ran the 5k), her husband, and my friend Rich, and we decided to ditch the beer garden and just go home.  I REALLY needed a shower and something to settle my stomach. 

I have no post race pictures.  Rich might have taken a few pictures, but I know we didn't take any. We just wanted to get out of there. We exited the back way out of La Jolla to avoid the clusterf*** of traffic going toward the freeway.

The pros  -  The course took us along the coast from Del Mar to La Jolla, and it was beautiful.  I had trained for those hills and didn't walk once.  My sister came to run the 5k and PRed.  I logged another half marathon in the books.  I got another medal.

The cons - Too long of a wait for the race to start after the buses dropped us off.  2 hours.  Not enough port o potties on the race course. I got sick because I needed to use a port o potty NOW and there wasn't any place to go. Lack of post race swag.  Not that I was slow, but there wasn't enough stuff left for the half marathoners  after the 5k'ers went through.  I didn't get to meet Chris. 

I want a do over.  Hubs thinks I'm nuts because he doesn't want to see those hills for a long time. 

Last Saturday's Song:
Ready To Start - Arcade Fire


PEACE

Free

All that chatter in my head I had mentioned my last blog post turned out to be something more.  My mind was scattered and my head was tense.  I just thought it was the stress of being at work full time and over time.  The reason why my head wouldn't shut off is that I had a sinus infection.  My doctor put me on a giant horse pill antibiotic, which was very toxic to my system and made everything else seem worse for the entire 7 days I  was on it. The up side is that my mind and head issues are gone.  Today was my last day of the horse pills.  Yay.

While being on antibiotics, I did  participate in the Carlsbad Half Marathon on Sunday.  I said  "participate." It would have been worse for me not to participate. There is something very therapeutic about running along side the ocean.  I was happy and my head was clear, it was freeing -- which is why I run in the first place. I certainly was not prepared and by mile 10, or there abouts, I started walking. I rarely walk a half marathon, but I was pretty tired. I walk/ran the rest of the way, making this race my slowest ever. Going slower than normal isn't a bad thing, it's actually good, because I saw a lot of friends (who were behind me) pass me up. I would not have seen them otherwise.

 Oh yeah.

The bonus to this race is that I started and finished the race with blogger friend Penny. I'm not quite sure where we lost each other, but with the finish line around the corner Penny runs along side me and passes me. I figured I could muster up something to catch up with her and finish running. Much to my amazement we finished at the exact same time. I've never finished a race with a friend before, and I must say that it was wonderful to share finishing a long race with someone, and to share the joy of making it to the finish line.

We finished!  2:41:58.

(We did not plan to wear pink and black together.  It just happened. )

This is also the very first time my husband finished ahead of me. I knew he would pass me up at some point, but it took me being sick and under-trained for him to do so.  He even PRed by over a minute. The past several races he has run in have all been PRs.  It's all about the training and not being sick or injured, that's for sure!

Post race with Hubs and Rich.

Bonus points that I didn't end up in the medical tent this year.

Song from Tuesday, January 18, 2011:
Rattled - The Traveling Wilburys

PEACE

That's Not Me

Randomness

This is an odd cold. The cold symptoms aren't that bad, I have no fever, yet I'm so tired! I went to my workout at RU yesterday and felt rather pathetic. Bryan is out for the week and I worked with Justin. Since I don't work with him regularly, he doesn't know me well enough to know that I can push through just about anything they throw at me. I felt like one of those contestants on The Biggest Loser on the first day of working out, where some of them just get going with the workouts, then start whining about how hard it is. That was me. I even tried to negotiate using lighter weights, but he just told me to push through. This is so not like me, but I'm also not feeling like myself, either.

Last night was also an office party. We celebrated three birthdays, including mine. It took me 2 hours to throw on some jeans, a blouse, shoes and apply make-up, just because the the fatigue. We celebrated at a little restaurant in the middle of an industrial/office park - Buds Louisiana Cafe. Yes, an odd location for a restaurant, but it was REALLY good, even for my foodie boss. Luckily, this was dinner and not an activity like bowling or roller skating. It was fun catching up with everyone and all of the office shenanigans. I didn't think to take my camera, but my boss made hats for the three of us birthday girls. Here's my hat:

Custom party hat.  An eye with running legs.

I ordered a few pictures from my daughter's graduation earlier this month. Look at what I received:

 Ummmmmmmmm, that' not my daughter!

At first I was thinking "WTF?"  Now I think this is sort of funny.  I called customer service and they think this guy probably received my daughter's pictures.  They're going to reprint my daughter's photos and send those out ASAP, and told me to destroy the incorrect photos. I feel kind of odd about destroying the pictures, though.  The guy's name is on the back and I was thinking of, perhaps, contacting him (though Facebook, maybe) and just sending him the pictures.  They're not cheap.  What do you think? 

The gophers are going down. Three more heads of almost ready romaine lettuce are gone! It's time for traps.

I should have an abundance of veggies by now. Evil gophers... 

Yesterday's Song:

Aloof - Latvian Radio 

PEACE

Daddy

The kitchen counter above the sink.  A little something for everyone.

All of us, well, except for Hubs, has a cold.  It's just a matter of time before Hubs gets it.  Thank goodness it's nothing serious, just a royal pain in the bootay cold that messes up anyone's schedule.  I had major plans to swim this week since the pool opens earlier.  Ah well.   The advantage to being down  is resting, and that's good for the sore foot.  The foot is doing better, it just feels tired and hot at the end of the day, as if I worked a 10 hour shift in retail for a one day sale.*

We hosted Father's Day this year, which is when I woke up with the cold. Good times. I didn't get around to taking pictures because I was busy running around like a chicken with it's head cut off. Having a cold leaves no room for clarity of mind. Some how I never vacuumed the living room which contained pretzel crumbs from the kid and dog hair, which really didn't matter in the big picture.  Regardless, the fathers were happy with the day, and a friend brought a bottle of Hungarian merlot that I could actually drink without getting hives.  Of course, there was a cooler full of imported beers, ice teas and juice. I made shishkabobs -- beef, chicken, and firm tofu kabobs staggered with hearty vegetables with a teryiaki marinade. FYI, firm tofu handles being on a skewer for barbecue very well - those were a hit with my vegetarian guests. Everyone else brought the salads, side dishes and desserts. Hubs received an 8GB iPod Nano from us.  His shuffle didn't make it through the marathon this year.  He probably got it wet when he tossed a cup of water on his head during the latter part of the  run.   I tried to resurrect his iPod, but it didn't work this time.  I think he's happy with the upgrade.  Father's day was also made happier with World Cup Soccer and Brazil's win over the Ivory Coast. Hubs is half Brazilian, and this victory made one more thing to celebrate.  Vai Brasil!

On the gardening front, the enemy gopher took down two more plants.  One was a head of romaine lettuce, which I was able to save and actually use, the other was an entire yellow squash plant with several baby yellow squash on it.  I was able to save some the squash, but they were really too small to make a full meal for everyone, but yummy with eggs for breakfast for one person. (Me).  I was looking forward to a lot of squash this year, and those would have been ready by the 4th of July. 

Until this cold lessens, I will not be running or swimming.  Pass the tissue.

I'm going back to bed.


Thursday's Song:
Freedom - George Michael, Richie Havens - Katiefeldmom, Miss Rachel

PEACE

*I worked in retail for a gazillion years. My feet hurt just thinking about it.

Blue Orchid

Randomness

This being sick thing is so last week. I'm not one for daytime TV soaps since the plots are recycled over and over and over again. The soaps are EXACTLY the same as when my mom watched them 25 years ago - Victor Newman is still on The Young and the Restless - I checked. Blogger Jill pointed out that there's only so many times you can watch H&G TV before you feel like your house is a total dump, but she said it with more verve. I worked out on Monday, and it was difficult, even though the exercises presented to me weren't that hard. Coughing between sets of any exercise adds to the caloric burn, I suppose. I'm not working out or running for the rest of the week. I might go for a walk, though. I'm coughing less, but the fatigue can be overwhelming. There's almost no more head pressure, but the lung is still whistling. I create my own music just by breathing. I have asthma and never wheeze like this. I was finally able to read a book without falling asleep after the first paragraph, so that's progress.

I had jury duty on Tuesday. I showed up with big bag of Sugar Free Hall's Cough Drops and a book. This was the very first time I didn't have to go through the jury selection process. My name was never called, thank goodness. I'm sure they would have excused me anyway, with my "mentholyptus" scented breath and chronic cough. I really didn't cough that much, and probably just as much as anyone else there. By the way, the book I read while waiting in the Juror's Lounge was The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd.

The sun came out yesterday. I put on my Uggs and a light jacket over my PJs and sat on the back porch to read a book. All of my critters (three cats and one dog) sat out with me, and no wars broke out.

I'm craving carbs, and not the good for you ones, either. I'm craving Stacy's Pita Chips, toast, bagels, chocolate chip cookies, Cocoa Puffs, pretzles, Pub Mix, and so on.

Check out a Runningskirt.com giveaway at blog: Endurance Is Only Physical.

Check out a Champion giveaway at blog: Shut Up and Run.

Blogger Laura gave me a "Sunshine Award." Thanks, Laura. Everyone needs sunshine in their day, and this made mine sunny. I'm supposed to bestow this award to 12 others bloggers. I think I'll save it for another blog post next week, since I need to find 12 bloggers who Laura didn't already mention. :)

A few weeks ago, blogger Julie (Juls - Keeping Pace) wrote about her orchid plant, how it's nice and green but it hasn't bloomed in a year. I responded that I have orchid plants with nice and glossy leaves but no blooms, and that I actually stuck fake orchid flowers in one of the plants just so I could pretend it grew. I have 4 orchid plants with beautiful leaves but no blooms, not since their first blooms or buds when I bought them years ago. Julie's blog post got me to get up and take a good look at my orchid plants. I went and took a peek. This is what I saw:

"Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans." -- John Lennon

I never notice the buds before. I did a happy dance because this is the FIRST TIME, ever, that an orchid plant I own produced buds a second time. I did nothing special to get this plant to produce buds -- no fertilizers or special filtered water. Other than a little water once a week, I did nothing. If it matters, my orchids sit in a west-facing window in my kitchen. The funny thing is that I was resigned to putting more fake orchid flowers in with the live plants. I guess I should have more faith in my plants and in what ever green thumb I may have.

Yesterday's Song:
Steep - Phish

PEACE

It's A Heartache

The cold is passing, but I still have a raspy "Bonnie Tyler" voice. I guess this round of colds is running a muck, though. It seems everyone has it. I'm beginning to feel fluffy, though, with no RU workouts or running this week. I know everything will go back to normal in a week or two.

On Christmas day my son was in a car accident. Don't worry, no one was hurt, just damage to the car. He was driving in a residential area of Ocean Beach and the police were responding to a domestic disturbance, but did not have their lights or sirens on. My son had the right-of-way and was already in the intersection. The police did not check for traffic and drove through the stop sign, hit the car my son was driving, spun it out, then hit a house. The police were at fault, but it has been a pain dealing with the city of San Diego, insurance, and being a car short. The car my son was in was a 2001 Volvo S80, which I called "The Tank" because it was so friggin' heavy and had lousy gas mileage. Not my favorite car, but safe for my son and all of his amps, instruments and PA gear (he's a musician.) The car was drivable, but it cost more to fix it than it was worth. This couldn't have come at a worse time for many reasons, and public transportation isn't the best here.

I went car shopping yesterday, but not before I researched several vehicles. I went out and test drove several cars. I wanted to get a pre-owned economy car, but the makes and models I wanted to see were sold out or had high miles. I called a few dealerships to see if they had what I was looking for, which was a Honda Fit, receiving outstanding reviews for a car in it's class. I happened to find only one place in town that just received three 2010 Honda Fit yesterday, with the protective plastic wrap still on everything. It had about two miles on it when we went to test drive it. I wasn't looking for a new one, but they had exactly what we were looking for, and well under our budget. Michael was hoping for a few more extras on this car, but we purchased the basic model, with just about no frills on it. We may add a couple of things later that will be more of a convenience, and the car will most likely end up going to my daughter. I just get to drive it first. Of course, today they've just posted a recall on it, but for the electric window button. Ah well. For a smaller economy car it drives quite well and feels really solid, unlike a few other economy cars I test drove, and the great gas mileage is a plus.

By the way, my son will most likely be driving the old Ford Explorer that my daughter now uses.

Tomorrow the track club is meeting at Carlsbad. I'll probably hang with the back of the pack, depending on how I feel and, perhaps, walk/run. I'm still a bit draggy, but I feel like I need some fresh air or something.

Wednesday's Song:
Piano and I - Alicia Keys

PEACE

Edit - The recall turned out to be on the 2008 and 2009 Honda Fit, not the 2010 model. Yay.

Girl All The Bad Guys Want

2010 CARLSBAD HALF MARATHON RACE REPORT

RACE DAY EVE

Michael and I drove up to Carlsbad and picked up our race numbers. It was nice to have a clear day, especially after all that rain all week. With all the people milling around the venue, I was really happy to find one of my running blogger friends! Look! It's Penny!

Me and Penny near the Labrador Rescuers, the charity she raised money for.

After retrieving our race numbers, Michael and I 'trolled the venue for socks, then went to PF Chang's for lunch. Nothing more report on, just another pre-race day, and followed our usual protocol, with nothing out of the ordinary.

RACE DAY

Michael and I arrived at the crack of dark to the race venue, at the Carlsbad Mall. We couldn't figure out why there was no traffic, but it was only due to the fact that we arrived extra early (about 5:30 AM). The mall was open so we used their restrooms. When we first went inside there were no lines, in fact, we were just about the only ones in there, but that soon changed with in the rise of the sun and more people arrived. Yes, there were port-o-potties, but it was much nicer inside the mall, and worth the wait once the lines became long. Michael and I just waited in the car until the sun came up, did a second round at the restroom (in line) then went to the starting corrals, and found a few of our friends.

Michelle and Jane huddling to keep warm! It was about 48 degrees at the start.

Say cheese!

Wave 4 corral

Then we were off. Everything was going OK. I had some brand new tunes on my iPod that I wanted to try out, and were songs I wouldn't normally select for myself, yet were refreshing.* I wasn't pushing hard, but had a decent, consistent pace that would have lead me to a 2:15 half marathon finish.

With all the biblical rain we had last week, it was nice to have a crystal, clear, crisp day for the race. It was absolutely GORGEOUS running along the beach.

I'm somewhere around mile 4 or 5. I took my camera out to get a shot of the beach, but a really nice lady said she'd take my picture. Still feeling good here.

I ran with many track club friends for a while, here and there. It's such a boost to see familiar faces. I was doing well until I hit mile 10, and then everything just sort of fell apart. I had been good about taking water from the volunteers along the route, and I had my own electrolytes, I never pushed myself hard, BUT... I suddenly felt like I wanted to throw-up. I kept taking sips of my electrolytes and had water at every hydration table AND kept running, however, I felt my 2:15 slipping away, especially when the the 2:20 pacer went past me. No problem. I just wanted to finish running, not walking, so I did, but it wasn't pretty. Those last 3.1 miles were the longest ever.

I ran through the finish line, and they even said my name over the PA system asI went through, but most of us had our names on the front of our race numbers. FYI, the song on my iPod when I ran through was "Girl All The Bad Guys Want."

The medal - One of the prettiest finisher's medals I now own!

I must have looked like death warmed over because a volunteer rushed up to me and asked me if I was OK, handed me a bottled water and escorted me to the medical tent. I sat there for a while as they asked me a few questions about my general health and symptoms. I mentioned something about feeling like I wanted to pass out and throw-up, so they helped me to a cot, where I immediately had the shakes, they gave me a mylar blanket, and also gave me some sweet tea to sip on.

While I was laying there, shaking, there was a film crew filming me and another lady being treated. I'm not sure what they were filming for, perhaps the Tri-City Medical Center, sponsors of the event, but it felt weird knowing they were filming us and we were NOT at our best.

The shakes were an odd thing. The only other time I've had the shakes like that was after giving birth. The nausea passed a little, and a half hour later Michael found me and I got up to walk around the finish area, but I wasn't in a state for socialization, which was a bummer because that's a part of the post-race I love. I even remembered my camera this time, but I just didn't have it in me to do much of anything. I just wanted to curl up in the fetal position and zone out.

We found a place to sit near a band, then Michael went to the car to get my jacket. I just kept scoping out places to hurl if I needed to -- but never did. Everyone kept asking me where I got the mylar blanket, since they really weren't giving them out to everyone. In the mean time, Doreen from the track club kept me company and to make sure I was ok. She was awesome. Eventually we were joined by her daughter and husband Mitch.

Soon Michael returned with my jacket, we said our good-byes and went back to the car intending to leave right then. The traffic leaving was so bad that we barely made it from where we were parked to the next lane of parked cars. We decided to just stay in the car in the parking lot and wait. I slept in the back seat while Michael ate a sandwich. I'm not sure of the time frame, but I'm guessing it was at least a half hour waiting in the car before it looked like we could leave. On the way home the coughing began and some asthma kicked in.

Once we made it home, the conundrum was "do I ice because that's what you're supposed to do after a long run, or do I take a hot shower because I feel like crap and am about to cough up a lung?" Screw the ice.

Hot shower
Jammies
Hot tea and other liquids
Tylenol
Bed

Michael picked up some Chinese food and brought me some egg flower soup. I just stayed in bed, watched a Leonardo DiCaprio movie on TNT and zoned out.

This morning I have a bad cold. It's pretty much the same cold that kept the kid out of school for three days last week. It's the usual, low fever, runny nose, congested chest, achy every thing cold. No wonder I tanked at mile 10. I wasn't feeling bad prior to the race, just SOME lingering cold symptoms. I've run a marathon with a cold before, and did OK. I guess this cold was more over the top, I suppose. I can't pin-point what caused the major wall hitting at mile 10 (other than the cold decided to manifest itself then) since I did nothing out of the ordinary. It is what it is, and that's OK.

I'm feeling OK about the race because I surpassed my Las Vegas half marathon time, and that was my goal for this race. Not a PR, but it's all good.

Official Results:
Overall: 4491 out of 7105
Women: 2394 out of 4394
F 50-54: 95 out of 251
Age/Grade: 53.80% Place: 2512
Finish: 2:22:30 Pace: 10:53
Tag Time: 2:22:30
Gun Time: 2:31:37

Michael PRed with a 2:40:32!

Wednesday's Song:
The Stairs - INXS - Barbie2be

PEACE

*I checked out the celebrity playlist section on iTunes, and used Christian Siriano's Playlist (sans the Maraiah Cary song he had), along with songs from my own past playlists.

Start Me Up

...because I just can't get in gear.

Since we've been back from our trip I've been busy, but at the same time I feel as if I'm going in slow motion. I've been fending off a cold since I've returned. It never went into a full on cold, but it was enough to make me tired.

I'm back with the San Diego Track Club's Rockin' 'n' Runnin' marathon training program. I'm still not sure if I'll run the whole marathon, half marathon or relay. I'm going to wait a few weeks before deciding. I attended the first meeting last Saturday, (*yawn* it went a bit long, and I was not feeling up to par) and opted out of running that morning due to the residual cold symptoms. During that time I caught up with Cindi*, who is on a running hiatus for an injured foot. I did get to see several returning runners, as well as many new faces.

The track club has a mentoring program for the marathon training program, but this is the first year the mentors are distinguished by red hats or visors. I just happened to wear my red had that morning. Someone asked me a question about the mentoring program. Eeek! I'm not a mentor, but I knew what to tell the guy. My husband had his long-sleeved navy blue San Diego Track Club shirt on. A few newbies asked him quesitons, too. I guess he looked official.

Also, on Saturday, was the Jackie Bristow Memorial 5k run. This run was to remember my friend's daughters who died from complications of an eating disorder. I had planned to attend and participate in this 5k, but returning home from the trip a bit under the weather caused me to stay in town. It would have been a 2 & 1/2 hour drive north, which isn't that bad, but we would have stayed the night and made the most of the trip, perhaps visiting other friends from college. It was not to be, but I made a donation to the event instead. From all accounts, it sounds like they had a successful event. I felt sad not attending, but I promised my friend that we'd see each other this year.

This morning I was on the upswing and managed to show up for my first RU workout of the year. It wasn't difficult, yet it really got me going. My impending half marathon was discussed, and it's pretty unanimous that I won't be attempting any PRs, but to finish. I've only run 3 miles since returning from Mexico. I'm not opting out. I'll run it. It doesn't have to be pretty.

I also managed to take down the Christmas decorations today. I honestly wasn't planning to put up much of anything this year, perhaps the little fiber optic tree we bought at Target for $20 last year, but a certain 6 year old boy kept asking about the big tree and ALL the decorations, so I buckled under the pressure and put up the big tree. Now I just need someone to dig out the storage boxes so I can put everything away.

Loose Ends:

Several people asked about how safe we felt in Mexico, in light of certain events that recently took place while we were there. I actually never felt in danger while we were on our trip. Bad things can happen anywhere, not just in another country. Flight security was just as tight in Mexico as it is in the United States, in addition to walking past a scanner that checked body temperature. There was never a sense of unrest in the small cities/villages we had been to. We're already talking about a return trip in a couple of years.

I'm still waiting on my pictures. My husband copied my photos onto his laptop, then copied them to a flash drive as "read only." I could not change the "read only" option to upload them onto Blogger or Photobucket. He brought the laptop home to copy the photos onto our main computer, but he couldn't get that to work, either. Today he said he copied the photos to a disk and is bringing that home. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Most of those photos are from the first half of our trip.

Waiting at the bus station in Queretaro. I've become good at waiting. I'm till waiting for my pictures!


Wednesday's Song:
Street Of Dreams - Frank Sinatra - Lala Ween World

PEACE
*who was equally bored and texed me a few times during the meeting.

A Whiter Shade Of Pale

Yesterday

Activity: Run
Date: 09/19/09 07:00 AM
Distance: 6.17 miles
Time: 1:00:30
Speed: 6.1 mph
Pace: 9' 48 min/mile
Calories: 592

My perceived effort is WAY off at the moment.

Yesterday's run with the track club was out at Harbor Island. I thought I was keeping it slow, perhaps about an 11 minute mile average. I really didn't feel the need to go fast or push hard. I thought I was just sort of cruising. I ran with different people since everyone had different mileage agendas, 6 through 10 miles. I only wanted to do 6 miles. I don't have a Garmin (not yet, I'm seriously thinking about it), but a GPS application on my cell phone, so I can't constantly monitor my pace, unless I stop, take the phone out of my arm band, open it just to read it, which takes too long. When I finished my run and checked my stats, most of my splits are in the nines. Perhaps ignorance is bliss? I wonder if I would have slowed down if I knew my actual pace? I was surprised. Happy and surprised.

I normally don't stop at the water station(s) that the track club sets up for us. The water station is usually where someone is taking pictures for this summer training session. I never stop because I have a hard time getting myself going again. Everyone else stops and has great pictures and group shots. Not me. *sigh* I lose momentum when I stop. Perhaps it's just as well. I'm usually hot and sweaty.

Here's Michael's picture at the first water station, around mile 3:

...still looking good and feeling strong.

Since I had to wait for Michael to return after the run, someone decided it was a good time for a photo op with the people who remained:

Just a few of us. I'm third from the left in the bright blue tank top.

After the photo op, we waited, and waited some more. No Michael. We were beginning to worry a little. It turns out that he decided to go the longer route, about 10 miles, and on the way back he had some stomach issues and had to make several pit-stops along the way. He was the last one in. He wasn't looking so great, a bit pale and hot. Luckly, there was still plenty of electrolyte drink left and he was able down several ounces before we went home. It wasn't anything he did while running or anything he ate the day before. He has the flu. One of his employees was out last week with the flu and I guess Michael has the same thing.

Today

This morning our grandson informed us that he "throwed up" and that his stomach was confused. The little guy is doing OK, but he's still not his active self. I hope no one else gets sick. I sure don't want a confused stomach. Michael is feeling better, but is being cautious about what he's eating.

The annual Powerboat Races were held at Mission Bay over the weekend. It was rather noisy in the neighborhood from time to time. I actually contemplated dragging out the ladder just to get on the roof to see a few races, but I didn't want to do that by myself. Getting up onto the roof isn't an issue. It's getting down. I'd like NOT to fall off of the roof, thankyouverymuch. It would totally screw up my running... and everything else. I did get to see a few boats race by within the small view of the bay that we do have from house level.

Tuesday's song:
With a Little Luck - Paul McCartney & Wings - Miss Rachel

PEACE

It's Five O'Clock Somewhere

Well, now...

I've been a tad busy since about Thursday. Thursday there really wasn't much to discuss other than I ended up with food poisoning from a fish place we went to after an industry/vendor thing for my husband. I'm thinking it was the tuna tartar that did me in. I'm kinda thinking it wasn't supposed to be served at room temperature. I was up all night and in the restroom about every couple of hours, had to cancel my chiropractor appointment on Friday morning at 8 AM , and got in more sleep until about 10:30 AM Friday morning. Good times. I was a bit concerned because we had a dinner/show/room thing planned FRIDAY EVENING at 5:00 PM. Yikes. With a Pop Tart (I know, but that's what I could deal with) , Chicken & Stars soup and a couple of pretzles, I was OK, and by the time dinner rolled around I was ravenous. Thank goodness.

The dinner/show/room package was for Jim Gaffigan at Humphreys Concerts by the Bay. Ever since the one time we did the dinner/room/show pacakage, we always plan to attend another show the following year. Last year was Robert Plant & Allison Krauss. The year before it was Heart. This year we were looking for a music group or singer, but the shows that we were interested in sold out quickly, and there were good seats still available for Jim Gaffigan. It was a great choice. After a fabulous dinner and dessert, we sauntered* out to the venue. I'm not sure why, but we ended up with third row, center seats. (I just asked for best availabe, and we didn't even get the uber package.) Gaffigan was hysterical without being raunchy or using curse words. A lot of people brought their kids, which was different, but nice that you could bring your kids to see a comedian. He had a lot of new material, but also went into the "bacon" and "Hot Pockets" routines he is know for. It was so much fun. We laughed to the point of crying. We were lauging at other people laughing. We finished off the evening at the bar while listnening to a blues band and then called it a night. We were done.

Saturday morining we woke up kind of late, about 8:30AM, which means we missed the 8 mile run event out at Balboa Park, but we weren't in condition to run. You can't call a Grey Goose martini and two vodka tonics carb loading. I don't even think there's a carb there, unless you count the olives. I don't normally drink that much in one week, let alone one evening, which explains the late wake up time. Once we got ourselves together, we wandered around Point Loma for a breakfast haunt. We ended up at the Red Sails Inn. Service was so fast it was almost scary, but impressive. It's a place to return to, for sure.

Still waking up! I can't even muster a cheesy smile yet!

Once we had our breakfast and felt more awake, we went walking around, but didn't get too far because we found a place that sells a lot of European and organic wines. I just about did a happy dance because I've had a really hard time finding organic wines that taste good, and most European wines are organic, although they aren't classified as such. I'm extremely sensitive to the sulfates in most non-organic American wines -- I break out in an itchy, dry, rash (excema), and it really bites. I've been missing a lot of my favorite wines. We came out of there with 4 bottles, three from Europe and one from Argentina. I plan on saving those for another weekend. -- I'm not quite ready just now.

We ended up going back to the hotel to soak in whatever time we had left, asked for a late check out, and spent a few hours at the pool area. While we were there, the cabana bar had opened... Gee, a couple of Coronas and lime sounded really good with a plate of calamari, especially sitting poolside... It felt like a vacation, we might as well take advantage of it.


While we were enjoying drinks, we started looking around at the pool area. I kept saying "this is how I would like our backyard to look, but on a MUCH smaller scale."

No lawn to mow. Then after the second Corona, we decided it would be a good idea to install a running track around our backyard, made out of that cushy stuff they use on high school and college tracks. Then we decided it could be a multi-purpose track so that our grandson could ride his bike around it and also have a place to use his remote control cars. Luckily, we stopped after two Coronas; heaven knows what else we would have decided to do with our backyard.

Wednesday's song:
Reebok Tacos** - eCID

PEACE

*Waddled

**"I rock Nike socks with Reebox."

Going Through The Motions

Can I have a do over?

The weekend started out just fine with a short run at the lake in my old neighborhood with the track club, got to see all of my track club friends, followed by brunch at one of the track club member's homes near by. It was a great morning. By the time we returned home I was ready to go back to bed and it wasn't even noon yet. Some flu bug just got me. I spent most of my Saturday in bed. By the time I got up to do anything it was already 6 PM. Sunday wasn't any better, but my brother was in town and we needed to meet him and my sister-in-law for lunch, along with my dad and his girlfriend. They wanted to barbecue at my house (not my idea, by the way) , but I quickly nixed the idea and suggested meeting out somewhere. My brother, who doesn't know the area any more, wanted to meet at a touristy Mexican restaurant, the one I always get sick at. I really didn't care, so I didn't suggest someplace else. Getting together was nice. My meal was just OK. I didn't eat all of it and it still upset my system. Dang. I went home and spent the rest of my day back in bed, until about 8:00 PM, when I decided the dog hair on the floor was getting on my nerves and decided to vacuum. That was my exciting weekend. It had the potential to be great, but, ah well.

Today was RU. It was a bit of a struggle today, but I stuck out the exercises and never let on that I felt crummy. I did all of the usual things, lunge matrixes , pylometrics, some weights, stretching, etc... I figured the sooner I got it all done, the sooner I could leave. Under normal circumstances I like the workouts and I like to be challenged. Breathing was even a challenge today.

I'm going back to bed.

Tomorrow HAS to be better.

Friday's song:
Flick Of The Wrist - Queen



PEACE

Survivor

I know. I'm a slacker. No blogging since Friday.

Friday I was feeling kind of blah, you know, the feeling you get when you feel like you're about to get a cold or a flu, but it never really went into full swing. I felt sort of lethargic, but not tired enough to spend all day in bed. I wanted to do my usual Friday night pre-run carb load dinner of something with brown rice and chicken (usually Chinese or Thai cuisine take out) but my husband was a little slow on the uptake and the food never manifested itself into our meal plan. I ended up making oatmeal pancakes with soy protein powder -- not exotic or exciting, but usually a decent back up meal, or so I thought.

Saturday morning we're up at the crack of dark, and I'm still not feeling right. I went about my usual pre-run routine, but my body wasn't cooperating as it usually does. Ugh. I had that rocks-in-the-stomach feeling, the same feeling I get when I carb load with pasta. I just had a gut feeling what I was in for, pun intended. Here's how it all looked:

Activity: Run
Date: 05/09/09 6:15 AM
Distance: 20.35 miles
Time: 4:21:22
Speed: 4.7 mph
Pace: 12' 50 min/mile
Calories: 1943

Not pretty, but I survived.

My m/m average pace is probably closer to 11:45/12:00, not 12:50. I didn't wear my cell phone in an arm band, like I usually do, and put in the pouch on my water belt, and I'm about 99.9% sure that's what screwed up my tracking. I know my stats are far from accurate because I ran the first half with Roberta, who was wearing her Garmin and she would keep me informed about our pace. Around miles 10 ,11 and 12 she said we were running about a 10:50 m/m pace, and my stats showed something like 11:36+. I tried to do a "fine tune" on my GPS per BiM, but it took out too much time, and gave me a 10:00 m/m pace on the last mile of the run, and I wasn't running at that point. (I tried to post out my splits grid here, but BiM won't let me.)

Oh yeah, the run -- I almost forgot to discuss the run. It sucked big time, especially the second half. The entire run I kept scoping out where the next restroom was. It takes a lot for me to say a run sucked, because running is my mental therapy, but there was nothing therapeutic about this particular run. My stomach was doing somersaults. After about mile 16 I started doing a walk/run pattern, as every part of me ached, but I had to finish. When I hit the two mile home stretch, I just decided to walk. It was all about putting in the mileage, anyway, and time was now a moot point. I ended up walking in those last two miles with a guy, Arthur, who was having issues as well. Arthur, who is in theater arts, made an interesting comment, "bad dress rehearsal, great show." I hope that's the case. When we saw the Welcoming Committee, with their pom-poms and cheering, we mustered up something and ran in the last 100 feet, hand in hand - hands held up. I know, I just met the guy two miles ago, but we bonded -- Misery loves company? I dunno. I think it was more like were dragging each other in.

I got in 20 miles, which was two more than I had planned.

I also saw AKA Alice and friends on bikes as we were running. They're training for half marathons, so they decided to bike instead, since they really didn't need to run 20/22 miles that morning. Smart, smart, smart!

After cooling down, visiting with running friends and enjoying the post run picnic, we made our way back home to down a couple of Tylenols, rested up, then got all gussied up to attend an engagement party. The dress I had planned to wear for the party NEEDED heels. I bought the dress and shoes while in Chicago, thinking these would be great for the party, but, of course, I wasn't thinking the party and running 20 miles would happen on the SAME DAY. The heels weren't that high, really, but anything higher than a running shoe heel was too high on that occasion... I was OK, as long as I didn't have to walk more than a few feet. PS, my dress is a dark purple version of the one pictured, just in case you had to know.


Of course, Sunday was Mother's Day. We opted out of the big brunch buffet gala and went to the High Dive down the street instead. My dad even showed up. It was great because I didn't have to get all dressed up, we had mimosas, and I didn't over eat. After breakfast, I visited with my dad at home for a bit, then went back to bed. I spend most of my Mother's Day in bed, sleeping. I'd like to say that it was blissful sleeping, but it was more of the kind of sleep you get when you're sick -- meaning, no matter how much you rest, you still feel tired. (I'm guessing my issues are some sort of flu because my daughter has been feeling ill for the past few days, too, with the exact symptoms.) I really wasn't expecting any gifts, nor did I ask for anything, but my son gave me a couple of pairs of Ininji socks, and my daughter and grandson gave me a little box of chocolates and cologne. The funny thing is that the cologne is something that I would never ever pick out for myself, but my 5 year old grandson selected it. It's actually a nice fragrance.

Monday was all about getting back to sports therapy. I was still sore, but now the big soreness was in my right quad. Other than the warm up on the recumbent bike, everything I did was a struggle. B backed off the routine (thank God!) and no major squats or lunges were involved. It was still tough, though. Profusely sweating is usually not me, but I sweat so much it was kind of embarrassing. Sweat came from places that it normally does not come from. It was ridiculous. I was planning to trek on over to Road Runner Sports after ST, because it's in that neighborhood, but I had to go home and take a shower and put on some clean clothes, then head out to the store. I was pretty gross after ST. *sigh* I hope Wednesday's ST session will be better, and way less sweaty.

I wasn't planning to purchase a new pair of shoes for the marathon, but I had to. I was hoping the test shoes from the Runner's World Wear Test program would work out for me, but, alas, they won't get me through the marathon. I was hooked up with a pair of Adidas Supernova Response Cushion 18 -- coming out sometimes this summer, which will be good for a half marathon distance, not a whole. They need just a little more cushion for my creaky bones and feet. (Rats!) I had to break down and get a new pair of Asics Gel Nimbus 11 (pictured), which are now running smaller than they used to, and I had to get an entire size up from my regular shoe size. I have time to wear them enough to be marathon ready in a couple of weeks.

Under normal circumstances, today would be a run day, intervals on the gym treadmill, but it's not going to happen. I don't have a car since it's in for a tune-up/check-up at the dealership. I'll get out and walk. I already walked from the dealership to my house this morning, which is almost a half mile. I'm still not quite recouped from whatever was ailing me, but I need to get in some sort of movement. The day is still young... sort of.

Friday's song:
A Year Ago - Kenny G


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

PEACE

Christmas In America

I've been busy with life. My mind has been so full that I'd sit down to blog and I just can't find it within myself to write ANYTHING. Not even filler. (This reminds me of the college years and having to pull creativity out of the air for graphic arts class. This time it was a writer's block.) I suppose busy can be a good thing, but I also came down with a cold. It's nothing bad, just a regular cold, complete with sneezing, sniffles, and having to walk around with a box of tissue all of the time. On top of that, my dog has an ear infection and requires ear drops. Other than the cold and my dog, everything is actually great. Also, the kid's bathroom should be complete AFTER Christmas. Oh what fun it is for the five of us to share one bathroom. Party mode is in full swing and we have one more party to attend tonight. Christmas shopping is just about finished. I just need to figure out what to give my father, since he has everything he needs and more. He loved the wool felt Indiana Jones type hat I gave him last year.

I haven't been running or exercising, but I've been in constant motion. I was in shock to see my weight drop about 5 pounds this week without even trying. It's also not a healthy weight loss, though. The Zyrtec I've been taking really suppresses my appetite. There's no muscle gain and I still can't get back into my skinny jeans. I'm hoping I can maintain just that five pound weight loss until I begin some weight lifting again, mixed in with some high intensity interval cardio. I need to turn that unhealthy weight loss into a good thing.

Yesterday, right before school, I took some pictures of my grandson for our annual Christmas card. I thought about doing the family picture, but we pretty much look the same as we did the last time we took a group picture two years ago. The grandson is the one who is growing and changing, and there's also the cute factor. The kid has the cute factor down... Well, at least I think so.

I really liked this shot, but it needs to be edited in the space between my grandson and the tree, and I don't have a compatible version of Photoshop for my computer.

I took about 15 photos in all, but one this was the winner:

Monday's song:
All I Want For Christmas Is You - Mariah Cary, Vince Vance and the Valiants, etc, - Barbie2be, Katiefeldmom, Tenderfoot Diaries

PEACE

Chicken Soup With Rice

I don't get out the the movies much, but we do rent or buy DVD's. My husband purchased Wall-e. I don't know what it is about that movie, but we have been watching it multiple times. It's that good. It's one of those movies that you catch something new each time you watch it. I should say that it's me that catches new things each time because I'm usually doing other things while the movie is on. I also liked the mini version of art through the ages while the credits rolled. My grandson LOVES this movie more than Speed Racer, and that's kind of a big deal.

On the running side of things, there hasn't been any. I thought something I ate disagreed with me on Thursday, but I'm still having flu like symptoms, with no appetite. Herbal tea and toast is about all I can deal with right now.

I did make my standard (when everyone gets sick) comfort food. Chicken soup. I really need to show someone else how to make my soup because there's nothing more comforting when someone else cooks for you when you feel crappy, and it didn't come out of a can. Maybe I can bribe my son into learning how to make this soup. At least he has some interest in setting foot in a kitchen. He's going through a Banana's Foster phase, and made that several times last week. My daughter isn't much for cooking from scratch. If push came to shove when it comes to cooking, my daughter could do something, but she'd be the first to order take out. There is hope for my grandson, though, since he actually asks to watch the Food Network with me sometimes, loves to crack eggs when we make cookies and is learning how to measure the ingredients.

Yesterday's song:
Rapper's Delight - Sugarhill Gang - Be A Good One

PEACE

Rockaway Beach

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

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

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

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

Peace