Turning 50 - Turning 17

You may have come to believe by reading my blog that my entire life is one big party...

Truth is, I try to think of life as a party, punctuated perhaps by bits of work and other tasks that I prefer to not write about (Laundry...which is piling up as I write comes to mind).

To paraphrase a college professor who told us that the secret to his happiness was based on this premise: In life, there's 1/3 of what you do that you love, 1/3 that you really prefer to not do, and 1/3 that is in the middle. The trick to a successful and happy life, is to make the 1/3 in the middle, part of what you love, and not what you just endure. He was talking about work, but I think it applies to life in general as well.

It took me a pretty long time to figure out how to put those words into action. Some of it has happened out of sheer luck (I met Walter at just the right time. I ended up working at the same school as Betty, and thus ended up hanging out with some pretty fabulous women); some of it through work (I am starting my 23 year in teaching, working in profession that I just love...but some of that was luck too); and some of it through design (Over the years, I've tried to train myself to see life as a series of blessings).

Which brings me back to the Hefferblog... I keep it going because it makes me happy, and also because through the Hefferblog, I've been really able to see how much of  my life is truly amazing. I think that before the blog (BB), I probably too often wallowed in a bit of self-pity (Oh poor me.... I'm fat... I'm ugly... I don't have this or that). What a sucky way to go through life...

The blog and running are probably the best things I ever did for myself.

I have no idea how to transition out of those musings into the things that actually make up the title of this particular entry...So I'll just switch gears.

Last month I turned 50. Today DramaGirl turned 17.

Wow. Just. Wow.

I'm not sure which has me more wigged out...me turning another decade, or my daughter sitting on the precipice of adulthood.

I so want her to already know the life lessons it's taken me years to learn... that it is important to believe in yourself yes, but it's more important to like yourself. That it's important to have friends, but it's essential to be friends with people who genuinely like you for you, not because you have a pool and a full refrigerator.

These are tough lessons to learn in life. Most of them I didn't learn until I was far older than 17.

I am ever so grateful I know them now.

Again...in search of a fluid transition, but none seems forthcoming...so for the herd, a series of one-liners from my birthday weekend celebration. Thank you to all of you who came to surprise me. You are my bestest friends and I love all of you. I know I sent this to all of you, but since emails get lost or eventually deleted, and somehow this blog seems so much more permanent, I'm reposting here...plus this one has photos!

Here's to a weekend of surprises!

• "You have five minutes to pack" (it took me 20)
• After run omelet at Elsie's casa (Geez that seems like a long time ago!)
• Packing the car for an overnight and wondering why Mik, Elsie, and Betty brought so much wine!

• Are you taking me to the Wild Animal Park?
• "The tasting room closes at 2:00 for grape stomping."

• Mik's limerick for me. Absolutely fabulous!

• Taking a wrong turn at Valley View Casino, and then a correct turn at Harrah's Rincon (still having no idea why we were there). I actually thought it might be a pit-stop and we were going to put a bet on black at a roulette table. Udderly Surprised!

• "Do you know why we are here yet?" 
• The voice in the elevator
• Watching "The boys in the band" and The Cougars play... what a show!
• Wig girl putting a choke hold on a 9-year old, and mama bear's growl.
• Betty's Three 7's

• Dancing by the fire
• "Look, I have a big wad"
• Texting Lazz that Mik couldn't fight that feeling anymore, and that she was with the band.
• "He was all speed and no wagon"
• Picking out Momma's birthday card (kitten in a tiara or a smoking iguana...which is better?)

• Waking up at 6:30am to ride.
• 30 miles on Del Dios Highway - and the way back being much easier than any of us thought it would be.
• "Someone is kicking my chair!" 
• Our waitress Sandra chatting it up with Betty. Sandra telling us to hide our wine so that her boss wouldn't catch us!
• Looking up and seeing Clarence walking toward me (oh, are you and Jeff staying here too? I'm so dense sometimes!)
• Blueberry Mojitos
• Rearranging pool deck furniture
• Mona, Alberta, and Daisy arrive!!!
• Working a deal with the housekeeper
• As I live and breathe...It's Judy "effing" Kirk, Wilma and Momma!
• Sitting on the pool deck and enjoying the view.
• Classic Mona

• "Hit Me!"
• Fried pickles

• Tater tots
• Shirley Temples

• Primping in the ladies room

• Video of Judy taking pix with the iPhone

• Snuggling with Betty & Mona

• Mona shoving a boda bag down her shorts (sorta like a freedom flask)
• Nicest porta potty I've ever been in

• Rushing the stage. Ignoring ex-student security guards. (You have to sit down...uh yeah...we will)

• Take Off Your Shirt! Take Off Your Shirt! (and then Rick Springfield did!)
• Dr. Noah Drake walking down our empty seats (someone has to send me a photo of this)
• "My husband likes it when you bounce"
• Take it on the run baby
• Dancing with male-Elaine

• Rushing the stage for the REO Speedwagon Finale
• Getting bonked in the head with a pick and Mona diving under the chairs to get it for me (I didn't lose it!)

And so much more... 

As for DramaGirl? Happy Birthday baby... I wish for you that you eventually have the best friends in the world. It took me a long time to find my herd, but it was worth the wait. Hang in there Sweetie. You'll find yours too because you are fabulous and wonderful and very, very, very worth it!

Hello Out There! (A Report on Maui and More!)

Everything is OK over here! (Snorkling off Molokini, Hawai'i - July 2012)

Sitemeter sends me a report every week about how many visits there were to my blog. Apparently last week 142 peeps visited my blog and found a post that was about a month old.

So I have to wonder who those 142 people are...

Apparently one of my regular visitors is my dad, who mentioned to me last week that he hadn't seen anything new on the blog recently. 

True That. 

He complained noted that the blog is one way that he keeps up with what is going on in my life (yes, I am a bad daughter and I don't call nearly often enough).

So... Dad reads to find out what's going on in my current life, but those other 141 people (or maybe they are even non-people autobot Internet search engine thingies...I'm not entirely sure how these things work) were primarily interested in things I wrote last year and beyond. Top posts were:

• A June 2011 review of the San Diego Rock and Roll Swag Bag (59 page views)
• A March 2011 post about getting ready to ride the Grand Fondo (58 page views
• A October 2011 post about Elsie's bday-party weekend in San Francisco when we ran in the Nike Women's Half Marathon (54 page views)
• A June 2009 rant about my various foot injuries (47 page views)
• A January 2009 photo-expo in which I describe how I further injured my hip by using a massage stick...I think the title "The Dangers of Self-Massage" gets some people to the site by mistake. (46 page views)

Clearly, I USED TO BE, far mor interesting than I am right now.

My goal at the beginning of this summer was to get back into blogging regularly. Clearly THAT hasn't happened, even though I regularly have LOTS of ideas for things to write about, not all of them having to do with running. Still, when push comes to shove, I don't write. Not sure why. I just don't. I have all these great ideas, (or at least in my mind they are great), about things I can write about that come to me at the most inopportune times (inopportune = when I am nowhere near a computer and can't write them down). These inopportune times include:

• when I'm running
• when I am riding, 
• when I am working out with Kelly (the trainer at the gym), 
• when I am arguing with my soon-to-be-17-year-old-daughter, DramaGirl, about... well, about any number of things.
• when I can't sleep

In any event, I have come to one conclusion. Well... a kinda, in-a-way, sorta, but not really a conclusion, just a sorta inevitability. In the coming months I either need to somewhat repurpose this blog, write more frequently about specific things, than this past year's general "here's what's been going on this week" type things (sorry Dad)

or

I have to let it go.

I'm going to aim for the more regular posts about random things that happen in my life. Some of these posts may be about riding, running, working out, but others may not be. I hope that's OK. (of course it's OK...my blog, my rules, right?)

But as for the rest of this post, I do have to upload what will probably be too many photos of what's been going on this past month. After all, I can't force Dad to go all-cold-turkey-on-the-whatsgoingoninmylife-blog-updates.

Late June - Turbo's 8th Grade Promotion

My grownup baby boy...and Walter of course. They're lookalikes aren't they?

Went to a mascarade party with his buddies. Impressive to get 8th grade boys to dress up. They decided to wear vests. I don't know why, but stylish, no? 

Late June - Early July - Family Vacation to Maui

On the plane - All I saw was "complimentary Mai Tai!" 

And we arrive...in time for lunch and more umbrella drinks

We saw mandals everywhere (Betty's sandal of choice BTW) 

Our first morning there, we enjoyed the sunrise from the top of Haleakala (Volcano/Crater on Maui) - about 6am. We'd been up since 2am at this point. The sunrise was breathtaking. 

It was also breathtakingly COLD at 10,000 feet. Even if you are in Hawai'i!

We rode our bikes down from the top of the Volcano. 28 miles, all downhill. Fun! Here we are doing bike tricks. 

DramaGirl and I at Sunset

One (and only) morning run on the beach for Walter and me. Beach running was no fun for my injured baby toe

One very windy scenic lookout.  

DramaGirl and Turbo - Checking out the fish

DramaGirl and Walter checking out the fish  

On a boat, after snorkling. Walter did a good job of feeding the fish.

DramaGirl did not enjoy this adventure AT ALL

Toes in the sand at Sunset

Turbo on a Zipline (no hands!)

DramaGirl doing Crazy Legs

As I was doing this, I was thinking how awesome my life is, and how great it is to be fit and active and that I just climbed a ladder on a freeking 900 foot tree with no problem!

Too much fun (we were yelling at him to LET GO!!!!) 

Last night - Sunset Dinner Cruise

While we were in Maui, we celebrated our 20th anniversary - 20 years later... I think he still likes me :-)

Last morning beach walk. 

The family (before the Sunset Cruise)

Upon returning to SoCal - Back to the grind (I am still on vacation you know...)

40 miles ride with Betty and "Seven" to Oceanside and back 

This weekend, 40 mile ride with Betty and Mik to Chula Vista and around South Bay (to get there, Betty took us on a lovely ride down Imperial Avenue and Euclid...parts of town I have not been to before)

It's been a very, very, very, good month. 

Here's to 20 more (or more) just like it!

Runs, Rides, News

I ran twice this week and rode once. 10.5 miles running, 33 miles on the bike...and all of this took place in the last three days.

• Friday - Run - 3.21 miles, 33:36 (10:29)
• Saturday - Bike - 33:6 miles, 2:32:52 (13.9 mph)
• Sunday - Run - 7:02 miles, 1:12:58 (10:23)

I don't really know how to think about or represent the riding time. I am riding with a 14-15 mph pace group, so this week I averaged a little less than 14. What I do know is that I am not at the BACK of this particular group, and we did ride UP Torrey Pines.

Learning to ride with a large group has been a learning experience. I'll admit, some of the whole riding with a pack thing makes me nervous. For example: I will never understand how people go flying down hills with abandon. My top speed going down a hill yesterday was about 30mph...and it was scary. I slowed down repeatedly on Torrey Pines (That's not where I hit 30mph). Although we were going downhill for about a mile, it was not my fastest mile.

See that 400 ft to 0 ft descent around mile 5 and then the ascent  around mile 30...that's Torrey Pines. It's a little more than a mile each way.

I'm a big chicken when it comes to speeding downhills. I'd rather go up 'em. I'm not kidding. I was really happy about going up Torrey Pines at the end of the ride. It wasn't a fast climb, but I never felt like I was shaky or had to stop, and I've felt that way about this hill before. Like I said, it's a long climb. AND I'd already ridden 30 miles...so BOO YA!

You may have noticed that all my riding and running activity this week took place over the weekend. In the long run, that is not good for me. This I know. Overdoing it on the weekends is a sure-fire way to get injured, but I had some good reasons for not getting in any mid-week runs or rides this week.

Walter's father was in the hospital all week; he has colon cancer. He didn't go TO the hospital because of this, but it was something that was unexpectedly found because he was there for something else. 

Yes, it sucks. There was a surgery. Modern medicine is downright, freekin' amazing! A surgeon, who did  the surgery (and who not really look old enough to be a surgeon BTW),  removed the tumor laproscopically (is that a word?), which is the huge, effing, amazing part to me. For my FIL to be able to have that kind of surgery (three small incisions) was a godsend because we were not so sure he'd make it through an actual surgery. He's 89. He came through the surgery like a champ. 

So, I mention this because this is a running (sorta) blog, and my father in law is the person who really started my running adventures. He didn't really do it on purpose, he just signed up the whole family for a 5K about 6 years ago, and I got the wild idea that I could actually run a 5K since there were so many other people running who looked a lot like me...meaning they didn't really look like what I then thought ALL RUNNERS looked like...you know like this

(Full disclosure: I still pretend that I look like that when I run, which is probably why I never purchase race photos, which never look like that, but I figure it's the photographer's fault for that, not mine).

So, really, today's blog is dedicated to my FIL. If it wasn't for him, I may not have ever started this craziness. He is just a stud, is doing well, flirting shamelessly with all the nurses, and is going to be OK.

A bit of self-indulgence...Looking back at 2011 and ahead to 2012

In 2011, I sorta fell off the blogging bandwagon...only 58 posts for the whole year. That being said, a few posts back, I did pass the 400 blog milestone and in fact, in two days, the Hefferblog will be 4 years old.

However, even though I wasn't blogging about running, I apparently was actually running. I've been watching my running/riding numbers on Daily Mile for the last few weeks and was surprised when I saw that I was nearing 1000 miles total, which was one of my goals for the year... Full disclosure, I'd actually forgotten that I'd set it as a goal, but it's nice to know that I'd met it anyway...maybe it was subconscious.

Here are my 2011 numbers

• Running: 691 miles
• Cycling: 459 miles
• Total: 1150 miles

Last January, when I wrote a year in review/looking ahead post I'd logged 875 miles total...and I was sorta bummed about that. Apparently the previous January, I'd set a 1000 mile goal for myself and just like this year, I'd forgotten that I set the goal, so then I whined about not meeting a goal when you only kinda-sorta set it for yourself.

Fast forward to 2011 when I ran about 100 miles more (691 vs. 589 miles) than in 2010, which I find kind of surprising since I actually ran fewer races this past year, but the thing that really put me over 1000 miles is the cycling (459 vs. 154 miles) which means that in 2010, I barely rode much at all.

Mostly, I think the increase in mileage can be mostly attributed to the fact that I just wasn't injured this year (woot! woot! woot for that).

So, in looking back at 2011, there were some other things that seem especially worth remembering

The Herd Stuff

• I helped Elsie, Betty, and now Wilma buy new road bikes (so expect that cycling mileage to increase even more this coming year).

Elsie gets a new bike in November

Betty gets a new ride in December

Wilma's new ride (OK...it was January 2012...but it was the 2nd, so it counts)

BTW...the local Trek store completely owes me a commission! I have complete and udder bike-envy over their carbon bikes now...but I will be a good girl and wait a while longer before plunking down some moo-la for a ride.

• Mik, Betty, Elsie and I ran two destination half-marathons this year - The Napa-to-Sonoma half in July and the Nike Women's half in October.

My girls...

• DramaGirl and Millie (Betty's daughter) joined us as our chauffeurs and general good sports when we went to Napa. 
• Much of the rest of the herd joined us in San Francisco in October to help celebrate Elsie's birthday. 

Happiness is celebrating with the Herd!

The Silly Stuff

• Of course, there is the plethora of lost keys, flat tires, too many mimosas to count, inside jokes, and just downright ridiculousness, that comes when a group of women spend (according to some of our spouses) way too much time together. 

Running in the pouring rain with Betty and Irene

Getting on the wrong early train for the SDTC Train Run, which we got away with despite not having tickets, but because we had shoe tags!

4am - San Francisco International

I have no idea why I took this picture... The toilet seat was really low 

Alberta boxed

We made friends with The Conjugator

Karaoke Night (no link...one of the many things I did not blog about this year. We're in a pool bar. Use your imagination...)

Sometimes we have too many pseudonyms

There is humor everywhere

The Family Stuff

• These three people really are the center of my universe. We too had a really wonderful year full of with some fun vacations, some of them elsewhere in the world, many of them near to home. I look at these and cannot believe how incredible lucky and blessed I am to have them in my life.

Sunsets with Walter

Ditto

Running with Walter and DramaGirl (Thanksgiving morning Turkey Trot) 

Transportation and Sports Day - Turbo, Walter, and I drive to the Stadium, trolley to Cox Arena for an Aztec basketball game, trolley back to stadium for an Aztec football game, drive home 

My boy 

Carving pumpkins with friends

DG plays varsity field hockey 

Before going to Lazz's Mad Men Party

The crew - from LA

The most you'll ever see of me in a two piece swimsuit! (in Vegas

My guy

Sleeping beauty (she'll kill me for that...but isn't she beautiful?)

Turbo in The Music Man last fall (third from the left) 

My beautiful sisters (oh...and me)

Walter pretending to play golf 

DG learns to drive (GAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!)

The Active Stuff

• The best thing out of the year, really, is that I just didn't get hurt. I want to attribute this mostly to not overdoing it and part of it to cross training. I tried doing some weight work this year (far to sporadically), but I think that helped, as did riding the bike. Rarely did I run more than two days in a row.
• Most surprisingly, it was a year of PRs. Five in all, at all distances I run (5K, 10K, 15K, Half-Marathon, and an odd 4 mile race) -- Sue Kren (15K) - 1:37:42 (10:29);  SuperRun (10K) - 1:01:55 (9:58); Rock and Roll 1/2 Marathon - 2:22:58 (10:55); End of Summer Fire Run - 38.22 (9:31); Run for the Hungry 5K - 28:26 (8:52). 
• In fact, I didn't have, what I would consider, a bad race all year. I think this is, again, because I didn't overdo it. I only ran three half-ms (the last several years, I've done 4) and that seems to give me enough recovery time between races to...well...recover. 
• Of course, after every race, and many other runs, there are mimosas, recaps, laughs, and stories....which is really why we do all this, and why I continue to try to write about it.

Looking Ahead
I am among those who do make annual resolutions or set goals for myself. I write them down, and then pretty much forget that I made them, but not really. I do think that the act of writing them down does, somehow stick with me. So looking ahead I'd like to:

• Run/Ride 2000 miles. This seems very doable if I continue to ride regularly once school starts, and more frequently during breaks and in the summer. I am so lucky that I have flexibility in my work that allows me to do this.
• Not be injured again, by continuing to cross train and to not overdo it.
• To run at least two half-marathons this year. The first is in two weeks (Carlsbad 1/2), but after that, I don't have anything planned. There's a bit of a schism in the herd right now as we become more invested in cycling (much easier on the body), and less in running long distances. But, I'm really not ready to quit the half-marathon thing yet. Carlsbad will be the first half-mary I've trained for on my own since the Vegas RnR half two years ago. It's been a challenge to do the long runs on my own. I'm not sure I've done such a stellar job.
• Continue to be a faster-fitter runner. I do think there's a relationship to my recent increase in speed and my overall fitness. I don't write much about my weight, but I am down about 8 pounds. Less weight is certainly less pressure on the joints. 
• To do a century ride. It'll be a new adventure for the herd, training for a century, but we are still in need of a plan.
• To blog more. I like writing about our adventures and my family. It certainly has helped me seek balance in my life (a huge fail this year), but writing regularly forces me to recognize how lucky and blessed I am to be surrounded by great friends and a loving family. When I feel myself getting all self-centered and cranky about what I don't have or what I can't do, I turn to this little blog to remind myself of all I do have and all I can do, and then I bitch-slap myself out of my sulkiness.
• To give back more. (see above)
• To not overbook myself. This is probably the biggest challenge for me. But too often, I have a tendency to overbook myself with work, with play, with family. When we run at Balboa Park, Mik and Betty and Elsie have been crossing over Park Avenue to run through a rose garden on the other side. Mik says: "It doesn't count unless you stop and smell the roses." She's right, it really doesn't.

Happy New Year to all of you! Enjoy the view!

Sunset from La Jolla last week just as the fog rolled in.

And the next morning (from Del Mar - just North of La Jolla)  after the fog rolled back out.

Yep...it doesn't suck to live here - Taken from the Coronado Ferry after Sunday's New Year's Day 29 mile ride. A nice way to start the year!