TGIF - Photo Friday on the Bay

I have wanted to participate in Adventure Seeker Mom's TGIF Photo Friday for awhile, but by the time I (typically) get my shiz together on a Friday, it's late in the afternoon, and I'm on the west coast, so I figure I'm too late to post a photo, so I haven't

But today...I've sorta got it together, and yesterday morning, since school is OUT and my grades are DONE and the kids are still at SCHOOL, I went running at San Diego Bay...While it was a little cool and windy (by SoCal standards), when as I pulled up to the bay, I was thinking that I would take some pix to post today (What can I say...I'm a thinkin' gal..).

So, here's the view of the bay yesterday morning...

Gotta LOVE San Diego in the winter...absolutely no one around!

Except this...seagulls completely scare me. This one was completely mad-eying me...like I was holding out on the breadcrumbs or leftover food or somethin.' 

For all you haters out there, who are stuck in absolutely freezing cold weather...I do want to point out, that I used to live here...

Pogo Nip

This is some photo I embedded from a news station in Reno...where it's pretty darn cold and snowy right now... Pogo Nip is a kind of frost that clings to EVERY THING. 

I got tired of living in that sort of thing, so I moved to SoCal when I graduated from college... I do have to wonder why everyone else who lives in cold weather doesn't do the same... Although I get that some people actually LIKE the cold weather.

Yesterday's Run
49:05 - 4.42 miles-MapMyRun/4.11 miles 9-Nike+ (how can there be such a difference? A little bird tells me I may be getting a Garmin for Christmas...I can't wait!)... I was running either an 11:07 pace or an 11:55 pace. I gotta go with the former...

Finally...my penance for having such a lovely morning run is that DramaGirl announced at about 8:30 last night that she needed to get one more gift for a girlfriend at school. Of course, I know that the ONLY place we're going to be able to get what she wants (a crochet hook and some purple yarn?) is at....

duh, duh, duh, duh....

Walmart (nooooooooooooooo)

Actually, the customers at Walmart were relatively well behaved last night, although the whole store smelled like glue (WTF?)...  I would have only marked a few squares on Marcy's Walmart Bingo card .

DramaGirl - beginning to understand my aversion to Walmart.

We found the gift in minutes...but had to stand in line to pay for another 20 because apparently many others have this need to holiday shop at 9:00 on a Thursday night.

Here are some fine ideas for gifts from the checkout isle. I have no idea what this stuff is, but it's also available on TV!

Amost Wordless Wednesday - Heffer Holiday Edition

Oh yeah...like I could EVAH be wordless...but this one will be close.

The heffers had our annual holiday-fest last night...it was also Betty's b-day, so she received several really special sweaters & sweatshirts. This one took the cake. I don't think the photograph really does it justice...it had bows everywhere (including a huge BOW on on the back!)

Really, the light bulbs somehow LIT UP! Must have been Betty's electric personality.

Sometimes I (forget)

Sometimes I forget things...

For example, I occasionally forget to go to meetings. I regularly forget things that students ask me to do (my mantra to my students is that they should email me if they want something from me because the likelihood of me remembering to email them their grade (or whatever they want) when I return to my office is slim and none). I also often forget that I've assigned homework for a class until a student asks me if I'm going to collect it (oh yeah, I was going to collect that at the end of class)...

I used to forget to pay bills all the time (which is why Walter is in charge of that aspect of our lives).

To my credit, I've never forgotten to pick up my kids after school or from an event when I am supposed to, although I think Walter lives in fear that I will...which explains why he reminds me OVER and OVER that I need to pick up the kids after school on Thursday (or whenever)...I consider the fact that I've NEVER EVAH forgotten one of them a great testament of my love for them and one of my greatest accomplishments. I remember when I was pregnant with DramaGirl, my reoccuring nightmare was that I'd forgotten her somewhere (although I've read that all expectant mothers have that dream...so maybe that wasn't just me).

I did once forget to take DramaGirl to a doctor's appointment when she was something like 18 months old.

One year, I forgot my mom's birthday (bad, very bad)...although I blame that on finals.

The list of things that I forget is pretty lengthy...and this morning my forgetfulness extended to running.

Betty and I went on our weekly long run. Thank God she sent me a text at 7:30 this morning asking if we were running because if she hadn't, I'm sure I would have conveniently forgotten, which wouldn't have been true. Let's just say, I was lacking some mojo this am. But once I got the text, I wasn't going to say "no...let's not run," so we headed down to San Diego Bay and were thrilled to learn that the weather on the bay was nicer (warmer and the sun was peeking through some clouds) than it was inland where we live (where it was cool, cloudy, and looked like it was going to rain...and by the way, have I used enough parenthesis in this post yet?)

That being said, it was a little colder than we are used to (I won't say it is cold, seeing as some of you are dealing with ice storms, and blizzards, and snow, and other kinds of serious weather)...but it was colder than we SoCal weather-wimps are used to.

So...this morning I realized that I'd forgotten some things about running in the cold(ish) weather...and about planning for a long run in the cold(ish) weather. (We ran 9 miles this morning, which is a long run in my book). Here's my list.

1. I FORGOT that no matter what, I need to go to the restroom at the last possible moment before running. "Holding it" for 9 miles is just not any fun. We wished that Elsie was with us because she would have been able to explain why pee is not just absorbed back into our systems even when we appear to be sweating out every other last drop of fluid.
2. Speaking of sweat, I FORGOT that even when it's cold, I sweat. And even though it was cold enough to wear running tights, I forgot that chafing could still occur, thus it would have been really important to remember to apply Glide to some areas in the upper thigh/lower butt region that cannot be photographed for verification unless a porn site is in the making, but I FORGOT to apply the Glide, thus my upper inner thigh is so painful tonight it hurts to sit, and I have no idea how I'm going to put pants on tomorrow.
3. I FORGOT that wind blowing off the bay = running uphill...or that's what the last 1/2 mile of the run felt like as Betty and I ran into the wind.
   
4. I FORGOT that there would still be tourists on the Bay Front taking pictures. This means that loads of people were standing around gazing at the Carnival Cruise Ship they'd just gotten off of, which meant that they NEEDED to stand in the middle of the walkway to take a picture of it. Why anyone would want a picture of only the ship is beyond me. I mean, I have pictures of my family ON a cruise ship when we were ON A CRUISE, but if I really wanted a picture of the ship, I'd buy a postcard... In any event, there are a fair number of what appeared to be Japanese tourists who have pictures of a Carnival Lines Cruise Ship and BETTY AND ME, running by, for their family vacation albums.

Not a forgotten item, but of note...There were some pretty cool new public artworks at Seaport Village called "Cool Globes," all with environmental themes. Betty and I ran past them (oh yes, we were so speedy) but they definitely are worth another look. I only took one picture of them.

Aren't they cool? That's Betty speeding past them...I know she's thrilled that I got this shot..haha

So....how'd we do? If only these were easy questions to answer, but alas, they are not. I recalibrated my Nike+ sensor, so I think it's a little more accurate than it has been, but I think it's still off by .10 mile for every 5 miles, so I also mapped the run on MapMyRun (which used to be a really cool mapping tool, but is now so weighed down with advertising and other garbage that its becoming less fun to use. Maybe the "paid" version is better).

Here are my stats from both Nike+ and MapMyRun
Total run time 1:49:32
Nike+ - 8.95 miles/12:14 mm
MapMyRun - 9:19 miles/11:55 mm

Also, Betty is getting back into the swing of things by running for 8 to 8.5 minutes, then walking for 1.5 to 2 minutes, so when she walked, I'd run ahead for about a minute, then run back to her so that we could run together...My map on MapMyRun doesn't take this into account, but I figure I may have added another .10 mile or so by doing that...which would support my idea that the Nike+ sensor is off by .10 for every five miles...

In any event, I think I ran a bit under 9.5 miles this morning...which is what I wanted to do.

As for the week coming up, all my finals are done by Tuesday morning, then I'll have some grading to do, but my goal is that by Wednesday morning to be FREEEEEEEEEE, which means more time for running and blogging...and oh yeah, at some point I'm going to start planning for this holiday thing that's coming up...GAH! (I'm not forgetting it, but I am ignoring it).

Have a great week peeps! Don't worry, I won't be FORGETTING to stop by your blogs...

Happy Birthday Mom!

Dad, Mom and DramaGirl - Taken after DramaGirl's performance in Annie a couple of years ago

Today is mom's birthday.

I won't say how many she's had.

She is a great mom. She is always there for me. She has always encouraged me to be my best. And she has inspired me by her perseverance, and her loving, loyalty to her family. I (hopefully) inherited some of these traits from her and they have certainly served me well, as a runner, as a mother, a friend, and in my professional life.

I love her lots.

Happy Birthday Mom!

Looking Around

Looking Back...
Last January, several members of my herd (the Heffers) decided that we could run a marathon. We had really no idea what we were getting into. In fact, most of us could barely run three miles...including me. While Betty and I had run a 1/2 marathon the previous August, I really wasn't much of a runner at that point. In fact, when I started the SDTC marathon training program last January, I probably hadn't run but a handful of times in three months following the 1/2 marathon.

Luckily, I am blessed with an amazing group of friends, and we have a history of talking each other into doing things that we probably wouldn't do otherwise, so we joined the San Diego Track Club and signed up for the Rock and Roll Marathon in San Diego. Almost immediately, I decided to chronicle that training with a blog.

Tonight, I located the first blog entry, which I thought had been lost to the Internet. When I started this blog, I used iWeb (Apple's blogging software). I thought that first blog entry had been lost when I upgraded software, then I moved to blogger...the herd was no-doubt completely annoyned or amused by my bloggy-ADD-ness...anyway, I thought the first blog was gone, but I found it. Here's the first photo of Elsie, Betty, Clarence and I after that first, wet, training run in the pouring rain...

We look fabulous and heffer-like, don't we? It was pouring rain that morning.

Then, I dropped my iPhone in a toilet after our second marathon training run, and in my mourning over the loss of my iPhone, I felt compelled to release my angst into said blog, and somehow I became a blogger. So, I was hooked, both on blogging, and on running. (I also now spend an inordinate amount of time making sure my (new) iPhone is NOT in my back pocket.)

The running herd on our first long run - back when running for 35 minutes was a long run - Alberta, Betty, Clarence, Edith, BBJ, and me, not pictured - Elsie & Mik.
Even for SoCal, it was COLD that morning

Along the way, I blogged about the fun, pain, bodily function discoveries, Elvis, random condom sightings, and the GALLONS OF MIMOSAS CONSUMED during our marathon training season and low and behold, I became a runner. You have to believe it when I say that NOBODY is more suprised by this than me.

So...as I draw close to my 100th blog entry, I'm having a little fun, looking back, thinking about now, and making plans for the future... The looking back part was fun...

For now...
Betty, Alberta, Mik, BBJ, Elsie (scanning Craigs list for a Bib since it's now sold out) and I are training for the Carlsbad 1/2 in about six weeks. (Edith? are you in?)

Saturday morning, Betty, Elsie and I ran 8 miles...it was a great run. Cool, on the bay, flat... easy... What a strange thing to say, an easy 8 mile run, but it was. I ran 8 miles in about 90 minutes...quite speedy for me. We all talked about how we felt great afterwards...of course there were mimosas at our favorite World Famous, where we had the best waitress EVAH, who even came off her break to make sure we were OK...

Yum...mimosas, breakfast, and surf...

I have no doubt that we talked about completely inappropriate things during breakfast, but that was on Sunday, now it's Thursday and I don't remember a single one of them. I do know that there has been an email circulating among the herd this week which originated with Mona...I know I've got three holiday pot-luck parties to go to in the next two weeks...Do you think this is appropriate for the department holiday party?

Whaaaaaaaaaaaat?

Our favorite caption: "It's better than a candle because you can eat it"

Looking ahead
The goal for this year is to do the triple crown--The Carlsbad 1/2 Marathon in January, La Jolla 1/2 Marathon in April, and America's Finest City 1/2 Marathon in August. Then to do one or two of the three California Dreamin' 1/2 marathons, which includes the San Francisco 1/2 Marathon in June and the Long Beach 1/2 Marthon in October. The Surf City 1/2 Marathon will have to wait until February 2010, first because it's sold out this coming February, and second because it's the week after Carlsbad, but next February...FO SHO...

I also hope to do the Nike Women's 1/2 in October again...mostly because it was just a really fun weekend.

My big question is whether or not to join the San Diego Track Club again. Their winter training program focuses on training for the Rock and Roll Marathon in June. I'd really rather focus on running 1/2 marathons this year, and not another marathon. On the other hand, training with the club put me in the best shape of my life...and that couldn't hurt the 1/2 marathon training that I need to do to do the triple crown...especially the La Jolla 1/2 in April...the hill at Torrey Pines is a KILLAH!

Decisions, decisions, decisions...it's a good time of year for that.

What's up for this weekend? 10 miles on either Saturday or Sunday.

Have I run this week? Not much...three miles yesterday morning, four or five tomorrow am. Thank goodness the semester is about over. I taught my last class today...three finals on Monday, one on Tuesday...then I can think about the holidays.

Sweetness

OK...yesterday's rant is evidence of why drunk-blogging is a very bad idea... And while I am thinking about writing an eloquent ode to running at some point in the near future, it's not quite jelled yet.

Luckily, as I was trolling my fave-blogs tonight, I came across this on Run Jojo Run (hooray...salvation for us all!). My biggest issue is that I had to figure out how to do a strikethrough on Blogger... Let's just say that I had to edit in html (not fun). If there's an easier way...please, someone let me know.

Thank goodness there's not a lot that I wouldn't eat (behave yourselves!)...

Anyway, onto the sweetness...

How the Sweet 100 Works:

1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.

1. Red Velvet Cake
2. Princess Torte
3. Whoopie Pie
4. Apple Pie either topped or baked with sharp cheddar
5. Beignet
6. Baklava
7. Black and White Cookie
8. Seven Layer Bar (also known as the Magic Bar or Hello Dolly bars)
9. Fried Fruit pie (sometimes called hand pies)
10. Kringle
11. Just-fried (still hot) doughnut
13. Betty, Grunt, Slump, Buckle or Pandowdy (I'm pretty sure I've had a buckle)
14. Halvah
15. Macarons
16. Banana Pudding with nilla wafers
17. Bubble tea (with tapioca “pearls”)
18. Dixie Cup - Though we always called them Hoodsie Cups.
19. Rice Krispie treats
20. Alfajores
21. Blondies
22. Croquembouche
23. Girl Scout cookies
24. Moon cake
25. Candy Apple
26. Baked Alaska
27. Brooklyn Egg Cream
28. Nanaimo bar
29. Baba au rhum
30. King Cake
31. Sachertorte
32. Pavolva
33. Tres Leches Cake
34. Trifle
35. Shoofly Pie
36. Key Lime Pie (made with real key lime)
37. Panna Cotta
38. New York Cheesecake
39. Napoleon/mille-fueille
40. Russian Tea Cake/Mexican Wedding Cake
41. Anzac Biscuits
42. Pizzelle
43. Kolache
44. Buckeyes
45. Malasadas
46. Moon Pie
47. Dutch Baby
48. Boston Cream Pie
49. Homemade chocolate chip cookies
50. Pralines
51. Gooey butter cake
52. Rusks (same thing as zwieback)
53. Daifuku
54. Green tea cake or cookies
55. Cupcakes from a cupcake shop
56. Creme Brulee
57. Some sort of deep fried fair food (twinkie, candy bar, cupcake)
58. Yellow cake with chocolate frosting
59. Jelly Roll
60. Pop Tarts
61. Charlotte Russe (Is that a dessert? I thought it was a clothing store! Who knew?)
62. An “upside down” dessert (Pineapple upside down cake or Tarte Tatin)
63. Hummingbird Cake
64. Jell-O from a mold
65. Black forest cake
66. Mock Apple Pie (Ritz Cracker Pie)
67. Kulfi
68. Linzer torte
69. Churro
70. Stollen
71. Angel Food Cake
72. Mincemeat pie (Yeah...but yuk!)
73. Concha
74. Opera Cake
75. Sfogliatelle / Lobster tail
76. Pain au chocolat
77. A piece of Gingerbread House
78. Cassata
79. Cannoli
80. Rainbow cookies
81. Religieuse
82. Petits fours
83. Chocolate Souffle
84. Bienenstich (Bee Sting Cake)
85. Rugelach
86. Hamenstashen
87. Homemade marshmallows
88. Rigo Janci
89. Pie or cake made with candy bar flavors (Snickers pie, Reeses pie, etc)
90. Divinity
91. Coke or Cola cake (only because DramaGirl made one last month!)
92. Gateau Basque
93. S’mores
94. Figgy Pudding
95. Bananas foster or other flaming dessert
96. Joe Froggers
97. Sables
98. Millionaire’s Shortbread
99. Animal crackers
100. Basbousa

Midweekish Rant - Dontcha Hate???

Dontcha just hate when you go to the ladies room with a quarter in your pocket because you are desperately in need of a tampon and the only thing left in the stupid vending machine is a 25¢ maxi-pad (BTW–any dudes who read my blog really need to stop now. Know that you've been warned)?

I mean, who wears a pad anymore?

So, why do the vending machines in the ladies room carry them AT ALL?

Yet, when those are the only things left.

And you're desperate.

And you have no choice?.

You go ahead and buy the pad and use it... because the alternative is just...well let's just say it's not gonna happen...

Then later that day, you're going over to a friend's house, and you've torn through your purse, and your briefcase, and your desk, searching for that fugitive tampon, and the person who you share an office with is a MALE, and is therefore useless to your cause, and you've had meetings all through the day, so you haven't yet been able to go to a drug store, and you're still wearing the pad, but luckily you know you have tampons in your car, and you figure you'll stop somewhere on the way to your friend's house, but there's no place to stop between getting your car (which is at a parking lot near an airfield and you had to take a shuttle bus to get there) and your friend's house, so you end up at your friend's house and claim you really have to pee, but really you just have to change the pad to the tampon which you (luckily) had in the glove compartment of your car, but then you have no choice but to leave the used pad in your friend's guest-room bathroom's trash pail (very cute) in a HUGE WAD of toilet paper (sorry Mona).  

Anyway, you're completely embarrassed now because...I mean...who has to deposit a pad in a wastepaper basket at a friend's house? And you figure that Mona's completely HAWT, lifeguard hubby, is probably the one who empties the trash and you hope that he did not notice (WTF is THAT?) what was actually in said trash bin? And who TF even uses a pad anymore? Except for those who are REALLY desperate and who have to buy them for 25¢ from a restroom vending machine that is out of tampons?

GAH!

Anyway, now, you've drunk several glasses of wine (including at least two at your friend's house, and several more at the wine-bar where you waited for 45 MINUTES for your dear husband to show up) and you're compelled to blog about your day, but all you can really think about is how you wore a pad all day, and left it in your friend's guest restroom (sorry Mona).

I soooooo need a good, long run this weekend!

How it Rolls With the Family

Hello Internet...I'm back after feasting and driving...Had a wonderful T-day feast with the family, and now am trying to get things under control for the week ahead.

I managed to get some running in while in Vegas...all of in on the dreadmill in the Red Rock fitness room. I'd hoped to run a 5K in Vegas on Thanksgiving morning, but we didn't get in until late, and then on Thursday morning it was rainy, which I guess it did all over the south-west, but I was in Vegas, and I couldn't convince either Walter or my brother in law to run with me, so I went to the fitness room, which is a pretty nice room. I actually ended up running there two mornings (five miles on Thursday and three more on Friday).

So...since I have no race report or even a vaguely interesting run in a far-away (for me) spot to write about, I'll share some family holiday shots with you.

Dressed, ready to run, and headed toward my date with dread on Thanksgiving morning.

Sister and mom sampling the food.

My sister showing her daughter how to use the cell phone.

These people seriously want pie...and don't YOU all drink wine with your desserts?

Amazingly I have no photos of the dinner feast...but I do have lots of pix of us eating pie.
Oh yeah, we are upscale and are eating off paper plates...

My niece...yummy pie

Turbo, sampling every dessert on the table
(and ice cream...there's always room for ice cream, right?)

On Friday, we went bowling. Here is evidence of what a dreadful bowler I am. In the first frame, by some miracle, I bowled a strike. I took this picture because 1) I was in the lead and 2) I was about to surpass my previous game's total score in the fourth frame (actually, it took me until the 5th since I proceeded to bowl two gutter balls in a row...not a rare occurrence).

Friday night, back at the parents house, and since we are in Vegas,
Walter decides to teach the kids how to shoot craps.

With real dollars

My nephew sees his future vocation... He did roll 6 7's in a row...hmmm

My sister also learns how to roll the dice...and she's ready for the real tables now...

OH NOOOOOO...we've run out of Bacardi Limon...

Luckily, there's still vodka...our search for a mixer leads us to my parent's supply of Joint Juice...!

My sister looks seriously concerned about where this is going to lead...
On the other hand, Bro-in-law is convinced he's discovered the Red-Bull and Vodka cocktail for the senior set...

My friend Dee drops by for a visit. Here she is with mom... Short Italian chicas unite...

Back to the Red Rock for some gaming and additional partying.
My sis poses with the valet sign she ran into earlier in the day.

The family mantra. My dad printed up copies of these for everyone.

So, it was a fun weekend...but exhausting. I never did get a long run in...thought I would today, but I was just too darn tired...and I needed to unpack...and do laundry...and some grocery shopping...blah blah blah...

I'll get a run in in the morning...hopefully about five miles, but I've gotta start getting some long weekend runs in if I'm ever going to be ready for Carlsbad! (I keep saying that, don't I?)

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend as well. 

Blogging from the Road-- Pre-Turkey Day Edition

Mobile Blogging from here.

Nothing like being on the road, So Cal to Vegas, the day before a major holiday...not that this would be my preferred day to travel to the 'rents for turkey day. Unfortunately, the community college system got the better of me this year and insisted that I teach my classes today! Can you imagine? The nerve! Who has classes the day before Thanksgiving? Gah!

So, we packed up the car. Walter dropped me off at campus. I taught my class at noon. (I'd already made up an "online class" for my two night classes, otherwise I'd be teaching until 9:00 tonight). Walter picked me up and off we went/are.

Not an eventful drive. We did see a pretty rainbow.


And lots of traffic in San Bernardino.

DramaGirl & Turbo have their electronic entertainment.

It's 4:30 and were not to Barstow yet.

I'm glad I ran this morning (4.5 miles with Dread) since I'm spending these 6 or 7 hours sitting on my ass! I may do a Turkey Trot in Vegas tomorrow morning with my Bro-in-law. I did this one a few years ago, back when I could run only a mile or so without stopping. It might be fun to do again.

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]

I Swear, I'd Lose My Head...

Several of the herd like to tease me about the number of gadgets I own, and they'd be correct; I do likes me my running toys...(iPods, sensors, sunglasses, running belts, hats, hair-ties, headbands, watches, iPod carriers, key carriers, etc. etc...btw, you should see my kitchen...my gadget fetish extends there as well.) The herd is typically very patient as I dig through my backpack, searching for and/or organizing my various running accoutrement.

The unfortunate side-effect of having all this gear is that I have a tendency to misplace things. In truth, the whole iPhone in the toilet episode was really the result of me having a new toy (the iPhone) and wearing new running tights AND a new lightweight jacket and not being able to decide which pocket to put the iPhone in...BTW...the back pocket is a VERY BAD IDEA.

So it shouldn't be that surprising that yesterday, I ALMOST LOST MY FREEKIN' SHOES.

You read it right. My shoes.

How does one lose shoes you ask? Let me explain.

Betty and I ran at Lake Boy Part yesterday morning. (4 miles, 45:51, 11:24 pace...lovely run, beautiful morning) After the run, we walked down to some benches by the lake to stretch. I had my flip-flops in my backpack, so I decided to change into 'em. I mean, really, is there any better feeling than changing out of running shoes after a long run?

You see where this is going, don't you?

By this morning, when I was to meet up with Betty, Mik, and Elsie for another run, I could not, for the life of me, find my running shoes. Not in the bedroom. Not in the laundry room (where I usually dump my clothes after running). Not in the entry way. Not in the car.

WTF?

The last place I could remember for certain having my shoes was at Lake BP, so I came to the sad conclusion that I must have left them there. I was heartbroken because I *h e a r t* my New Balance 1223's. They're still relatively new. I just got my Nike+ sensor to work relatively well, and it was attached to the cutest-little-sensor-pouch. Not to mention the extra insoles in the shoes...GAH!

So I dug up my OLD 1223's. Slipped them on and went to pick up Mik and Betty, who agreed that we should go back to Lake BP to see if they're still there.

Fat Chance, right?

Wrong!

(I love Lake BP!)

Yep. There they were. Sitting on the barbecue, just waiting for me, with my sweaty socks still stuffed in them. Walter said later that he didn't see how my sweaty shoes held much value for people...shows what he knows. They're freekin' awesome shoes. Actually, I had a pretty high level of confidence that my shoes would still be there. I'm always seeing random stuff left behind at Lake BP. On Saturday, Betty and I noticed a baby shoe that someone had left on one of the mile-marker posts. The previous week, I noticed that someone had pinned a glove to the bulletin board.

Apparently, active people are not thieves...and HOORAY...I had my running shoes back!

So, from there we happily ventured to Mission Bay for our real run (yes, we left one running path, to go to another, but we were meeting Elsie at Mission Bay...) My shoes were a little damp from the overnight on the lake, but I was sooooooooo happy to have them back

Highlights from the Mission Bay run

Maybe the Nike+ sensor doesn't work so well...

Mile 1 - 10:57 pace (just warming up. This seems about right)
Mile 2 - 9:16 pace (I really had to pee, so I sprinted for about a mile to the restroom. This seems about right as well. I did pause my workout when I used the restroom).
Mile 3 - 11:51 pace (I think this included a turnaround when I had to go back and search for the nose piece to my new Nike Sunglasses, which had fallen off...GAH! Why do I have such issues with my sunglasses???
Mile 4 - 15:52 (HUH? I stopped at a drinking fountain for about 10 seconds...tops, so I'm not sure what happened there. I certainly didn't walk a mile)
Mile 5 - 10:48 (Seems about right again)
Mile .22 - 14:54 (This absolutely cannot be right because Mik and I practically raced each other for the last 1/4 mile...and she runs waaaaaayyyyy faster than I do)

According to Nike 5:22 miles, 58:32, 11:12 pace

Map my Run says it's 5:48 miles (changes to a 10:39 pace...which I find more believable).

Sooooo...maybe the Nike+ sensor isn't all that accurate.

Ah well...it was a really beautiful morning on the bay, coolish and foggy, but not cold--perfect running weather.

I keep reading all my bloggy-peeps tirades, complaints, and resignations about the running conditions you're dealing with and my heart goes out to you. You are all running gods and goddesses as far as I'm concerned. I grew up in a cold weather place (Reno) and I know what it's like to put on lots of layers, extra shoes, hats, just to go outside. In fact, maybe that's where my running gear obsession comes from. I just think I need to have lots of stuff to compensate for not having to pile on the cold weather stuff of my childhood.

It's a theory.

Anyway, I moved to Southern Cal about 20 years ago where the November weather is in the 70's. Not sure what you all are waiting for...

In any event, I'd promise to not bitch about the weather for the next several months so that you don't all throw virtual things at me through your computer screens (or worse, stop visiting me...noooooo), but it is supposed to start raining this week, so I'm sure I'll have that to whine about.

Anyway, after the morning run, we went to Elsie's Casita for the BEST PANCAKES EVAH and (of course) Mimosas...

Betty, making pancakes

Elsie, setting the table (view of mimosas)

Happy running herd

Hope everyone has a fabulous Turkey Day. I have to teach until Wednesday, so I'll no doubt be scarce until then. I'm sure I'll have plenty of time to visit blogs and do some further catching up over the long weekend.

Just CaTching uP

Ack! Another week...no posts...what is up with me?

You know, the usual, life, work, kids, life, work, did I say work (with some wine and whine mixed in)

It is the time of the semester that teachers look forward to with both dread and anticipation....the holidays. As a teacher, I dread the holiday breaks because it usually means that a class is wrapping up, and I've got a slew of semester end papers and projects coming in. At the same time, I'm distracted because I'm starting to think about planning for the beginning of NEXT semester. So, as much as the students want this one to be over, I want it more. And as this was my first semester at the community college, I've made my fair share of miss-steps, so I'm looking forward to starting over again....sorta like a do-over, only with new students.

Of course, there's also the anticipation of having a few days off to regroup...I'll be needing that.

So, here's the gist of the week and last weekend...

This week
I barely ran this week--twice with Dread...which is different than dread...did you notice the capital letter? Unlike some of my students who Just ranDomly caPitaliZe letters in the middle of Sentences and someTimes Words, I capitalized Dread on purpose because Dread, the dreadmill, is my running partner right now, and as such, garners all the respect that a proper noun deserves. Without Dread, I wouldn't have run at ALL this week.

Last weekend
Ran with Walter last Saturday...I ran about five miles. I really shouldn't complain about the heat, but dayum it was HOT by 9am, and since it's mid-November, I didn't really go running prepared for heat.

Sunday afternoon I went to Elsie's housewarming gala to celebrate the remodel of her little house...which is beautiful. It was quite the event. Who knew that you could smush so many people into a 1200 square-foot (adorable) craftsman? But she did. Her contractor also invited some of his friends, and some of them apparently were having a fabulous time. At one point Betty came running into the house to let me know that I was MISSING OUT on some primo blogging material. Seems that someone had a little too much Sangria and was flashing the crowd....sadly, I missed the photo-op. In fact, I took the MOST BORING PHOTOS...really, look...

There's Elsie, in the center, trying to look excited that her boss showed up.

Alberta...having difficulty keeping her beverage in the glass.

Flasher girl apre' flash

After Elsie's housewarming, it seemed like a good idea to go out on the town. Walter has a client who leads a double-life as a accountant by day, lead singer in a blues band at night, so we went to listen to him at a fine establishment in Little Italy called The Waterfront...several cocktails later, I took some more really uninteresting shots photos. Clearly, running was not going to be in my Sunday morning future. But I did take a picture of a guy wearing really cool running gear.

A group of REALLY YOUNG 'UNS were having an 80's themed birthday bar-crawl. For some reason, I decided to take a picture of this guy's shirt. I have no idea why.

Then, as Walter and I were walking to the car, I decided to take a picture of an office building that already had THREE CHRISTMAS TREES IN THE WINDOW....a little early? Ya think?

So, while I meant to run on Sunday, I sent Betty a text at 7am, cancelling due to a bit of a hangover...surprised? Seriously? I was taking pictures of Christmas trees and random people's shirts...

Finally, since this is the most BORING BLOG EVAH...I'll pick up on Viv's and Irene's virus...who were tagging anyone who wanted to be tagged ("pick me! pick me!" she says, her hand waving furiously in the air...) Here are the rules:

1. Pick the 4th folder on your computer
2. Pick the 4th Picture
3. Explain the picture
4. Tag 4 more peeps (consider yourself tagged if you'd like too are waving your hand frantically and hoping to be picked)
   

DramaGirl and Turbo...roughly about 2 and 4. We're at my parents house in Vegas, April 2000. They appear to have gotten into Nana's band-aid supply...and decided to try them all on.

So...The plan for this weekend?
3 mile run Saturday morning with Betty at Lake Boy Part.

6-7 mile run on Sunday with whoever else shows up at the bay. I have no plans to bar-hop this weekend, so I'll be there.

I'll also be a much better blogger this week...Now I'm going to go find out what you all have been up to.

Ciao

It's Grey, or Is it Gray?

Dayum! Is it Thursday already? WTF happened to the week? 120 unread blogs in my RSS Reader...GAH!

Running news? Not much since Sunday. I've run only one time this week--yesterday morning with Dread--41 minutes/4 miles...not bad. I'll run again tomorrow morning, but tonight I just needed a glass of wine after my 11-hour marathon day today (following another 11 hour marathon day yesterday). In any event, I really gotta get the mid-week ACTUAL RUNNING mileage up to get ready for Carlsbad.

That's it for my running news for the week. I do have a NRR rant, only, if you are one of the three dudes who occassionally read this blog, you might want to stop now; I'm just going to ramble on about some non-running related chick-stuff.

Anyway, back to tomorrow--I've got a full day planned including: attending two parent/teacher meetings with the kid's teachers (nothing serious, just that time of year), delivering chairs and a glass pitcher to Elsie's for her housewarming gala on Saturday (I'll have a full event-report), and because I have at least 2 1/2 inches of growth, getting my roots done.

I may have waited a tad too long...YA THINK?

In truth, I hate this task. It's so BORING just sitting there for three hours while my awesome hairdresser (and she is awesome) paints color-gunk and wraps tin-foil on my hairs, AND while getting my hair colored is a great opportunity to catch up on some trash-reading, I was almost at the point where I was thinking, "WTF, maybe I'll stop coloring my hair." (The dudes who continued reading are now understanding the relationship between the photo of the top of my head and "roots" No guys, I'm not talking about gardening). Since I so dislike getting my hair done, I was SERIOUSLY considering the skunk look. Can you see how I'd be almost completely grey down the middle, with really dark brown hair down the sides. So, how cool would that be?

Maybe too cool for words, but I just can't do it. One day, I'll cut my hair off and let it go gray, but I'm just not there yet. Call me vain...so tomorrow afternoon, I'll be going back to the salon for a nice long sit and I get to read of all the People/US/Entertainment Weekly trash I can get my hands on.

Clearly it's been awhile. What has Britney been up to anyway?

No races this weekend, but I am planning on a nice long run on Sunday with a few of the herd. Should be interesting after Elsie's bash.

Oh, and thanks to Irene, there's this :-))

You Scored an A

You got 10/10 questions correct. It's pretty obvious that you don't make basic grammatical errors. If anything, you're annoyed when people make simple mistakes on their blogs. As far as people with bad grammar go, you know they're only human. And it's humanity and its current condition that truly disturb you sometimes.

The It's Its There Their They're Quiz

Race Report - Shelter Island 5K

Shelter Island 5K was this morning...and what a difference a morning makes. Yesterday--beautiful, sunny, clear, mild-warm, weather; this morning--cloudy, cool, windy, weather.

The regular running herd (Betty, Mik, Elsie, Alice) and Irene (yay...running with Irene two days in a row) met up for the run. We also ran with Elsie's daughter and Irene's DH, Michael. I don't think Michael recognized me from the track club, but he and Betty had many long runs together during the RnR training program, so they remembered each other immediately.

Alice, Elsie, Mik, Betty & Irene - pre-race

This morning I was reminded of how running has changed my life. Before running (BR), I would have slept in on a Sunday morning, read the entire Sunday paper, then just tooled around, not doing much...all in all, not a bad way to spend a day. Now, after running (AR) I get up waaaaaayyyyyyy too early (still not an early morning person) in order to run with my friends...THEN I go home, read the paper, take a nap...maybe not THAT much has changed.

Elsie and calf

Also, before I was a runner, I tried to start a blog a couple of times, but had no dedication (and probably not much fodder) to stick with it. After I became a runner--I have topics, and more importantly, running has taught me how to be dedicated (if not quite obsessed)...and that is a good thing... Also thanks to running AND blogging, I've made new friends and connected with fell0w runner-bloggers, not only here in SoCal, but all over the country...which I think is Just. So. Cool.

Mik and Betty

So, today's run was a time for reflection about how my life has changed in small and large ways because of running.

1. Before the run, we did a warmup lap around the block. I used to think this was just NUTS...why would anyone expend energy to run before a run? This morning Betty, Mik, and I ran about a 1/2 mile before the race to get warmed up. The result...when I started running I didn't feel like I was going to DIE for the first mile.
   
2. I wasted time during the start of the race mucking around with my gear. GAH! For some reason, my Nike+ was tracking my workout, but it wouldn't play music (odd), after about 1/2 mile, I just decided to end the workout (at 4:43 and .43 miles...you do the math...I was running FAST)...and then restarted a new workout and VOILA...TUNES!
   
3. The race started with a pretty low key, "start running now" over a bull-horn. Irene told me later that she didn't even hear the start, just that people around her started moving...thus I have really no idea how far I was behind the official start time. I thought it was only seconds. Betty told me later she thought it was about 20 seconds.
4. For about the first mile, I was keeping up with Mic...what was I thinking? She's our speed girl. I shouldn't run with her. I'll hurt myself.
   
5. Mile 1 - 9:20 (huh?)
6. Uneventful 2nd mile. Mostly I just kept wondering if I was running too fast, too slow...I was pretty thirsty...probably shouldn't have had that third glass of wine the night before...but it was a lovely Cab...
7. Thank God! The water table...I was going to skip it (I mean, after all...it's only three miles)...but again, I was a tad bit dehydrated...so I ran to the last water-guy, drank three gulps (while walking...I'll never be able to run and drink out of a cup at the same time) five steps, and started running again.
   
8. Mile 2 - 19:00 (HUH?) I was thinking "I can't possibly be running 9:30 miles can I?" That being said, I was pretty pleased figuring that I could certainly finish in under 30 minutes...I mean I had 11 minutes to run 1.1 miles...CAKE right?
9. Wrong. I really have no idea where I slowed down but I apparently did.
   
10. Finished in 30:18...another PR...BUT STILL OVER 30 MINUTES. GAHHHHHHH!

I know, I know, I should be happy with the PR, but I really thought I had it...I'm sure I'm being really unrealistic...shaving 20 seconds off a race time is A LOT especially since I had only run four or five times since Light The Night.

Fortunately, I didn't have too much time to sob because the race included a full buffet and

MIMOSAS!

Imagine a stack of four or five plastic glasses, and you'll get a good picture of results of the mimosa-fest...oh yeah, there was food too!

Since Mik finished first, she cleverly grabbed us a table next to the buffet and the feasting began. The sun even started peeking through the clouds to warm us up (or maybe that was the champagne). Irene and Michael joined us. She has waaaayyyy better pix on her blog because Michael was our group photographer today (Thanks!) Elsie and Heather (the calf) came along. Elsie came in 4th in her age group. She'll end up saying it's no big deal, but I think it is....and since I have the blog, I'll brag about it for her.

The race was a point-to-point (sorta) race, so after feasting and drinking, Mik, Betty and I wandered over to the shuttle stop. We took one look at the line and decided to walk back to the car, figuring it was only about a mile or so back to the lot. (hmmmm....wait 20 minutes or longer for a shuttle, or just walk it). We voted for "walk."

This is where another AR revelation occurred. I remember running this race last year. We ended up sitting on the ground for the buffet and I remember struggling to stand up afterward because my legs were so sore...and we definitely opted for the shuttle. Today, walking another mile or so (1.3 miles...I mapped it) today after running didn't even phase me.

Of course, the walk back to the car offered additional entertainment since Mik, Betty, and I had consumed beverages and were quite silly. We discussed such erudite topics as: Giant Garlic Balls (apparently served at Pizza Nova, a restaurant we walked by), reviewed the number of words that we've ruined for momma (including the word bisquit...as a home ec teacher, she's going to have to re-do her first cooking lesson now), and learned some new teenage slang-terms and insults (none of which I'll repeat here. They're nasty. Betty had to look them up on the Internet to find out what they meant. I tell ya, kids today are so darn creative and Betty, as a high school administrator, gets to learn all the new words...she's so lucky).

The next 5K I've got planned is after Christmas! (The Holiday Bowl 5K...which starts off the Holiday Bowl parade. It's another fun race...when you get done, you can watch the parade!). I'd love to do a Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving, but there's a pretty good chance that I'll be driving to Vegas to see the 'rents that morning, so I'll miss both the TTs in San Diego, and the one that's in Vegas.

Only 11 weeks until Carlsbad. Time to start increasing the mileage. I haven't run more than 4 miles since the Nike Women's in SF. These last few weeks of 5Ks have been fun, but I think I prefer the longer races. I'm looking forward to a good 6 or 7 miler this weekend.

Meet the Stalkers!

Irene and Southbay Girl...I love how Southbay Girl is cradling that cup-o-Joe like it's a beer...I knew we had a lot in common!

This morning, Betty and I met and ran with fellow blogger-runners Irene and Southbay Girl (and of course, her adorable dog Velcro) at San Diego Bay. It was a beautiful morning. If Penny's son, who if you've read her blog, you know that he's out here from Tennessee visiting colleges, doesn't decide to go to school here, he's crazy...I mean how can you a beat 78º, clear-sunny, picture-perfect, morning run in November? (There...no weather whining for me today).

It's fun to meet blogger-friends...it's sorta like you know each other, but not really. Irene and Penny were my firsts...so I'm no longer a meet-your-friends-via-the-Internet-virgin...and not a stalker between them!

Irene is my hero. She had a pretty bad running injury about 9 months ago, and this morning, she was running three miles. She sorta shook it off like it was no big deal, but I think she's inspirational. I've been reading her blog all along, and it never ceases to amaze me how optimistic and positive she's been through the whole ordeal. I'd have been whining and bitching like a sullen-teenager...I mean seriously, look at how I whine about the weather...can you imagine me with a hip injury (I'd rather not).

Betty and I behaved ourselves throughout the morning, although this photo made me laugh because the guy sitting behind us has the funniest look on his face...scroll down and look.

WTF?

I figure Betty just dropped the F-Bomb, or he's checking out my ass. I'm going with F-Bomb.

Tomorrow morning I get to run with Betty and Irene (and a few more of the herd) at the Shelter Island 5K, which ends with a champagne brunch (yay! mimosas included in the price of the race...LOVE IT!).

Finally...I have to come clean about the iPhone blog so that you don't get too impressed with my tech-skills. I wrote the post on my iPhone, then uploaded it to Blogger. Then, I imported the photos, added the captions, and published it from my laptop...much less impressive.

Busy, busy, busy

Yes, I'm too busy to write a reasonable post, so I'm trying to write on my iPhone using iBlogger as I ride the shuttle from the campus to the parking lot, where I have to park (whine, whine, whine...). I have the usual excuses for not keeping up with my blogging...work, kids, blah, blah, blah...

Two items this weekend to quickly note (how quick depends on my thumbs...all I can say is thank god for the automatic speller on the iPhone which just turned rje into the).

Oh yeah... This past weekend..first there was Halloween. Kids trick or treated. I enjoyed the evening, doling out candy, and sipping a vampires kiss martini.

A what?

Vampires Kiss Martini

1 part chilled vodka (splurge on the good stuff)
1 part champagne
1/2 part chambord

I poured it into a chilled martini glass that I'd rimmed with a sugar water mixture colored with red food coloring. It looked awesome. The red sugar ran down the outside of the glass so it looked like blood. AND it also ran inside the glass, which made it sweet (yum). The only bad thing is that the sugar on the outside eventually made the glass sorts sticky (eeeeewwww), but we survived. I wish I had taken a picture of it...but you'll just have to use your imagination.

Saturday was all about recovery. Although I did have to do a presentation at a teacher workshop...Saturday afternoon, I mostly prepped for Sunday, which was Walter's birthday!

On Sunday we woke up to do the Susan B Komen 5k. Rather than running with the herd, I ran with Walter, Turbo, DramaGirl & some other family & friends. We ran in support of my mother-in-law & sister-in-law who are both battling breast cancer. It was a really fun and certainly an inspirational race, but this won't be much of a race report because I missed the timed-runners start because some of the family/friend herd were waiting in the LONGEST LINE EVAH for the delux trailer potty, (apparently there were real toilets & a marble sink & tile floors & an attendant to hand you a paper towel). I don't know...I mean, I like a clean restroom with the best of them, but when it's race time, I'm all about the porta-potty. The good news is that, since EVERYONE was on the delux line, the ports potty lines were non-existent. I still missed the race start because I was waiting for the line dwellers. But I got to run (well...walk and run...) with my kiddos, so I didn't care too much.

Only a couple of really bad photos taken with the iPhone.

DramaGirl and friend, before the run. DramaGirl ran/walked in 43 minutes. I'm so proud!

Turbo, as we crossed the bridge into the heart of Balboa Park

After the race, we had brunch at our house...mimosas for everyone!!!a great end to a nice morning... And a happy birthday for Walter.

OK my thumbs are done. It's a crazy, busy week. I have about 100 blogs to catch up on...and, of course there are election results to enjoy.

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]