Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Pawn shops and fingerprint dust

I spent today slogging around the area to pawn shops, jewelry and watch shops, anywhere I could think of with a list of my stuff in case anything gets pawned. And you have no idea how hard it is to clean up fingerprint dust. That stuff really seems to stick to things and I keep finding it when I touch things. I just opened my desk and voila! Black fingers! and somehow I've lost some really important paperwork that I should have filed and apparently didn't because it's not where it's supposed to be. I tore the house apart looking for it and when I was done the house looked almost as bad as it did after the break in. I probably threw it away.

I started the list for the insurance company and that's a wonderfully depressing task. I asked the adjuster just how I was supposed to put a value on something I've had for 20 plus years. She told me to just give it my best guess. It doesn't matter anyway because I'm not getting much back. Oh well-note to self-if I ever get nice stuff again, keep the receipt. And get a rider on the insurance policy to cover it.

I'm just in a horrible funky mood right now and I hope a good run tomorrow cures it. I ran 7 miles yesterday-barely. I think I just didn't eat enough to fuel the run and I ended up walking a lot of the last 2 miles. Tomorrow's run will be better-I can feel it and I'm really eager to get out there and just run.

I planned a funny little post regarding a comment left by my friend Bosco but I just don't have it in me right now. Maybe tomorrow after I run I will be back to my usual satirical, humorous self. This self indulgent pity party I'm throwing is getting old. If I had a friend acting like this I would tell her to get over herself and snap out of it. I think I need to take my own advice.

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

A better day

Thanks, guys, for all your kind words and commiseration. Laurel, your comment in particular about the treadmill did give me a chuckle, especially since I tried running on it last night without a tv to watch and it sucked like a Hoover. And Bruce, I'm sorry you had to go throught this as well. I managed to work on my list of stolen stuff without crying last night even though I had to add some stuff. I'm trying to figure out how to put a value on it-I don't remember what I paid for most of it, and I really don't know what it's worth. I know what it's worth to me, I just don't know what it's worth to the insurance company.

I'm trying really hard to be positive. They didn't take Garmie, and I had 2 runs in him that I haven't downloaded yet, so that's a good thing. They didn't take my race medals or the notebook with my race bibs and pictures. So we can surmise that the bottom feeding cretin is not a runner.

The very good news is I had a Dr appointment yesterday and I asked the doc if there was any reason, based on my medical history that I shouldn't run a marathon in December. He said "I think that's a brilliant idea!" And he wasn't being sarcastic! He's a cyclist so he gets what running means to me. We talked about my training plan and dealing with longer runs and he was very positive.

so, faithful readers-time to move forward. I'll do what I can to stay safe and keep the wolves away from my door; the loss I've suffered is only stuff. It was important, valuable stuff but just stuff none the less. I hope whoever gets it takes care of it and realizes its value.

Monday, December 29, 2008

Theft

I wish I could post something today along my more usual lines-something that's more in line with my weird sense of humor. After what happened yesterday, however, I won't be smiling or cracking jokes for a while.

Our house was broken in to yesterday while we were out doing some post holiday shopping. We came home in the late afternoon to discover our sliding glass door was shattered and the house was trashed. They took a lot of stuff; some pretty valuable, some just junky stuff we had lying around. They even took the time to clean out Hubby's small change stash that he uses to get a gallon of gas for the lawn mower-maybe 10 bucks in quarters.

They took my whole jewelry box. I had some pretty good pieces and lots of cheap costume jewelry. It's not the value of the stuff that makes me sad as much as the sentimental meaning behind it-most of it was things Hubby has given me over the years. There was a small pearl ring that can't be worth much, but it was the first piece of jewelry he gave me and it's gone.

These bottom feeding cretins didn't just steal my stuff; they stole my sense of security. Now I have to shop for an alarm system for the house and I have to keep the doors locked when I'm home alone and we'll probably lock the doors even when we're both here. I knew there was crime in my little town, I just never expected to get hit myself. I suppose that's pretty naive of me-I'm just as likely to be robbed as the next guy.

The jerks took a lot of stuff that just isn't replaceable. I truly wish they had taken the tv and the computer and the dvd player; I can replace that. I can't replace the victorian sapphire ring I bought in London almost 10 years ago.

I had planned a 4 mile run today but instead I will be talking to insurance people and visiting pawn shops and coin shops in the area and giving them lists of stuff just in case my things happen to show up. And running on the treadmill is going to suck until I can replace the small tv in my bedroom-they took that too. I know I should be as positive as possible-nobody was hurt; they could have trashed the house worse; they could have set the house on fire or something. It's hard to have a positive attitude after something like this.

Sunday, December 28, 2008

I'm back!

I did an easy 5 miler out doors today and it felt wonderful! I loved every step. Well, at least my mind enjoyed every step-my body complained the whole way, as in "What the...I thought we were done with this whole ridiculous I'm going to be a runner thing. You let me sleep in, eat pie and sugar cookies, sit around the house like a slug for a whole week and now you expect me to start running again?" Why yes, I do indeed expect you to start running again.

I wonder what my body will say when it finds out it's going to train for and run a marathon next year?

Friday, December 26, 2008

Running hiatus is over!

My running vacation is over. I ran 4 miles today on the treadmill and I can't believe I'm saying this, but it felt really good-a run on the deadmill? Good?? Go figure!

I wanted to run outdoors today, but I stuck my nose out the door, felt the cold in the air, saw the frost on the lawn, and decided that an indoor run was in order. It was 43 degrees at 8:30 this morning! That's horribly, awfully, nastily freezing cold!

Now that all my faithful readers from the east coast and Canada have finished laughing their butts off, remember-this is California, and not even northern California where I believe the white stuff actually falls occasionally. You have to make an adjustment to calculate cold weather here-I call it the California chill factor. After living here for 45 years, I have come up with a highly technical mathematical calculation that clearly shows that in California, if the thermometer says 50 degrees, for a person who has lived here more than 10 years that actually feels like 25 degrees. So making adjustments for the fact that I have lived here so long, and the temperature was 43 degrees, the California chill factor was 19 degrees.

Now, those of you who live in colder climes would certainly not run in 19 degree weather, would you? I thought not. So stop laughing!

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Be a child tomorrow

It's almost Christmas! My shopping is done-barely; I finished yesterday. I will be baking pies and tidying up the old homestead today, and waging war yet again with the ants who have decided that my kitchen is their new winter home. If I could find a roll of very, very tiny razor wire I'd put it up.

So, faithful readers, how do we celebrate Christmas? I propose that tomorrow we celebrate it like children. Not the perfect, well dressed and mannerly children we see on Christmas cards, but like we did when you and I were actually kids. Let's sing Jingle Bells as loud as possible with the Batman lyrics. Let's be horribly ungrateful for practical gifts like socks and sweaters and barely mumble "thanks" when we get them (unless, of course, they're very nice running socks!). I intend to pile as many ribbons as possible on top of my head and see if I can walk around the room, runway model style. I'm going to play with the boxes as much as I play with the toys. I'll insist on pumpkin pie for breakfast and I will squirt the whipped cream straight into my mouth and then show it to Hubby. I think that we should all, at least once, be a silly, ridiculous, over the top funny kid tomorrow. Consider it a Christmas present to yourself! And best of all, if you can possible manage it, run like you did when you were 10 years old. Leave the Garmin and the Ipod at home and just run. Don't think of anything but how good it feels to just run. Try to run as fast as you possibly can and imagine that you're racing with your best friend. It may be the best gift you give yourself. Merry Christmas, everyone!

Saturday, December 20, 2008

Hubby is a genius!

My blog is fixed! Hubby, brilliant man that he is, fixed it for me-open a couple of windows, left click here, right click there, and voila! I'm back, baby!

So-as mentioned before, not much going on running wise, as I'm taking a couple of days off. I did a "30-30' yesterday-30 minutes on the ellipticall, followed by 30 minutes at a very slow pace on the deadmill. I really noticed the elliptical-I had sore muscles that I usually never get from running.

So, faithful readers, lets talk about some random, totally un-running related subjects:

Bruce-what the heck is up with your weather in Vegas? I saw the pictures on line and you guys had snow! Just how often does that happen?

I also heard that Drew Peterson, the "gentleman" with various missing and deceased wives, is currently engaged. So my question is not about him but rather about the lady that is his betrothed? I wonder what her thinking is-"Gosh, one wife died under highly suspicious circumstances, the other is missing; but he seems so nice...

Well, folks, that's all I have to ponder. Discuss among yourselves!!

I hate computers!

I haven't been able to access my blog for a couple of days and discovered it's my computer. I'm on a different computer; I'll try to fix the problem so I can stay in contact. I'm technologically challenged so I may have to move to a new blog sight if I can't figure out the problem. Anyway, not much going on running wise; I'm taking a few days off and using the elliptical to keep up the cardio. So for now, Merry Christmas and everyone have a happy holiday!

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

1000 Miles-DONE!

I ran 5 miles today, and have now officially logged 1000 miles for the year-1000.5 to be exact. It was a freezing cold run, around 40 degrees, and very windy, but I didn't want to do it on the deadmill-it just seemed right to make this a real, outside run. Even with gloves and my warmest gear, I never felt warm-the wind was the worst of the run. But I did it and I'm currently celebrating with a nice glass of wine and a warm fire-woohoo for me!

Monday, December 15, 2008

I survived!

Well, I survived the weekend-the wedding, birthday party, Christmas party-I made it through it all, but I didn't run all weekend. My legs were really shot after the 10 miler on Friday; I'm thinking the hills did me in, even though I walked up them. So today I really needed a run. It's raining and I decided to wait for a window of opportunity between showers, and I managed to fit in an easy 4 miler. It started raining again just as I was walking up the drive to my house-how's that for good timing!

I'm glad I did 4 miles-that brings my total miles for 2008 up to 995 miles! Just a simple little 5 miler and I will reach my goal of 1000 miles for the year. I'll do that this week; I'm going to run my regular schedule, then I'll probably take a few days off from running. I need a break-I think I'll use the elliptical for a few days for a change of pace.

Friday, December 12, 2008

Rewards

Today, on a whim I decided to take a different route for my 10 miler and check out the new pavement on a formerly dirt road. My original plan was to do a 4 mile loop down the new road and then turn back to my usual running neighborhood. However, somewhere around mile 3 that changed. I've always looked up the side streets on this particular road, trying to figure out if one of them will lead me to the top of the mesa. I think that several roads will get there, but they all involve really big, scary, long hills and they've always intimidated me.

I noticed a side street that didn't look too scary and I thought, "why not"? If there are hills and they're too big, I can always walk up them. So I turned left and started up. I continued to climb gradually on a very nice, wide road with some truly beautiful homes tucked away in the eucalyptus. Then-no more houses. Just me, a perfectly paved street, and trees. I'm guessing the developer will eventually put in more homes; at this point, however, there's absolutely nothing up there.

I ran the road to the end, about 1 1/2 miles of seclusion. On my way back I took another little side street just to see where it went and that's when I finally reached the top of the mesa and the absolutely magnificent view. I could see all the way across the valley to the hills on the other side, with strawberry and broccoli fields below. I tried to find the route I ran for the 1/2 marathon I've done in the past; I know it's down there somewhere. The morning was cold and overcast; The hills across the valley were covered in a pale grey mist. After admiring the view I headed back down to finish my run. I'm going to add this route to my list and I intend to enjoy it as long as I can. I hope the developer takes his sweet time building the rest of his houses.

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Christmas season

Man, it's getting busy around here! I've managed to fit in a couple of 4 milers lately but not much more in the way of running. Even if I get up at the crack of dawn and slog away on the treadmill, I still don't have time to do a decent long run-remember, I'm really slow so long runs take a lot of time. Just as an example of how busy we are right now, this Saturday we have a morning drive and brunch with some sports car buddies, which we will cut short in order to attend a wedding and reception. We will leave the reception early to make it to a Christmas party. On Sunday, Hubby leaves early for a gun show while I attend a birthday party for a nephew. I'll have to leave the party early to get ready for the Christmas party I throw every year for some friends. And we still cancelled out on a party; I just can't figure out how to fit it into the schedule. Then there's the shopping for gifts-even with our gift list cut to the bone this year, we don't seem to have time we need to shop for gifts. Everyone is getting gift cards!

Saturday, December 6, 2008

Today is not that day

I've blogged previously about the importance of a runner's mindset to the outcome of a run. Being a slow runner, my body is usually willing to throw in the towel long before I have the miles under my feet that I want. I have to use brain power to keep the body slogging away, step by step, to meet my goals. One of the tools I often use is personal mantras. They're more than just phrases, repeated constantly. My mantras carry a very detailed picture, almost like a mental movie, that will keep me occupied and thinking positively. My favorite, for many runs, has been " the more you run it, the sooner you've done it". The mental picture attached to this one is me walking in the house after the run-the glass of oj, the shower, the pleasantly exhausted feeling in my legs.

I discovered a new mantra yesterday during my 10 miler. I really needed to do 10 miles; my last 2 long runs were dissapointing and had to be cut short. I was determined to finish this one. I was thinking about bonking and just going home and giving up. Somehow, a battle scene from a Lord of the Rings movie came to mind. I remember the king gave a stirring speech to his warriors, something about you're going to die in battle someday or something to that effect. Then he said, "Today is not that day". So I started telling myself, you will bonk. You will have bad runs that you won't complete. You will turn left and go home instead of turning right and running 10 miles. Today is not that day. I kept running that battle scene in my mind, imagining myself as a warrior-a running warrior woman who would run 10 miles today, sword in hand, battling orcs the whole way (have I mentioned that I have a very active imagination?). And I kept running, one step at a time, and I did 10 miles, telling myself constantly that today is not that day.

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Happy Anniversary

I'm giving you, faithful readers, fair warning. This post is going to be shamefully mushy. If you cringe at gooey, warm and fuzzy posts, you might want to wander on to your next favorite blog.

Today is my wedding anniversary. 32 years ago, at the tender and naive age of 21, Hubby and I stood before God, the state of California, and all the people in the world who meant the most to us and said I Do. We started married life with very little in the way of stuff-we moved into a tiny little trailer in a tiny trailer park with hand me down furniture given to us by family and friends. And yet, despite the fact that we were financially challenged at first, I didn't care one bit. I was living with a man who I adored and who adored me. And the crazy thing is-we still love each other just as much as we did on that Saturday afternoon when we said I Do.

A lot has changed for us over the years. We bought a home, got better jobs, and our finances gradually improved with time and hard work. It's been a pretty common story that lots of people can relate to; there's nothing really exceptional about my life with Hubby. There are some aspects of married life, however, that surprise me. I assumed when I was first married that at some point life with the same guy might get a little boring. I thought we would get to know each other so well that the excitement would fade into a different kind of relationship. That hasn't happened for me. My husband can still surprise, even shock me when I'm least expecting it. sometimes it's something he says that exposes some aspect of his personality that I never saw before; occasionally he will do something that is totally out of character for this staid, middle class, average guy that I've known all these years. And, amazingly, I still to this day find him to be just as devastatingly handsome and sexy as he was when we first met. He can still make me gasp for breath by kissing the back of my neck when I'm least expecting it.

So tonight, we will go to a nice restaurant for dinner. We will remind each other of how lucky we are to have found each other, and we'll look forward to many more years of love and surprises. I can't wait to see what comes next!

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Milestone

I have a nice little 4 mile loop that's become my running course of choice. One of the advantages to this particular neighborhood for running is that there's lots of cross streets, giving me a lot of options on how I want to run the miles, and thus a feeling of variety even though it's the same old neighborhood. So today I planned to run 7 miles, no big whoop, but after looking at my log I realized that if I ran 8 miles I would make a milestone of sorts-more on that later. I thought about this for 2 miles, whether to just do the 7 or add a mile. I was coming to a point in the run where I would make a choice-go straight ahead and commit to 8 miles or turn right and call it at 7. So there I am, at the cross street, and I decided what the heck-go for it. I went straight and finished 8 miles.

And now, you ask-what was the milestone? Well, I'm pretty close to completing 1000 miles this year. And by running 8 miles instead of 7, I can report that my mileage for the year as of today is......950.3 miles! Yep, by adding just one little mile, I have a nice round number to report. I don't know what it is about us runners, but we seem to have an obssession with round numbers. We want to run 30 miles per week-29 won't do, and if we're up to 31, we want 40. A 10 mile run is much more satisfying that 9 even though it's only one more mile.

So, 50 miles to go, and almost a month to complete it. Should be a piece of cake!

Monday, December 1, 2008

Whew!

So one big holiday is over and I'm glad. The company has gone home (hi Mom!), the leftover turkey is in the freezer, and Hubby and I shared the last slice of pie straight out of the the pie tin at the kitchen counter. My house is a mess. I didn't do one bit of house work this week, and while I'm not a neat freak, I do prefer a tidy home. I realized my kitchen floor is a mess-that will be priority no. 1 today, then laundry.

I did manage to fit in a couple of short runs this week but my longest run was only 7 miles. I'm hoping to get back to 30 mpw in the next couple of weeks. I really want to focus on maintaining a good running base this winter. It's going to be hard this month; we have a lot of stuff going on in addition to the usual Christmas stuff. So I have to stay focused and keep running at the top of my to do list. I got a second pair of shoes this weekend and I can now rotate my shoes in an effort to make them last a little longer.

I'm done with turkey for a while. Today's menu will be lasagna with a nice spinach salad. And no dessert!