Dress like a lady, run like a girl

My normal routine is work, exercise, sleep. Rinse and repeat, day after day. I do well with routine and don't necessarily need something new and fresh to keep my life exciting. But every once in a while there's a change, something new to do instead of workexercisesleep. This week is one of those weeks.

Last night was a fancy almost-black-tie Gala for a nonprofit that my boss supports. He gets a table and fills it full of employees. This year not too many employees were able to attend so those who did were able to bring friends. We all fussed with nails and hair and make-up, put on our prettiest black dresses and heels and went to town. Since we arrived early we had a cocktail beforehand (peartini anyone?), then headed to the party. There were appetizers (including the best little tiny crabcakes), champagne and wine aplenty. It wasn't even dinner yet and I was getting full.

After being seated there were speeches and presentations and a film, then the meal. A delicious salad was followed by braised short ribs. Since I don't eat cow, I got the vegetarian entree and boy howdy, I was glad I did. It was a squash and pomegranate risotto. The tart-sweetness of the pomegranate seeds cut the rich cheesy creaminess and it was an incredible combination. I should have left half of it in the bowl but I just kept scooping it into my mouth, it was that good. Then, as if I hadn't eaten more than enough for a week, I had the dessert, an apple-raisin concoction in pastry. Again, I should have left most of that on the plate but I consumed every bite.

Along with that was wine, lots of it. After the meal was the charity-benefited auction so pouring an endless stream of wine only makes sense. I was very careful about drinking mostly water, but I truly have no idea of how much wine I drank because the glass was never empty. I certainly didn't have enough wine to bid on the multi-thousand dollar auction items and I was still walking straight (even in the heels) so I don't think I drank too much.

Tomorrow night will be back to the City for the Nike expo(tique). We're all heading across the Bay to pick up our race packets and see what kind of trouble we can get at the Nike store. I seriously doubt that we'll wait in line for hours for their complimentary pedicures (especially since we all pedi'd for the Gala), nor will we be buying any Nike iPods, but it's very possible that we'll come home with new running attire.

I'm getting excited about the race. My knee is feeling perfectly normal, even after walking around last night in heels. My back is ok, could be better, could be worse. Right now the forecast is for good weather, maybe a little warmer than perfect but that could change. I'm just itching to do this and determine whether I can get back to my real enjoyment, a full marathon!