Turkey Trotting

Thanksgiving morning I had signed Randy, Kyle, Amy and myself up to do the 34th Annual "Turkey Trot" in Walnut Creek. Having a planned event to train for is motivational- even though this is a far cry from the 1/2 marathon distance I am ultimately aiming for. Regardless I thought it would be fun to do and collecting another race tee shirt is always fun. The plan was to get up and out of here by about 7:20, pick up Amy and get to Walnut Creek well ahead of the 8:15 start time. Randy woke up, as usual, long before the alarm clock and was off to get his daily Starbucks fix. When the alarm went off I jumped up, dressed and then went to wake Kyle. Randy still wasn't home from Starbucks which is only about 2 1/2 miles away from the house. The time was drawing nearer that we were supposed to already to at Amy's to pick her up . . . still no Randy. Within a few minutes he came through the door and quickly dressed for the race. As we were leaving to go to Amy's he tried to explain why he was late. It seems a pack (herd, gaggle?) of turkey's was on Stone Valley Road. They are not daunted by traffic and were remaining in the road. One turkey actually had the audacity to engage Randy in a game of Chicken- the turkey flew out of the way as Randy got close enough to hit him. Randy's story was funny but Kyle wasn't particularly amused as his girlfriend was the person made waiting by our lateness. As we traveled down Stone Valley towards Amy's that same gang (or club) of turkeys was still impeding traffic. Now even Kyle had to smile- my goodness this is a stupid bird. And by the way, they don't trot, they slowly saunter out of the traffic lanes, but do so in a single file procession. . . maddening.

We made it to the race in plenty of time and all beat our previous 5K times. I finally conquered the 30 minute race time coming in below. Turkey's aside, it was a fantastic morning. I felt even less pity for the bird on our table that evening . . .

this may give you a chuckle

to my faithful readers . . . (all four of you)
I have so much to catch you up on, but will start with a short story about what happened to me this morning.

I have resumed my "running" career. Running may be overstating it by quite a lot. Jogging or bouncy walking is probably more accurate. I'm horrifically slow, but can only get better, right? To assist me in this quest I've found all kinds of technological wonders. It started with my new pink Ironman watch. The watch syncs up with my Ipod which I can control through the watch- Brilliant! Passersby likely think I'm quite fixated on my times when in reality I'm searching for songs or adjusting volume! My next find came from a recommendation of one of the MD's at work. This is a Nike-ipod gizmo which was supposed to work as a pedometer- you can sync it online and keep a record of your runs. And then finally Ashley told me about a free ap on my iPhone "mapyourrun" which I tried out concurrently today with the nike-ipod thing. To make a long story short, I hadn't calibrated the Nike-ipod thing properly so that was a bust, but the iPhone ap was brilliant. At the conclusion of the run, but before I was home (I walk a bit to cool down) I removed my headset to unhook everything. Just as I removed my head set I heard what sounded like an older woman crying "help me". Yikkes, where was that coming from? I quickly stuffed everything into my pocket and traced the sounds of the cries "help me, help me" she continued to cry. I ran through a bit of private property, quite nervous about what awaited me . . . I got to the back of the property to find the old lady there, standing and chewing grass.
It was a Nanny Goat bleating out "help me"

She had the last laugh- I felt rather ridiculous- I retraced my steps thankful that my neighbor wasn't home to observe me crashing through his property. I'm wondering what she was thinking . . .

apologies and more to come. . .

my goodness my blogging license should be revoked, I've been so "absent" these past 6 months or more.
I finished my triathlon on Saturday with a respectable, yet not too impressive time. Kyle was there and took no less than 80 pictures of me! Tomorrow he promises to download software onto my computer which will allow conversion of these gems to jpeg which is a much more publishing friendly extension.
till then I'll give you a little narrative.

Friday night after work I had a quick bite (Randy was in Tahoe so it was a night alone) and then decided to get totally organized. Kyle had lifted my bike into the Expedition the night before so all I had to do was collect all my other gear. Swim cap and goggles, bike shoes, helmet, teeshirt and number, sunglasses and running shoes- hat if I could find one to fit my enormous head. It took a little time but before long all was collected and bagged along with towels, a footwash basin, water etc. In my nervous nellie phase I put the key in the ignition to "make sure" the car would start . . . don't you know, it didn't! SWEAR WORD.

Picture this now- Randy is in Tahoe, Kyle is out and what am I to do? I have a portable charger for just this occasion. Hooked it up (using a flash light because by now it is totally dark) and , drum roll please, this is dead too! Now, do I try to jump the Exped using my little Miata and possibly draining that battery? HELL NO.
Instead I move everything over to the Miata. How does my bike fit? Top down and crammed into the seat with the wheel sticking up in the back, that's how.

Off to bed . . . lots of very bad dreams about how the race will go.

Up and at em (sort of) at 5:45 am. (prime sleeping time) and on the road by 6:00am. Kristi and I arrive within moments of each other and we are off to find a perfect staging area. Time evaporates and before we know it, it's time to line up to begin the swim wave. I stick to the front/center of the pack knowing I can stay ahead of the crew behind me. Into the water (murky,dirty and full of fowl feces) we run and off we go. Now, swimming SHOULD be my strongest leg- for the first time ever I have a mild panic attack. I can't breathe, there are people ALL AROUND me, oh dear. I sprint out a little, flip on my back and swim 90% of the event on my back! Despite my unorthodox approach my swim time is slightly faster than last year. Out of the pond, a quick shoe and shirt application and off we go on the bike segment.

Oops . . . I forgot to make sure the bike was in the lowest gear before I took off. The bike portion begins with freakin hill that I cant get up. I'm starting to get nervous when Kyle runs up and helps me gear down. Okay, I wasted a couple of minutes there. The first 1/3 of the ride was uneventful- then my chain came off. Calmly I stop, fix and restart. About the 2/3 mark it happens again. DAMN I'm losing time on the bike instead of gaining as I had hoped! Back to the park, sneakers on- off to the run.

I ran the WHOLE run this time, excepting two hills I walked up, each about 25 yards. So, why is my run time SLOWER than last year? My guess is that I didn't complete the whole run last year as one loop was totally new to me this year! Regardless I only added about one minute (which isn't bad as I also added about .25-.50 miles!

My overall time was 45 seconds faster than last year.
Next year, I'm going to make that even better . . . just wish I didn't have to wait until next September to give this a go again!

pictures will follow, just wanted you to know how it went!

Julia Child . . . rockstar!

My book club recently decided to read two books. First, Julia Child's own book "My Life in France" which chronicles Julia's time, post world war 2, in France and Germany. Secondly we read "Julie and Julia" a book by Julie Powell written to describe her journey cooking her way through Julia's first cook book, "Mastering the Art of French cooking".
After we finished both books we went on a field trip to see the new movie Julia and Julie . . . Meryl Streep does a dead on Julia Child by the way.

The movie (and books) made me desperately want to do some Julia Child style cooking. (Butter and Cream heavy). Yesterday I did just that. Julia's chicken with mushroom cream sauce. All I can say it yummmmmmm. Mind you, as a weight watcher member I had to significantly decrease my portion of sauce, but what I had . . . OH MY GOODNESS.

Our dinner was this: Chicken with mushroom cream sauce over roasted red potatoes. Grilled beets and asparagus, fresh chopped tomatoes/onions/garlic in an olive oil vinaigrette over baby greens. Julia invented the entree' I made up the rest.
I'm getting hungry just typing this!

I ordered the book today, (Mastering the art of french cooking) and look forward to adapting recipes in the future to make them a little "skinnier". Next on my list of must makes, Beef Bourguignon

till then, bon appetite'

the fifteen minute rule . . .

I don't know exactly how or when it happened but I've had this fifteen minute window of time engrained into my psyche. I was raised in a home where being fifteen minutes early for an appointment or meeting meant you were on time.
I consequently passed this on to my kids.
I can honestly say, we are very seldom late for anything.
I am a precision German instrument in that respect.
I can quite accurately gauge how long it will take me to reach my destination and, with my fifteen minute cushion, tardiness is seldom an issue.
Why doesn't the rest of the population run like this?
My first appointment today- VERY LATE.
Second- SAME
so, what does this do to the rest of the day?
How do I face the patient who actually runs on time but has to wait due to the inconsiderate behavior of those who came before?
Moral of this rant . . . If you are waiting in the lobby for an appointment, frustrated that your MD or whatever is running late- it may not be their fault, but the accumulated fault of those who came before you and gummed up the day!
If you run on time- ALWAYS make your appointment FIRST thing in the morning, or FIRST after return from lunch.

Whispering, a learned skill . . .

Last weekend Randy and I had a quick getaway to Reno.
The drive was pleasant, the weather lovely.
Randy had a great time playing in the casino and I caught up on reading, movie watching and working out in the gym.
We had tickets to the new stadium where the AAA Diamondback team plays in Reno.
Included in our package was seating and food in a giant luxury box.
As we stood in line getting ready to enter the stadium a pair of local ladies stood behind us.
Lady one kept pointing at me (mind you I was about 2' away from her) and saying (loudly) "that is the kind of hair cut I want, sort of short, but not diky". She repeated this several times, each time with the "dike" reference.
I was patient for a bit, and then thought I would have a bit of fun with her.
I turned around, smiled sweetly and said, "thank you for complimenting my hair, but you should know, I am a dike"
I thought she was going to die on the spot
Her friend kept saying "oh my God, oh my God, oh my God"
It was terribly fun.
After about 20 seconds I told her to relax, I wasn't a "dike" but she should watch the volume a bit. My phone rang and I started a conversation with Ashley- Randy called Kyle and we passed the next few minutes engaged in our separate phone conversations.
As I hung up I heard her again, "now, see that lady over there, I thought she was a guy- that is diky hair"
Clearly, this lady had not learned her lesson.
I turned around, looked her in the eye and told her "she can hear you".
Lady number two went back to the "OHMYGOD" refrain.

The funny part of this whole story . . . I wish I had a picture of this woman who so desperately didn't want to look like a "dike"
overweight, no makeup or styled hair, mans flannel shirt, shabby jeans and old tennis shoes.
I think the ship had already sailed . . . she looked the part already.

Lost . . . and found

as with many good intentions . . .my ability to "keep up" with my blog has been dismal.
I think about this daily- I have brilliant ideas to share (okay, maybe not brilliant, but ideas to be sure) but then the day concludes and still no post.

I can't nag Ashley about her lack of posting if I'm also negligent, can I? and, let's face it, we would MUCH rather be hearing from Ashley than me!

so this will be short- but sweet.

I've lost (to date) 24#
I've found the ability to wear my wedding ring.

I've lost my insecurity in my workout 2 piece
I've found (besides a great belly tan) more confidence.

I've lost (or rather put aside) some Capri pants that fall off when I wear them.
I've found my clavicle. (collar bone which was hidden by a bit of FAT)

I could go on, but you get the picture.

I still have a ways to go- but I'm firmly on the right track.

Now, i can badger Ashley without guilt.

I've "found" the ability to badger.

Love my Czech friend . . .

do you remember quite a while ago when I mentioned that my lovely Czech friend was the one who told me "you have a beautiful color . . ." in reference to my unwanted tan?
Well, today she struck again.

In mid April I finally decided to join weight watchers. I'm not sure what my final motivation was, and it really doesn't matter . . . regardless, I've been faithful and thus far have lost 21.8 pounds. I still have a bit to go, but so far, so good. My blood pressure is fantastic, lipid levels fantastic, glucose great . . . HEALTHY!

In the past several weeks I've heard many different things. First it was, "did you get a new haircut?" second "you look so tan" third, and this the most ridiculous "you look taller". But today, my lovely friend Helena (of you have beautiful color fame) said to me . . ."you look fantastic, you have lost weight" I could have kissed her.

It hasn't been hard. No sacrifices at all. Healthy eating and healthy results.
I really don't want to become one of those "come to Jesus" ladies extolling the value of weight watchers but . . . I'm off all prescriptive meds now and I'm feeling healthy. Appearance isn't a goal, it's a side affect.

Wednesday, what's on my mind

I have a couple of things on my mind this evening and I'll start with the easiest. Do you remember just a bit ago my complaining about having "pediatric illnesses"? Well, again, I've been struck with the problems of a typical two year old. Over the weekend, while Travis was home, I started feeling quite punk. My head hurt- my ear hurt- I was nauseated and dizzy. When I swam I was shaky and tired. Yesterday I felt so crummy I didn't even go out for my regular swim . . . that was when Randy knew for sure something was wrong. (that, and I looked like shit) Regardless- I went to work today feeling crummy. I went downstairs to visit with my friend Marcie- to commiserate with her after yesterday's supreme court decision (her marriage stands) anyhow . . . during our visit she commented that with all due respect, "you look terrible" I told her my pain problems and she looked into my ear- Yupp, as expected. Left ear is infected with a ruptured ear drum. So upstairs I run to make an appointment to be seen by a "grown up" MD. I made an appointment and then found my manager to explain the situation. "you can leave early, but why no have one of our pedi's examine and treat you?" Since I didn't want to get Marcie in trouble I agreed to her plan and the chief of the department examined me- Yupp same as before. Now I have one week of oral antibiotics to take, and a nice ear drop that numbs the pain- Tomorrow I'm hoping to feel much better.

In the meantime, I have something to keep me feeling a bit better.
Remember before I told you about my Czech friends who comment on my "beautiful coloring" and now whenever someone tells me "you are really tan" in that snarky tone I substitute (in my mind) "you have beautiful coloring"? I have a new such thing going on.
THREE time today I got complements on my new hair cut and or hair style. THREE times, three different people. Strange, because I haven't done a single thing different with my hair.
Here is the rub. I've been diligently "working the program" of weight watchers for the past 7 weeks. So far I've lost 14 pounds (one stone in the British measurement system) and not one SINGLE person has noticed. I've been around people who haven't noticed, but don't see me frequently- and, I have to say, it's been a little discouraging. Well today I realized, they don't know what is different, it MUST be my hair. Finally, to one of my work friends I said, "nope, my hair is exactly the same, there is just a little less of me" She looked at me and then said "okay, yes, that's it"

At the pool one of my friends Carl says, "I like your hair, it's different, isn't it?"
to him I replied "Carl, when do you see my hair? it's always in a cap!" He said, "I don't know, your hair just looks different"

I didn't tell him what was really going on.

so, from now on- you say "you are so tan" I hear "You have beautiful coloring"
you say, "Did you do something new with your hair?" I hear, "Damn you look fine with that weight loss"

so, one stone down- two more to drop

Lesson learned last year

If you remember the tale of last years triathlon you will recall the enormous transition times I endured trying to get the appropriate gear on for each leg of the race.

I went totally old school- one piece bathing suit for the swim, donning a tank top and bike shorts for the cycling and then just changing into sneakers for the run. Of course fretting about going to the bathroom between legs didn't help either.

This year I decided I was going to shave at least 5 minutes off of last years time in transition only. I'm also hoping to shave another 5 minutes off in the course of the three events. Step one, which I have easy control over, change my "outfit" for the day.

Consequently I ordered (and have received) a "tri suit" this one piece wonder will take me from swim to run with no changing. My only obligation will be to change into appropriate footwear. This year I'll forgo all the bathroom fussing as well.

so, in anticipation of "tri season" I'm beginning my cross training in June determined to be more succesful this year. Anyone out there care to join me?