Last Day for Man of the Year Campaign

Here I go, shamelessly begging for contributions to my nephew Noah's Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Man of the Year Campaign. Today is the last day to contribute, so please please please, even a tiny contribution can a difference, not only in whether he raises enough money to become Man of the Year, but whether the L&L Society can fund another researcher to help find a cure for blood cancer. Word is that the contenders are very close, so let's help put him over the top. I promise, this is the last time I'll ask for money for this fundraising campaign!

The heat wave here in Northern California continues unabated. Well, maybe just a little abated. Today's supposed to be a degree or two lower than yesterday. Last night Pam and I attempted our usual short short run and we managed to find a short cut even for that! We didn't get started until 7:00 pm because traffic was so bad. You'd think it would have cooled down by then, but you'd be wrong. It was still in the upper 90's when we got underway. I was worried that Pam would zip off and leave me puffing away, but I had forgotten that heat, as she said, is her kryptonite. She was even unhappier than I was to be out there trying to run. We managed a half hour, maybe 2-1/2 miles. Better than sitting on the sofa eating bon bons, but not by much. I'm hoping to get accustomed to this heat soon because training must continue!

I didn't feel like knitting again last night; too warm in my house. Tonight I have to finally decide which yarn I'm using for the Temescal bag class I'm taking tomorrow; I need to get it all wound. I'm pretty sure I'll use the Cascade 220 in purples and I'm hoping I can find another complementary shade to go with them. Otherwise I'll use black for the bottom of the bag so I won't have to worry if I set it down somewhere.

See you Monday!

Origin of my medal bears

We ran last night and it was everything we expected, and more. More heat. Lots of heat. Hot hot hot. Honestly, it was just a teensy weensy bit better than we'd thought it would be; i.e., nobody had to be taken to the hospital on a stretcher. Heh. Olivia, Claudia and I met at the Iron Horse Trail in Danville at 5:30 pm on our (hopefully) regular weekly New York training run. My car thermometer said it was 97 degrees out. Ouch. We decided to just run a half hour, anything else would just be pushing our luck. It was tough and I was soon huffing and puffing. My legs just don't understand that on a day like that my lungs can't keep up with them. For someone who was running only a 13+ minute mile a few months ago, I was going pretty fast. For someone who a couple of years ago was averaging more like a -12 minute mile, I was slow. I was our designated whiner last night and I apologize for the fantastic job I did. This was the first time I had run with either of them and I'm pretty sure I didn't give them a good impression. I'll be better next week; either it will cool off or I'll be a little more used to running in the heat by then.

We ran just under 3 miles (love that rounding up feature!) and Olivia had bought us presents for when we finished: little frozen ice packs. They were wonderful! We hung around the parking lot for a bit rubbing the ice packs all over until they (too quickly) melted.

Tuesday night I've designated as cross-training and toning night. I have a bazillion workout tapes and cds but my favorite is an old Kathy Smith video that's a lower body toning tape called Functionally Fit Lower Body Workout. It's about a half hour of various squats and dips and is the best workout you can get for hamstrings and glutes in such a short time. I've found if I do that tape weekly I hurt a hell of a lot less after a marathon, even a hilly one. When I do the tape after not having done it in a while, my legs let me know they're hurting. I could tell when I started running last night that I had had a good workout and by the time I sat down on my sofa a couple of hours later I was feeling my hamstrings big time. This morning when I got out of bed I actually hurt more than the day after my last marathon. That's not right! Advil to the rescue; tonight's run is going to be really challenging!

I'm close to finishing my multidirectional diagonal scarf, probably just one more triangle then I'll finish it off. It's getting pretty bulky to be my take-along no-think project so I 'll probably just get it done. Lots of end to weave in when I finish; it's Noro after all. I think I'll do the Noro hat out of the same yarn, I have so much of it. This time I'll swatch since my other Noro hat is big enough for a couple of people to wear at the same time. I haven't done any of the finishing work on my neverending superlong wrap, it's been too hot to work on that big pile of sheddy alpaca.

Today's Gratuitous Bear of the Day will be the first of my marathon bears. I never meant for this to be a trend or anything, never planned to display all my full marathon medals around the necks of bears. Of course, I never planned to run more than one marathon either! When I got to the expo of my first, the (then) Suzuki Rock 'n' Roll Marathon in San Diego, I saw the cutest bear. She had on a little running outfit with the race logo and I just had to have her. After I finished the race and got my medal and TnT 26.2 pin it just seemed natural to hang them around her neck. I put my souvenir timing chip on her wrist. I named her Zuki after the name of the race sponsor. A year later when I finished my second race, again the Suzuki RnR Marathon, I put that medal and pin around her neck too. For my next few races I found appropriate medal bears and a trend was started.
The next year I again ran the Suzuki RnR and pin and medal went to this bear again. Her neck was getting crowded!
I skipped RnR San Diego in 2004 (I ran RnR Arizona instead) and in 2005 I was back, this time without the team and without Suzuki as a race sponsor. I figured 4 medals was enough, if I ran the race again I'd need a new bear. Well, this year as we all know I ran it again, got another medal and pin, but I couldn't find another appropriate bear. Poor little thing, she got the new medal too! Next time, I gotta get a different bear!

Planning for New York

Yesterday was the big day; the drawing for the lottery of the New York City Marathon. I already knew that I was in, I had deferred for the past two years while waiting for a friend to be accepted. When you defer you actually have to pay for the year(s) you're not running in addition to the year you actually run. So far it's cost me well over $300 for this race so Sandy (who is in the same position) and I decided that this year we'd run no matter what, even if Petra didn't get accepted. Well, she didn't. Unbelievable that we were accepted our on our first try and she's been rejected three times! This was going to be her big running come-back, only not.

Lots of other people I know are going to NY in November, a couple of them didn't make it into the race but most of them did. According to the website 98,000 people applied for this race. Last year I think they had about 38,000 actually in the race. Yikes! I am SO not looking forward to those crowds. I looked at the results from last year and even at my speed it's going to be packed the whole way through. There were more than 30 finishers in the one minute between 5:59 and 6:00. I'm already feeling claustrophobic.

Why did I register for a race that I know will drive me batty? Uh, I dunno. I really want to run all the big races that I can (Boston being one I can't), and NY is one of the most important of those. Chicago's even bigger, more people, and I want to do that too. I think as long as I'm still running the little races like Avenue, where I get the road to myself, I can put up with the big crowds in a couple of races each year. Besides, it's a trip to New York. I mean, NEW YORK people, just having an excuse to go there is worthwhile! Yarn shops! Cheesecake! Real bagels! I think I can brave the crowds for that!

So now it's time to set up my training schedule. I'd like to do at least one training marathon in October, maybe a training-training marathon in September. I know I'm running a couple of half marathons this summer (Los Gatos and SF in July, Chicago Distance Classic in August) but I always prefer doing my longest runs as a race. Might as well get a shirt and medal if I'm running that far, right? But the idea is to be at peak condition for NY so that I can finish under six hours and feel like it was a cake-walk. I want to be able to feel like I'm taking it easy, play the tourist while I'm running, but still have a decent finish time. So the training marathons should be easy ones. Most of September's races are either hilly or mountainy or high altitude or trail or all of the above. None of those meet my standards for a training marathon.

Then Petra mentioned that the Baltimore Marathon is the same weekend as Stitches East. Uh oh. Houston, we have a problem. Now, if they gave a medal for attending all the Stitches events in one year the way Elite gives medals for running all their races in one year, I'd absolutely have to do it! But the only medals from Stitches you'd have to knit yourself. With hand dyed, custom silk yarn, in brilliant red .... excuse me for drooling. Anyway, I'm not sure that flying back east three weeks before NY is a good idea, and I'm not sure attending yet another fabulous yarn show is a good idea. It would certainly be cheaper and easier to just stay home and run Cowtown again but boring!

Oh, decisions, decisions!

Meanwhile we have our first heatwave of the summer, and our first Wednesday night run. Claudia and Olivia have agreed to run with me after work on Wednesdays, with the understanding that I'm (considerably) slower than they are. I think tonight we'll all be slow because HOT HOT HOT and we're not used to it. It'll be at least 90 and probably more like 95. Oy. Hopefully I'll be able to keep up with them, although I doubt I'll be talking at all because I'll be panting from the heat and running too fast!

Rock 'n' Roll Marathon San Diego, race report

Here, finally, is my race report:

Sunday morning, June 3, 2007 started for me at 3:30 am. I had set two alarms to go off at 3:40 but since I was wide awake most of the night I just turned them off and got out of bed.

I had gone to the race expo on Friday night after my mom picked me up at the airport. I figured I could beat the crowds that way, and I was right. I picked up my bib number, incredibly cheap white short-sleeved tee shirt and goody bag, then wandered through the race-branded merchandise. I think the Elite people give away such a crappy shirt in hopes that you'll buy a better one. This year I didn't, I have enough RnR shirts. I did buy a hat though, I've been wanting another white running hat and I like how their hats fit.

The expo this year, while still in the San Diego Convention Center, had been moved upstairs to the Sails Pavilion. This seemed a much smaller room than the one they'd used downstairs in previous years. It seemed like there was a smaller selection of vendors and exhibitors this year too. It's still one of the largest expos around though and for first timers, or those used to small races, is quite a sight.

We started to wander around and all of a sudden my mom started feeling poorly. We looked for somewhere to sit, then decided she'd go outside of the expo and I'd meet her there. I continued on my merry way and it wasn't until I returned to the side of the room we'd be on that I found her slumped on the floor, leaning on an information booth. Turns out there weren't any chairs and she couldn't stand any longer. We could have left then, but she insisted she was alright and I should just come back later. So I did.

I needed to get some shorts, body glide and Ultima and hoped to find them at lower expo prices. Yes on the first two, no on the last; nobody was carrying Ultima this year. See, I am the only person who likes it! I periodically returned to check on my mom and make sure she was ok. At some point someone got a chair for her so that she wasn't just a sad old woman on the floor. Each time I returned she looked a little better and she said she felt a little better. Especially after I brought her a sample of a drink the Starbucks booth was passing out. When I had seen everything and bought the stuff I needed I gathered her up and we left.

Our team was staying in the Handlery Hotel which -- ick. We had stayed there a couple of past years too and I had hoped, not remembering quite which one it was, that we were actually staying down the road at a different hotel. Too bad, I was wrong. I checked in Saturday afternoon (I spent Friday night with my mom) and I was in the last building, lower floor. I had been given a single bed room even though I had requested a double (for more space) but after carting all my stuff over there I decided to suck it up and stay there. The room turned out to be, um, well, filthy describes the bathroom best. I didn't realize it until my 3:30 am Sunday shower but it very obviously hadn't been cleaned after the last occupant. Oh gross! There was hair -- I'm not going into details, take my word that it was disgusting. Not like I could do anything about it that early in the morning, and not like I wanted to do anything after I had run a marathon, but they'll be hearing from me. ::shudder::

Anyway. Because the race expo was in the room at the Convention Center where TnT used to hold their pasta and victory parties, those had been moved. Rock 'n' Roll is a destination race for every TnT chapter in the country so tons of TnT'ers come to the race. They had to split the Pasta parties in half; part of the teams had a Saturday pasta party at lunch, part at dinner. We were with the later group. It was at the Town and Country Resort, within walking distance of the hotel. We met up in the hotel lobby and trotted over there together.

The TnT welcomers were the loudest, most exuberant I had seen in all my pasta parties. I don't know where they came up with all those people, but it was a pretty amazing gauntlet to run. The food was buffet style; rolls, salad, pasta, veggies and chicken strips. It was surprisingly tasty for such a bland choice. The tables inside had bags of pretzels, bananas and oranges to take home. The speakers were the usual, including John "The Penguin" Bingham as MC and speaker. There were the funny speakers, the touching speakers and the heart breaking speakers. Tears ran freely in the audience, including at our table. Including me. We found out that the almost 4000 TnT runners and walkers for this event alone had raised -- get this -- 12.5 million dollars for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Wait, what?? Twelve and a half MILLION DOLLARS for this race alone!! In the ten years of San Diego RnR Marathons, Team in Training has raised $122.1 million. Wow. WOW!

Finally the program was done and we met for a couple of minutes with the coaches, planned to meet in the morning in the lobby at 4:30 am. Thus the alarms being set for 3:40 am. I walked back to my room and got my gear set for the morning, knowing I'd have no brain and would forget anything that wasn't in one little pile. I decided to wear the shirt, not the singlet, but I cut the sleeves off. Custom shirt, nobody else wearing one. Right, only purple shirt on the course...

I wasn't thrilled at the lack of sleep but once I got going (and got over the condition of the shower) I figured I was ready for anything the race had to throw at me. We got the bus to the start, all getting split up in the process, and prepared to wait (and wait) (and wait) for the start of the race. They had a million porta potties, booths with water, bagels, juice and coffee, and a line of UPS trucks to carry gear to the finish line. It finally started getting light out, we all checked our gear, and it was time to get into our corrals. Although I had initially been assigned to #23, at the expo I changed to #19. I had to take it on faith that there was actually a start line up there somewhere. I lined up with some teammates and waited. People started moving forward and we thought maybe the race had started but it was just compacting the corrals. We waited some more.

Finally, the anthem was sung, the gun went off and -- nothing. We just stood there. Then we walked. Walked a little more. Walked faster. Hey look, there's the start! People started running just before the mats, and it was on. Time to do the damn thing. Time to get on pace, feel good, have a great race, and ... too many people. There was no way in the first mile to feel your pace. You were either going around someone, about to slam into someone, sprinting a step to side-step someone, hitting the brakes when someone dashed in front of you.

I had a plan. Isn't there always a plan? I was sure I could finish about 5:45; a 13:10 minute mile. This was based on my race at Avenue and the weeks in-between. To do that, I wanted to start out the first, oh, five miles or so at 12:30-12:45, run:walking at 9:1. I knew I'd be slower at the end; that happens whether I'm faster at the start or not, so why not start a bit faster at a pace I could easily do. I also knew I'd slow down between miles 8-11 when we were on the uphill canted freeway. I planned to start run:walking 4:1 after the half, but only if I was feeling at all tired.

My first mile seemed to be on pace, 12:34, but that wasn't the full story. There was that whole darting around people thing, where I swear I ended up running a couple of tenths extra in that mile. The next mile was 12:38, also on pace, except it still wasn't a smooth pace. Then the downhill started, both literally and figuratively. Miles 3-6 were 12:21, 11:53, 11:52 and 12:19. Oh crap, that's way the hell too fast. Especially with the crowds and the fast/slow running and what's going on here?

I was cooked, I knew when I started running on the freeway that I'd blown it. Oh well, not like I wasn't going to finish; it just was going to be ugly. I was torn between feeling like I should just take it easy from then on, walk whenever I wanted, take breaks when I wanted, put no more effort into it. Or, I could work my ass off and still do the best I could. I decided not to embarrass myself and to work for it.

The weather turned out to be a big factor. It was very damp and overcast and probably about 60 degrees at the start. Very humid, any sweat just staying on your body without any cooling evaporation. The sun started to come out after about 3 hours, and was fully sunny not long after that. There was a very cool breeze which made up in comfort for being a headwind that took more effort.

Support along the course was amazing. The bands all seemed to be playing and the cheerleaders cheering when I passed. This is the first time that's happened, usually they're taking breaks just when I go by. It seemed like there was always another water stop right along the way, and the cheering throngs were everywhere. Partially because it's such a huge TnT race and partially just because it's a plain huge race, there were spectators everywhere. I know a lot of people get off on their energy. I pretty much ignore them, or try to keep them in the background.

There were the usual characters along the way, both spectating and participating. Lots of people running in costume (what's up with that? what kind of idiot do you have to be to run 26.2 miles in a costume??). Elvises all over the place. Superman, superwoman. Old people, young people. Very old people (an 84 year old woman finished in 6:30; an 83 yo man in 6:48). Old people faster than me (a 79 yo woman finished in 5:43, how embarrassing is that?) and young people way the hell faster than me (14 yo girl finishing in 4:45 - shouldn't she be in school learning something??).

So, run run run, slower slower slower. I did the first 10k averaging 12:16/mile, the half at 12:44/mile, 21 miles at 13:26/mile. Are we seeing a progression here? Between 16 and 17 I stopped and waited at a porta potty and almost decided to walk it in from there since I had to wait in line about 4 minutes. That was an almost 18 minute mile, including the wait in line. I figured that had really thrown out a decent finish time but then I started running again.

That break made a difference and mile 18 was faster. Too bad, mile 19 was slower (there was a hill there, I think I walked the hill). I was feeling pretty bad by that time. Nothing really hurt, just my energy was very low and my legs didn't have the turnover they'd had earlier. I was overheated and dumping one glass of water over my head for every glass I'd drink. I got some ice and that helped for a while, but my core was still overheated.

I saw Coach Al between miles 22 and 23 and told him I was hurting. He told me he knew I'd finish. I told him that finishing wasn't in question, it was how long it would take me to get there. Funny, I think I always look better than I feel during races. Miles 24 and 25 were just plain ugly, both my mood and the scenery. Course support and crowd support were still great that late in the race, lots of people still out there, lots of water still at the tables. The last few tables even had iced water, very welcome in my superheated dehydrated condition.

My running-challenged brain was busy the last few miles trying to figure out how fast I had to go and still finish under six hours. I was pretty sure I had to run my ass off, and knew about what pace I was shuffling along, but somehow I ended up with different numbers every time I'd try figuring it.

Unfortunately the ugliest part of the course is the last couple of miles. For an urban marathon this is a pretty scenic one, except for those miles. Since I've run this one before and know the ending pretty well, I knew when I got closer to the MCRD that it was still quite a way to the finish. I swear, if one more person yelled "you're almost there" or "it's just around the corner" I would just stop and beat them with my water bottle. Finally, Finally, Finally I turned the last turn and started running along the finishing stretch. I saw the finish line, tried to smile for the cameras while I was gasping for air, tried not to start crying, start laughing. I finally finished, an official chip time of 5:57.51 and clock time of 6:07.02. I was amazed how exhausted and worn I was for such a slow time.

I got my medal, had the chip cut from my shoe, got a cold bottle of water that I drank down in a couple of seconds. I got an iced towel and wiped it all over my head trying to cool down. I waited and got my picture taken. The secure finishing area had tons of exhausted finishers, food, drinks, free Spenco sandals. I grabbed a few things and found my UPS truck with my bag I had checked earlier, then set off through the crowds to find the TnT tent. And a porta potty. I found both.

I collected my 26.2 TnT pin and got a pb&j sandwich and some chips in the TnT tent. They did a superb job of handing out food and drinks. I badly wanted to go get my free beer, but I was too wiped out. I wanted to see what booths were at the finish area, but again, too tired. I hung out with some teammates until we all walked over to the bus to take us back to the hotel.

The only way to do this race is if you can get on one of those buses. Other people have to hike about a mile away to the parking areas. TnT buses also get right of way leaving the facility. It's definitely a plus. I've heard from people that it can take almost an hour to get out of there.

After the bus dropped us at our hotel I dragged my sorry self back to my room and realized that I had dropped my iced towel on the bus when I stood up. I also realized I had snagged my shorts on a jagged edge on the bus seat. Damn, they were my favorite race shorts and now they're only good for treadmilling in the privacy of my own home. Stupid bus.

After showering (::shudder::) and resting a while I dressed and walked over to the victory party. I hadn't eaten (not hungry) and had forced myself to drink the bottle of electrolyte stuff they had given us at the end of the race. I met up with some teammates as we stood in line. I was totally unimpressed with the spread. Usually the food at the RnR/TnT victory party is really good, they realize that we've been (supposedly) eating a strict training diet and this is the time to go all out. This looked more like what you'd eat the week leading up to the race; salad, bean salad, overheated chicken breasts in a light tomato-y sauce, overheated fish in a creamy-type sauce, some other protein dish I don't remember, and roasted potatoes. The dessert table almost made up for it. There were several bars set up and after I put down my plate at our table I hurried over to one to get a glass of wine because -- oh crap! I forgot my wallet in my hotel room! Damn! I sat at the table, ate some of the food I had gotten and decided I was just going to have to go back to the hotel because I really wanted that wine.

So I walked allllll the way back to the hotel, got my wallet, and met up with more team members. We walked allllll the way back again and I was able to get my wine. I also got a big piece of cake which was surprisingly good. We all sat around eating and drinking and telling each other about our races. Then we all got out on the dance floor and danced until they were ready to kick us out of there.

A group of people were going to continue the party down in the Gaslamp District but a couple of us decided to just have one drink in the hotel bar and call it a night. The bitchy bartender was unaware that about 20 people were descending upon her and she wasn't very capable of getting drinks made for everyone. Finally the big crowd cleared out and just a few were left. We had one Grey Goose martini, made with way too much vermouth. We had the second one and requested less vermouth, it was much better. Then we decided to see if a third could be made even tastier. Yup, it was. Then we decided to go to bed and uh oh. Nothing like exhaustion, dehydration, very little food, very little fluids and lots of vodka to impair one's self. I bounced my way back to the room (literally; "hi wall, nice to see you") and fell senseless into bed. Best sleep I've had for years!

So one more race finished, one more TnT season done. I'm glad I got my finishing times back under 6 hours, even if I just squeaked this one through. It was a course PR too, even though it wasn't a race PR. On the old course I was almost ten minutes faster, but the one other time I ran this course I was a whole 9 seconds slower. Impressive progress, huh! I'm hoping that my fall marathons, whatever they end up being, will be more in the 5:4x time, maybe even in the 5:3x. I have a lot of work to do!

Back to routine

NOTICE: ONLY 5 MORE DAYS TO CONTRIBUTE TO NOAH'S MAN OF THE YEAR CAMPAIGN!! Please help him raise money to fight blood cancers. Online donations are accepted until midnight (EST), Friday, June 15th. Go here!

This was a lovely weekend, just what the doctor ordered. No, not literally; there was no doctor involved. It was restful and productive, what I needed after two weekends away.

Saturday morning was our last TnT coached run for the season. Wahh! As much as I'm looking forward to running with my own group again, I'm going to miss the team. There's that indefinable feeling of being part of something special, something important.

We met at the Alameda Harbor Bay Ferry parking lot at 7:30 am. The brand new summer team was also meeting there so it was going to be getting crowded. There were lots of strange faces there, but those of us on the spring team took off running while the newbies had a clinic.

My run, all 4 miles of it, went very well. I ran the first couple of miles with others and then slowed down and ran the last 2 miles alone. Even the alone part was faster than normal, so it looks like I've recovered from the marathon.

The whole team had been asked to gather together for thank you's, congratulations and good bye from the coaches and manager. This is what we used to do at the wrap party, but those have apparently been discontinued. Too bad, they were always fun. Mama Lisa and Coach always have gifts for the mentors and captains and awards for special people. This year they gave us each a plaque individually engraved with our name. It had the Olympic torch, after which our Team Flame had been named. Very nice. The participants all got pins of runners, also very nice (I got one of those too, lucky me!). There were also finishers certificates from the manager.

Boo hoo saying bye is really hard, but -- oh yeah -- I was going to see a lot of those people later. I scurried home, showered and changed and sped back to Oakland. Jeanette's band was playing at the Temescal Street Fair at noon, which meant I had to hustle if I wanted to catch their set. I got an incredibly lucky parking space and arrived just before they started.

It was sunny and very warm, but felt good standing in the sun listening. They sounded great. Several other teammates showed up and we all listened together. The crowd, which had been pretty sparse at the start, filled in with people watching and listening and dancing. Unfortunately they got booted off the stage after only an hour and a half by a very impatient martial arts exhibition. I think the crowd would have been happier if they had just kept playing.

I had told Jeanette that she had to hang around afterward to visit Article Pract and Bakesale Betty's. The poor woman had never been to either place. So we grabbed a bite to eat (yum, Lanesplitter Pizza) and went to the yarn shop. She found yarn for a couple of projects she had in mind, but somehow I managed to walk out without buying a thing. Not so at Betty's! I got a pear ginger scone (drool...) and a big container of brownies.

I headed over to my bro's house to see their new kitten. They had recently lost one of their older sick cats, so for his birthday last week they got a young kitten, Flower. I wanted to see her before she grew up and became just another cat. Oh stop it, you know what I mean. She'll be a cat for years but will only be a kitty for several weeks. She's living in their bedroom now, since the two rats live in my nephew's room, the two dogs roam the rest of the house, and the other cats are free to go where they like.

I got up the hill and only my bro was home. He was making Sangria and I gave him my famous recipe I had gotten in Spain. Yes, add brandy, triple sec and lots of fruit to the wine, plus other stuff. I also gave him the brownies I had gotten at Betty's. Funny, he had meant to get some but didn't know there was a street fair going on and couldn't find a place to park. He thought he'd have to disappoint his son, but Auntie Amy to the rescue. What, you thought I was going to try to fit all those brownies in on weight watchers??

The kitten was adorable, lively and probably teething (ouch, those baby claws and teeth are sharp!). I played with her for a while until I got tired out and decided to call it a day.

Sunday consisted of straightening the house, doing yard work, running errands, updating files, blah blah blah. I had wanted to sleep late but was wide awake very early. Oh, this not sleeping thing is getting really old.

I also read Memoirs of a Geisha over the weekend. I enjoyed just being able to sit on my ass and read for a while without feeling I had to do something else. Well, I did feel like I had to do something else, but I ignored that feeling and read anyway. I didn't get any knitting done because I haven't figured out how to knit and read at the same time.

I went through my yarn stash trying to decide which yarns to use for my Temescal Bag. This is the class I'm taking from Petra at Article Pract next Saturday and the last Saturday of the month. I'm torn between using dark boring colors in a bag I'll actually use, and using something bright and colorful that would probably just sit in my closet. Oh, what to do, what to do. I finally came up with two different combinations; one in greens using Wool of the Andes [oh crap - looking at that link I notice it's on sale and "must not buy any yarn" and it's so tempting... ] and one in purples using Cascade 220. What, you ask? Yeah, I thought about doing it in reds/pinks/grey/black, but that's what they're all expecting!

And now it's Monday. Time to get to work!

Off the needles

The neverending superlong wrap from hell is Off the Needles! Yay! I knit several rows last night and I finally decided that enough is enough, it's sixty two billion inches long, I'm sick and tired of it. So I did the border and bound off. Actually, it's only about 95 inches. Yes, you read that correctly. But I think that blocking it will make it several inches shorter. I still need to weave in all the ends, of which there are plenty. And I have to figure out how and where to block the thing. I could probably use a couple (a few?) (many?) towels on the floor and pin it that way. I'm not sure if I'll wash it or just spritz it with water. I'm thinking delicate wash because then some of the loose short alpaca hairs may drift away. And clog up my drain. Maybe spritzing is the way to go. Any suggestions? This baby is so long it'll take forever if I go slowly.

I had a pretty good run last night with Pam, our short short route. It was nice getting back to it, although at first my legs were doing some complaining. Here I thought they were all better from the marathon. And they were, until I asked them to run. It took a while to warm up but I enjoyed being outside and moving again. It's so strange that it's completely light outside after we're done. It doesn't feel like June running since it's still pretty cool outside. That'll change soon, I'm sure.

Now that my TnT buddy runs are over with for the season I've arranged to run on Wednesday nights with Claudia and Olivia. The only problem is that they're both faster than I am so it'll be challenging for them to slow down and me to speed up. Claudia suggested that I get healy's. Oh well, it'll be their slow, easy run for the week and my speed work. Having the commitment to meet someone is the important part, that way we all have to be there.

Busy weekend ahead, but I'll finish the race report and post it. Have a great weekend!

Race recovery

I'm feeling better today, it must be Thursday. I'm seeing a pattern to my race recovery now that I've done so many of them. Let's say the race is Sunday morning and isn't a super hilly or canted course. On race afternoon I'm tired (or exhausted) and a little sore, a little stiff. Monday morning I'm pretty stiff, a little more sore. Monday afternoon my quads and IT bands are starting to stiffen more and are starting to hurt a lot. Tuesday I'm usually hurting even sitting, walking down stairs is hard, sitting for too long makes it really tough to move again. By Wednesday walking down stairs is still hard, my lower back is sore, but otherwise I feel ok. Once Thursday rolls around I'm feeling normal, except for maybe lower energy than usual. I can run Thursday night as long as I don't expect any great performance out of my body.

I'm still trying to catch up on things at home and at work. I'm not sure how things pile up so much in such a short time. This weekend should be a good time to get my home and yard in order but I think it'll be the middle of the month before I catch up at work.

I'm working on the race report but since it was a TnT and travel weekend it may take longer than usual!

Knit a little, rip a little

I didn't get a whole lot of productive knitting done over the long weekend. Because it's small, compact and a relatively easy pattern I took along my red alpaca/tencel cable scarf that I started months and months ago. Luckily I had written down that easy 8 row pattern I designed since I had forgotten just what I was doing.

So I took it out on the very full flight down to San Diego. I had a window seat, figuring I'd have that extra inch or so for my knitting elbows and yarn. Worked great, I was knitting happily away while the guy in the middle kept oozing farther and farther into my space. I did the first set of cables, then the next, knit knit knit. Then I dropped my row counter. Oh crap. I thought it fell behind me, but couldn't see. It was the green one, that you press the top and it advances, and you can lock it in place. I did as much looking as I could in the cramped spaces but then gave it up. I decided not to continue, since I didn't want to screw up the scarf. I put away the knitting and got out a book.

While the rest of the passengers deplaned, I searched for my counter. C'mon, it's bright green, I should have been able to see it. But even with the help of one of the flight attendants it was nowhere to be found. Good bye little counter, I enjoyed knitting with you.

Saturday morning my mom and I went to a little shop in the village, Helga's Yarn Boutique, to get a replacement row counter. Believe it or not, there was not a single solitary skein of yarn that I was interested in buying in that shop. I'm not sure that's happened before. I did get a new counter, the big red unlocking one, after waiting about 10 minutes for the proprietor to get it for me. Great, back in business.

I was too busy or too tired or too drunk to knit the rest of the time I was there, until I got on the plane to return to Oakland. I took a window seat again, thinking the same thoughts about space, etc. The plane took off and -- the knitting was in my bag above the seat, and two sleeping people kept me from getting it. Sigh. No knitting on that flight.

Last night I figured I'd better get it out, determine which row I was on, and set the counter correctly. That was easy enough. Then I knitted a section. Then I looked back on what I had knitted on the plane in the first place, and realized that I had knit the second left cable backward. I stared at it, thought I could live with it, blocked it out of my mind, and knit another row. Stared some more, then decided I had to frog it. Rip rip rip, three sections torn out, right back to where I had started on Friday. Found some smaller needles to get it back in place, switched to the 6's I was using, re-knit the cables and finished that section and part of the next.

I'm glad I fixed it. There's already one mistake waaaaaay back at the beginning, in the center cable, that I know I can live with. A second goof would have been too much. So, total knit over my travel weekend: none.

I put on my neverending superlong wrap and I think I'm almost done. Maybe another inch and then I'll do the final border. Yay, I'm really tired of that project. I'm almost looking forward to learning how to block.

Stay tuned, a report of the rest of the weekend, and the race, should be coming up soon. Ish.

Another day, another marathon

Hi everyone! I'm back from San Diego and I'm just -- well, I'm pretty tired! This will have to be short since I need to dig through the six inches of crap piled on my desk, and slog through the 523 (no I'm not kidding) emails in my inbox. I'm in spam hell here people!

So, it was a great weekend. The race went ok, not exactly as planned. I'll do a full report later, but for those clamoring to know I finished in 5:57.51. The TnT pasta and victory parties were fun and I drank (way) too much at the hotel bar afterward.

I'll try to get pictures and a full report tonight or tomorrow!

What did I forget?

After all this time I pretty much have packing for my marathon weekends down to a fine art. Nevertheless, I normally forget one key thing. I have a list that keeps growing as I forget, or almost forget, essentials. I think I have everything this time. Probably. Hopefully. It's easier if I'm staying within walking distance of the expo (if there is one) and a large Long's-type store, or if I have a car. None of those will apply this weekend. I'll be staying with my mom tonight but I won't unpack my running gear until after I'm dropped off at the hotel late tomorrow afternoon. Then it'll be too late to get whatever I need.

I don't forget shoes, or shorts, or my sports bra; those are no-brainers. I eat oatmeal in the morning before a race (before all of my runs, in fact) and I've always remembered to pack it. I just keep forgetting to pack a spoon. Ever had oatmeal, made with hot tap water, thinned down enough to slurp it from a plastic cup? Ick. "Spoon" is on the list. And I think of The Tick every time I see it. A couple of times I've almost left my papers -- flight or race confirmations, name of the hotel or car rental company -- on the kitchen counter. That's on the list. Inhaler? Gasp/wheeze. On the list. Dead phone when I'm at the airport without my luggage and nobody's at the counter and I couldn't charge the phone because of no charger? Check. Throw-away gloves and disposable poncho for the start? I only remember those when it's cold out at home, so they're on the list. How many times have I gone to a race, thinking it'll be warm, and end up buying long pants at the expo? Not on the list and I'm not telling!

We had our TnT Send-off Party Wednesday night. There was a good turnout, most of the people who said they'd come actually showed up. Like the Avenue Send-off this was a potluck only this time there was a bigger assortment of home-made food. And a much larger assortment of desserts. The fabulous Jeanette baked the best brownies in the world. She also made a fresh cherry pie/cake for us weight watcher's girls and it was fabulous! That didn't stop us from trying the brownies though. They were just too good.

Mama Lisa gave her talk, only this time I kinda skipped out on it. Jeanette and I had some things to discuss so we took care of business during the talk. We came back in for the rest of the talks though, we're not that bad. All in all it was a fun evening, again seeing everyone about to run their first marathon or half marathon ever. I understand their feelings; I still get excited/apprehensive before every single marathon.

I haven't run again since Monday, I just haven't had the time. It'll be interesting to see how my legs feel on Sunday. I haven't knit much either, unless you count endless rows of the neverending superlong wrap. I'm thinking that HAS to be finished soon.

Since I'm needing a new knitting project (ok, I don't really NEED a new one, I just WANT a new one) I registered for a class. I'm going to take Petra's Temescal Bag class at Article Pract. I've never taken a class from Petra but she's the one who taught me to knit, so I know how patient and clear her instructions are. And I've wanted to knit another felted bag so I'm excited about this. Anyone else want to join me?

Wish me luck, I'll report results on Tuesday!

Carmel weekend, part 3

Oooooh, my head. That's how I felt when I got up Sunday morning. It wasn't as much too much alcohol, it was too much everything. Too much rich food, too much no sleep, and ok, maybe a little bit too much wine. I didn't sleep well (big surprise there) and got up and dressed early. I had to move my car by 9:30 at the latest and didn't wait around for that. I decided to cruise around town to maybe find another coffee shop but ended up at the same place as the day before, Caffe Cardinale Cofffee, for another latte. I also got one of their granola bites, a small pastry-like thingie that pretended, by the name, to be healthy. I'm pretty certain it wasn't, it tasted way too good.

I had thought I'd go sip my latte by the ocean but the morning was again cool, misty, windy. Nah, don't need that when I'm already feeling edgy. Instead I went back to the motel to pack up. I ran into Sandy, talked with her for a bit, then packed up and checked out.

I made one stop on the way home, at the outlet shops in Gilroy. No, I wasn't looking for clothes, shoes, bags, kitchenware. There was one very important shop that I'd been looking forward to for months. The Jelly Belly outlet. Disturbing, hmm? Yes, I'm a Jelly Belly freak and I'm very particular about the flavors I like. Most stores now have a very limited selection of flavors and only the factory and outlets have fresh, individual flavors. Not to mention the previous holiday's assortments on sale. So I got my beans. A bag of peanut butter, a bag of sour orange, a bag or two (or three) of a mixture of the other flavors I like. It didn't seem like much until they weighed it and it was mpfhxr pounds. Yikes, that better last months! At 16 or 17 per point, I'm going to need to be very careful.

The ride home was slower than the ride down. Lots of people were on the road, driving like the idiots they seem to be. I finally got home and just wanted to collapse, but I didn't have time for that. I wanted to go hear Jeanette's band, East Bay Mudd, playing at the San Ramon Wind Festival. It had been a couple of years since I'd heard them, in fact before she was singing with them, and since it was practically in my back yard I knew I'd have to go.

I have very happy memories of the Wind Festival. Nine years ago I nervously paced around while waiting to see if the previous owners would accept my bid on my house. Luckily they did; within two weeks real estate prices jumped enormously and I wouldn't have been able to afford the price raise. They did everything they could to try to back out of the deal, but I wouldn't let them, I wanted this house. So I think of the Wind Festival as my good luck charm.

I had measured and it was about 1.6 miles from my house to the festival. So of course I drove. Amazing that I'll run 26.2 miles and I won't walk a couple of miles and save money on the parking. Hey, see above re the headache, etc. Heh heh, yeah, I was just being lazy.

When I arrived the band was setting up and Jeanette was just putting on her dancin' shoes. And what shoes they were! The perfect footwear for the hot singer, and she even needed assistance to put them on. But owie, I don't know how she wears them! I wandered around the festival a bit and saw a sign for beer and wine. Ah! The perfect remedy for what ailed me! That glass of wine made me feel more normal.

The band started playing and sounded great. The lead singer has a fantastic voice and great stage presence. I knew a bunch of peeps from the team were going to be there, but for the time I was just hanging around at the back of the crowd. I had a good view, until some woman popped open her parasol and blocked everything. Oh hi Meenu! I'd finally found the other people, who were directly in front of me the whole time. D'oh! Tunnel vision, I didn't even see them. For the most part I continued standing where I was. I just can't sit still when that type of music is playing. I didn't want to go dance, too tired, but I stood there bopping away where I stood.

When the band took a break I took a walk to get some water. Most of the food booths were sponsored by some local fundraising group; the different high school teams and clubs, scouts, etc. It was very confusing having to make a decision about who I wanted to support with my meager water dollars, but I managed. When I returned the band had started up again and Coach Al had arrived. He had cycled in from the BART station in Walnut Creek. And I wouldn't even walk a couple of miles!

When the band had finished playing and the festival closed down for the day, a group of us decided to continue the party with some food and drink. We walked over to the Hop Yard, a local alehouse a couple of blocks away. I had decided I wasn't drinking again for a while. That lasted until I ordered a beer. Hey, way to stick with it! It was a fun time and I was totally wiped out by the time I got home. I unpacked some stuff, left other stuff sitting out, and tried to go to sleep early. Yeah, that'll work.

I met Pam Monday morning to run. Since it was substituting for our weekend run we knew we had to run more than our normal short short route. We ran the 6-ish mile version, the one we pretend we should be running every time. I started out really dragging, every step an effort, and finally gel-ed about halfway through. That helped enormously, made the rest of the run fun and energetic.

The rest of the day was spent doing typical weekend stuff, keeping busy, getting things done. I realized that I really have to start putting my shoes back in the closet after I wear them instead of just kicking them off and leaving them on the floor. It was funny, six pairs of black shoes and slippers just piled out there. At least they weren't strewn about the house, they're in one place. Into the closet they go!

It was a great long weekend, but I'm glad I won't have to do it again for ... oh wait, until tomorrow. Tomorrow I'm going down to San Diego to see my mom and run my next marathon. Ok, I'll rest the weekend after!

Carmel weekend, part 2

Sandy's & Tom's wedding reception was at the Inn at Spanish Bay. The resort is right on the bay, overlooking the golf course. The view was spectacular. When we arrived the cocktail hour was in full swing; total open bar and a cheese/bread table. I decided I'd have one, and only one, vodka martini; I was hungry and wanted the olives. I didn't intend on drinking much since I was driving. I knew I'd probably get lost leaving totally sober and I had no hopes of not driving around Carmel forever if I was tipsy or worse.

We all stood around, catching up with friends we hadn't seen for a while. It was great talking with with all the crazy runners we hadn't seen in so long, finding out what they're doing. Judging by the refilling of glasses, this wasn't going to be a sober crowd for too long.

As we had expected, Pam and I, as the only 2 single women in our group, were seated together. We were surprised to be at the second table of friends but that was no problem. When the banquet room was opened we looked for our seats and realized we had been moved to the other table. It really made no difference to us, they were all friends. We hadn't been seated with strangers from New York so it was all good.

The room was nice, not too big, dimly lit. Which of course made picture taking iffy, especially with my lack of mad photo skilz. When most of the guests had been seated the bridal party entered, followed at last by the newly married couple. Sandy had pinned up her dress so the train wasn't dragging and looked lovely. Geez, that girl cleans up well! Heh heh.

So we ate, we drank, we toasted, we talked, we drank more. Except for Pam, who had the sense, like usual, to drink water only. The meal started with a very tasty salad of mixed greens with bacon, blue cheese, tomatoes, and caramelized onion vinaigrette. Then there was a palate clearing lemon chambord sorbet that was very good. I would have been happy just having a carton of that with a spoon for dinner. Ooops, yeah, that's my little secret way of eating ice cream at home. Oh, don't tell me you don't do the same thing too!

At one point someone had to go to the ladies room, so we all had to go. Yeah, all the ladies in our little group had to. Six of us. Whether we needed to or not. It seemed pretty funny at the time. We made a little stop to see the (by then) lonely bartender and get refills. And take pictures. Hey, we all clean up well! Not one pair of running shoes in the bunch.

We had chosen our entree with our RSVP card. I had chicken breast filled with spinach and ricotta, served over potatoes with fresh steamed veggies. It was a good choice. Even though chicken is a mainstay in my diet this was different. Didn't even come out of a Lean Cuisine box. Of course, I'm pretty certain it had more than 5 points.

Meanwhile, the drinking and toasting and talking continued. At that point I was still attempting to keep my alcohol consumption under control and I was just sipping the wine while drinking water. That wasn't to last much longer.

Then it was time for the first dance. Looks like Sandy's and Tom's dance lessons paid off; they knew what they were doing out there and looked great doing it. I guess having to rush to lessons after 20 mile runs was worthwhile. Afterward the floor opened up and people joined them.

Around then I realized that most of the people around me, excluding only Pam, were getting pretty toasted themselves. Not the "cheers" toasted either. But everyone looked like they were having a great time doing so, and I decided at that point ta heck wit' it, I was having more too! Glug glug. I was really enjoying that wine!

Lots of dancing, which I don't normally do unless I've been drinking. Then I just don't give a hoot how I look and live in the moment. Great, there's the middle aged woman kicking up her heels. Good thing almost everyone else was drinking, they won't remember! And lots of the middle aged other people were doing the same thing.

Finally there was the cake cutting, the bouquet toss, the garter toss. And more drinking and dancing. The happy couple and the attendants had time to mingle and really party with everyone.

People finally started to leave, to drift off in ones and twos. People who weren't spending the night in the area had left before the cake, other people just wanted to be back in their room and off the road before it was too dark. I hung around dancing, talking, and oh yeah, drinking. Sheesh. Finally Bree was leaving and said I could follow them back to the motel. Good idea, not as good in execution. Note to self: when following someone to a strange place, make sure they're more sober than I am. It was a very interesting ride back. The good news is we were going verrrrry slowly and carefully along that 17 Mile Drive. The bad news was there was no parking at the motel when we got back; I drove several blocks away and parked in a space where the time was limited after 8:00 am. I decided to worry about that in the morning!

So, it was a very nice wedding, a great party afterward. After all the crap we gave Sandy about having such an elaborate expensive wedding, it turned out to be a great time. I guess if you're going to throw a wedding party, do it right the first time! All my best wishes to the newlyweds that this is the only wedding they'll ever have!

I'll report on the rest of my weekend tomorrow.

Carmel weekend, part one

I'm requesting another day for this weekend; three wasn't nearly enough. I'd like one extra day to get stuff done around the house and yard and to sleep. Ahh, sweet sleep, I remember it well.

I left work mid-day on Friday to drive down to Carmel. First I had to pack, which I had put off for the last minute. I realized that my handy Timex running watch, which I have in fqstpnm different colors (what? how many?) didn't look right with a girly dress and rainbow sapphire bracelet. I checked and all of my nicer watches had dead batteries so my first stop after leaving the house was at a jeweler's to get my Seiko fixed. Yup, my Seiko lasted longer than my marriage did. Hmmm? Don't you remember that commercial from the 80's?

The ride down was fine, it seemed that all the holiday traffic was headed in the other direction. At least until I got to 101. Forty seven lanes merged into three so there was a slow-down there. The speed went on to vary from way over the limit back down to 10 mph for the rest of the ride. It ended up taking me about 2 hours I think, which isn't bad at all. I went directly to the motel to check in.

A bunch of us were staying at the Hofsas House in Carmel. It's a cute collection of buildings that they united by painting pink. I found out my room was on the fourth floor - no elevator. From the street it was the second floor though so it wasn't a problem unloading my car. My room was pretty small but cute and clean so no complaints there. It was like being in an old house, the walls were thin and I could hear people in other rooms and on the street. Whatever, like I was going to sleep anyway.

I looked at the map I had been given and realized that the local yarn shop was really close, so I walked on over there. Only getting lost about three times. In three blocks. Sigh. Directionally dyslexic. Nothing I can do about it. The LYS, Knitting by the Sea, was a cute little shop. They didn't have a huge selection but what they did have was interesting. I looked at the Mountain Colors, a hand painted yarn from Corvallis, MT. I ended up buying a couple of skeins of their Bearfoot, 60% superwash, 25% mohair and 15% nylon sock yarn. Yeah, I know I don't knit socks. Yet. What's your point? It has a lovely feel, nice and soft. One skein is Granite Peak, the other colorway shall remain nameless as I bought it as a birthday gift for someone. I also bought one skein of the Weaver's Wool Quarters, 100% sport weight wool, in Moose Creek. I loved the deep, somber, yet clear colors. I'll probably end up knitting, oh, a hat or scarf or shawl or gloves or ... yeah, something that isn't socks.

After I returned to the motel I contacted Pam and discovered that she had been given a really nice room. A really nice BIG room. A huge room. Fireplace, microwave, mini-fridge, sitting area. Apparently there was a problem with the cheap room she had reserved so they gave her the big room for the night. We called Anita, who had arrived with Gary and Kendra, and she came over and we all decided that Pam had definitely gotten lucky. Because of Kendra (her dog) and paying less, Anita had gotten the smallest room of all. They weren't too pleased with that.

The four of us (no, not Kendra) headed out for dinner, figuring we'd find something nearby. We did; we ended up at the Forge in the Forest which looked both casual enough and cheap enough. Hey, prices in Carmel are ridiculous! Anyway, Anita and I ordered Mandarin Mojitos, a liberal naming of a pretty good drink. They muddled the mint with an orange slice and used Mandarin Vodka instead of rum. Very very tasty. Another, please! For dinner I ordered the soft tacos with ahi which was seared on the outside and thinly sliced. Very tasty fresh raw fish wrapped up in a tortillas with typical taco sides. I was very happy. And the mojitos had, I'm sure, nothing to do with it!

Pam and I had decided we were taking advantage of not having to get up to run in the morning, so we decided to contact each other no earlier than 9:00 am. After a mostly sleepless night I got up and dressed early, checked out the so-called Continental breakfast in the hotel lobby, and waited until 9. We decided to walk down to Ocean Avenue to check out the coffee shop situation. We walked to Caffe Cardinale Coffee Roasting Co. and stood in line, eyeing the pastries and wondering whether we should splurge. We did. I got a berry scone, which I ended up not eating since it wasn't good enough to waste the bazillion calories on. My latte was wonderful. I have nothing against Starbucks (obviously, slurp), but it's nice to have something special. This certainly was.

We wandered in and out of a couple of shops, not really in buying mode, just looking. We walked into Lloyd's Shoes, mostly to look at the very fancy, expensive girly shoes they had. High style, higher prices. Who buys these things? Shoes for $400?? To each their own, I guess. Then I looked at the other side of the shop where it was more casual. I tried on a pair of Merrell slides, leather outside and sheepskin lining, and fell instantly in love with them. I thought they'd be perfect for after winter marathons, just what cold sore toesies need. So they stayed on my feet and they've come home with me. They suited the weekend Carmel weather, cold, misty and foggy. [Talking with her later, my sis didn't understand why I had bought fleece shoes in late May. Obviously she hasn't spent a summer in California!]

I went back to the motel and did the whole make-up/hair/dress thing. I was having hair issues; this last cut looks best when I wear it as straight as possible but the humid foggy air thought I'd be better off with curls, waves and frizz. After trying and trying to get it straighter I gave up and whatevered. Waves it is!

We drove to the church, the Carmel Mission Basilica. I was following Pam's car and we managed to only get lost once. It wasn't our fault; the desk clerk at the motel told us to drive straight down the street outside, we'd run right into the church. She neglected to mention that at one spot the road dead-ended and we had to go either left or right. We picked wrong. We did manage to get turned back around, thanks to a helpful gardener in his yard. The Mission was interesting. There's a huge sense of being surrounded by history, not all of it good. Anyway, we met up with a bunch of other friends and waited for the wedding to begin. Which it did, almost exactly on time.

The bridesmaids and matron of honor strolled down the aisle, then Sandy was walked down by her brother. She looked just like a fairytale princess in her gown with the long train and full veil. My pictures inside didn't turn out well because of the dim lighting. The ceremony was long and, I guess, traditional with the whole mass. Stand, sit, amen and repeat.

Afterward we decided to take the scenic route to the reception. We had free entry to the 17 Mile Drive and enough time. Most of the views were incredible. The road was twisty turny and mostly we followed other cars through. People live in there; I'm sure they get sick and tired of all the tourists driving through all the time. Hey, they bought their tickets.

The reception was ... ok, I'll be continuing this tomorrow. Stay tuned!

Weekend getaway

Judging from the (lack of) traffic this morning everyone is taking a four day weekend instead of the usual three day-er. That makes sense; traffic when I left work yesterday was awful. There were too many vehicles, distracted angry rude drivers, big rigs barging into lanes, y'know, the usual it's-about-me syndrome on the road. I'm glad most people have already left for where they're going since I'll be driving down to Carmel in several hours and hopefully the freeways will be less congested. Yeah, of course they will. But I'll be prepared if there's gridlock; I have my phone, my ipod and my camera.

We had a good run last night, despite people driving like maniacs and crazy skaters/cyclists on the trail. It was another warm night, breezy, luckily cooler than the rest of the day had been. We were taking it easy until the last red light where another runner came up behind us. He was a friend and co-coach with Pam and ran the last stretch with us. Obviously he was faster than us and slowing down a lot to chat with Pam, so I sped up. Not sprinting speed, but just short of that. Wheeze wheeze. It actually felt fine and I'm glad we got our speed work (heh) in for the week.

Another few rows done on the everlasting superlong wrap. Zzzzzzzzzz. Must ... start ... brighter ... project ... soon ...

Today's Gratuitous Bear of the Day was a gift for my 50th birthday from my sis. Shut up, I know I'm old. He's a premium 22" bear from the Vermont Teddy Bear Company. A couple of years prior to that my sis turned 50 and coincidentally that year was the 100th anniversary of the teddy bear. VTBC issued a commemorative bear for the occasion, a 22" bear with an anniversary foot stamp. Since sis was a half century old and the bear was a full century, I just HAD to get her one as a gift. Thus when my 50th rolled around she returned the favor. Although the anniversary bear was no longer available she sent me a regular big bear. I had a very hard time naming him, trying out a half dozen different monikers before I just gave up. He finally became, and remains, Brownie Bear.

Of talking and toes and temps

I find myself in the strange position of not having anything interesting to say now. That's never been a problem before, I'd just keep my mouth shut. I'm frequently in the position where others are talking and they're more interested in hearing themselves speak so I just don't say anything except "um hm" "yeah" "really" "ok" "good" and so on. [Except when I've been drinking and I find myself as fascinating as everyone else finds themselves, but that's another story. ] But I can't have a blog where I just wait for someone else to say something because it would be a very empty blog indeed.

I didn't run last night, I wasn't planning to. My big plans were to get my allergy shots and hopefully some good antihistamines (mission successful) and to get a manicure and pedicure. Because of that whole bit-my-nails-until-30 then wore-fake-nails-for-10-years thing I've never really learned how to cut and file my finger nails. I never had to, they just didn't get long enough before breaking, splitting, peeling or getting chewed. Now for the first time in my life they're growing quickly and I just don't like long nails anymore. I tend to hurt myself if they're too long. So they've been growing and growing and I finally decided that I'd get a manicure before Sandy's wedding so that I have pretty girly hands with even groomed nails.

I have a love/hate feeling with pedicures. I love having prettier toes. Notice I said prettier, not pretty. My runner impaired toesies will never be pretty, what with the warped nails on my second toes and all. But I really don't like anyone touching my feet because they're very sensitive. A good pedicure will get rid of callous on the bottom of my feet (and ends of my toes) but that's painful to me. Since my reflexive action is to remove my foot from the manicurist's hand I have to be alert not to kick her in the face. And unless they're particularly gentle with my nailbeds I'll just be wriggling and squirming all over the place. Normally I'll just grit my teeth and clench my fists until she's done but yesterday I was getting a manicure at the same time so I had to concentrate on not slugging or kicking two different women. Neither of them did a great job but it's a big improvement over when I walked in the door. And it was cheap, about $30 including tips. And I didn't injure either of them.

I decided to watch the season finale of Lost last night. I watched it compulsively the first season, regularly the second and sporadically the third. I just find so many of the characters damn annoying. They had promised to tie up a bunch of ends and explain lots of stuff and not so much. Obviously they're not getting off the island until the program is over because otherwise they'd have to change the title to Lost and Found or something and then be about what their lives were like after getting home. Oh. Wait. Yeah, they did that, didn't they. Bye Charlie. Sorry it wasn't Jack who took that last long swim.

While watching I knit more on the everlasting superlong wrap. I'm pretty darn certain I'll have that finished. Someday. While I'm knitting I dream of blocking it, which I've never done before. I think I'll need my hallway since it's going to be so long. Must. Finish. Wrap!

Today's Gratuitous Bear of the Day is Tempy. Several years ago I decided I had to upgrade my old fashioned mercury thermometer with one of those newfangled electric ones that you stick in your ear. I found a package deal, the thermometer with a bear. I'm not sure what one has to do with the other, but free bear! It wasn't until I got sick that I realized it's hard to angle that thing correctly in your own ear and get a correct reading. So I went back to using the shake-and-stick-under-tongue model that had worked so well. At least I got a free bear out of the deal.

Looks like I found something to talk about after all!

Lucky charms

Yesterday's dust storm has settled in my throat. I feel a cold coming on and I just don't have time for it now! I think I'll have to rearrange my schedule so I can make sure to get my allergy shots today and maybe I can head off the worst of this cold-like allergy attack. Fingers crossed!

Last night's buddy run was the first really warm evening run of the season. Shades of things to come, but last night I was taking it easy. Mileage-wise anyway. I only went about 3 miles but I ran them fast and hard. My breathing sucked (thank you office dust) but I turned the music up and just pushed on. I felt good and tired afterward. It was a good taper run, quality instead of quantity. I'm hoping the extra heat will dry up any puddles that the bugs are breeding in because I got tired of wiping the little kamikaze buggers off my sweaty face and spitting them out of my mouth. In unison: ewww!

I'm going to miss my Tuesday night TnT buddy run. I know, I run them alone now but there's something about meeting people that makes it a serious commitment instead of a casual by-myself run. And I know there are other people out there who would have questions if they saw my car at the end and I wasn't there. I'm going to have to find some way to convince myself that I need to run every Tuesday or Wednesday, even though I'm not meeting anyone. The extra weekly run makes a difference in how I feel, how I look and how I run. At least while it's still light out I can run alone, I just have to convince myself to get my ass out there and do it.

Since last night was the season and series finale of Veronica Mars (bye VM, this was a wonderful show the first season, a good show the second, and still better than most the third season. I'll miss ya!) I decided to take a night off slogging on my neverending superlong wrap. Instead I got a lot knit on my multidirectional diagonal scarf since I needed something mindless and easy. It's coming along nicely and looks good. The Noro is showing its typical schlubs and knots and lumps and weirdness but that's giving the scarf "character." I think I'm going to use one more skein for length but I'm not quite sure yet.

Today's Gratuitous Bear of the Day is the last of the Safeway charm bears. This one is Ms. Success. The second picture here shows the whole group sitting together bestowing luck on my dining room. I didn't realize how crooked the picture is until just now. I also didn't realize I had cut off the top. Good thing I don't make my living as a photographer!