Saturday, May 30, 2009

Running Skirts

There were women in running skirts at my last race. This is a rather conservative area and new, risque trends take time to show up here, so I was glad to see the skirt thing finally make it. I happen to like running skirts. I have a couple and they're comfortable and flattering to my pancake butt. Having said that, I can't bring myself to wear one to a race. Wearing a skirt while running around my quiet neighborhood is one thing; wearing one in front of hundreds of runners is an entirely different matter. I'm afraid everyone is going to think I'm one of "those" women-you know what I mean. I don't want to be a middle aged woman who looks like she's trying to dress like her teen aged daughter, or in my case, my young niece. I've reached an age when dressing appropriately is getting just the teensiest bit tricky. I don't want to be dowdy and unfashionable, but I know I can't pull off the latest trend. One fashion accessory too many, and BAM! You're one of "those" women.

I did see a perfect example of "what not to wear" recently. My mom and I were in court yet again to see justice served on a platter to the people who burgled my house in December, and there was a woman in the courtroom who needed a serious make-over. Trust me, after a certain age, skirts should come down squarely to the knees and not an inch shorter, especially when your legs aren't your best feature-or your 2nd, 3rd, or 4th best feature. In my case, I happen to have really good legs due to all the running I do, and I still don't wear short skirts. As I've said-it's a very fine line between "wow, she has great legs" and "Holy cow, doesn't she have mirror at home?"

Sunday, May 24, 2009

Running naked

I did another 11 miler Friday; it wasn't my best effort and I attribute that to running out of Cytomax and being forced to use Gatorade which I hate; and I didn't have Shot Blox, either. I tried a Powerbar and it sucked like a Hoover-so lesson learned. Stick with what works. I visited my FNRS yesterday, picked up a huge container of Cytomax, and some GU Chomps to sample. The very nice clerk at the store, who happens to be an ultra marathoner, suggested the Chomps and also recommended a post run supplement to sample. I'll let you all know how the Chomps work after my next long run.

So, faithful readers, I know you're piqued by my title. No, I do not run naked. Aside from the legal issues, I do not want to scare the inhabitants of this small community with my bare, pale body. I did, however, cruise over to a website with a video of the Bay to Breakers race in San Francisco which is apparently clothing optional. Clearly exhibited in the video were the naked behinds of several men-naked, except for a heart rate strap and running shoes! So I have some questions for anyone who chooses to run in such a minimalist fashion-how do you pin on your race bib? And for the gentlemen-are'nt there some serious bounce issues? I think it could be rather painful to run naked, what with the outdoor plumbing and all that. Seriously-let me know how you guys deal with this stuff-inquiring minds want to know!

Sunday, May 17, 2009

Tag-you're it!

I ran a very nice 6 miler this morning. I really need to get out the door earlier-it's starting to warm up here and my runs are always better in the cooler mornings. It was a good run, however; I got into the zone and just ran-no thought about pace or heart rate, I just ran by feel, thinking about running lightly and reveling in how good it felt!

So, since you've all been waiting with baited breath to learn more about me, the most boring average person on the planet, here's my tag answers:

8 things I'm looking forward to:
1. Mom's visit next week
2. My friends' wedding next month
3. The half marathon I'm running in July
4. My shooting date with friends next Sunday-I finally get to shoot the mighty Spencer!
5. I ordered a watch to replace the one stolen in December-it should be here next week!
6. Hubby quitting his "temporary" job that was supposed to be done in 2 months, and has now lasted almost a year.
7. Going to Disneyland this summer with the nephews.
8. And of course, the biggie-the Las Vegas Rock & Roll Marathon in December!

8 things I did yesterday:
1. Baked cookies-oatmeal with walnuts and chocolate chips, and they were excellent!
2. Washed the car-it was disgustingly dirty!
3. Did some laundry
4. Pulled weeds, but you wouldn't know it by looking at my planters..
5. Cooked dinner-soft tacos with my own version of spanish style rice.
6. Worked a bit on a newsletter I write for the Scottish Society we belong to
7. Played with the neighbor's new baby goats
8. Started cleaning the spare bedroom in preparation for Mom's visit

8 things I would like to do:
1. Learn to tango
2. Take a road trip across Canada, then back across the USA
3. Go back to Paris and have more than one day to spend in that beautiful city
4. Run all the way around the island of Bora Bora
5. Clean out the attic-and I do mean clean it out. There's stuff up there that's absolutely useless and I don't know why we've kept it.
6. Have our wedding vowsrenewed by Elvis in a little chapel in Las Vegas. I've been threatening Hubby that this is what we're going to do in December!
7. Learn to cook well. I can bake but I really can't cook.
8. Go back to Midland, Texas and see if I can find the little house I remember from my childhood.

8 shows I watch:
1. House-it's on even as we speak, I'm listening to it while I'm posting!
2. Biggest Loser
3. Amazing Race
4. Dr. Phil-it's my afternoon guilty pleasure!
5. America's got Talent
6. The Office
7. My name is Earl
8. Parks and Recreation

8 people I tag:
1. Mountain Mama and she's the only one I'm tagging since Bruce and I follow the same blogs and they've all pretty much already been tagged

See, I told you I was boring. There's not a single exceptional thing in any of those lists. I wish it was more exotic; such is the life of your average middle class woman.

Friday, May 15, 2009

I've been tagged!

I ran a very easy 11 miles this morning. It should have been a 10 miler but when the running mojo is good and the weather is cool how can a runner resist adding a mile or 2? I used Gatorade because that's all I had; I need to get to my FNRS to pick up more CytoMax and Shot Blox. I'll probably try something new, instead of the Shot Blox-they had Sharkies the last time I was there and I intend to get some and try them. I like the Shot Blox but they're so stinkin gummy!

I got tagged by Bruce! I'll have to think about this before I respond with all sorts of information about myself; I'm always tempted to fib just a bit since my life is incredibly boring, mundane and average. Honestly, faithful readers-there is absolutely nothing particularly intriguing about me.

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Tread lightly

I saw the results of the Bull Canyon 10k today online. I finished 4th in my age group-4th. 2 minutes faster and I would have been in the medals. This is how a runner's mind works: I saw the clock when I crossed the finish line; I read my garmie which pretty much confirmed the clock. And yet I still hoped against hope that somehow the official time recorded online for all eternity would be under one hour. Maybe the clock and garmie were both wrong-don't laugh, it could happen....the good news is that next year this race will be chip timed. They really need to do this since there are close to 1000 runners participating in this race and I know I wasted precious seconds just getting to the start line while the clock ticked away.

I'm really focused on improving my form. Hubby got a good picture of me starting the race and my form is terrible. The best way to approach this is to identify the problems and correct them one at a time-if a runner tries to correct everything at once, it gets overwhelming; it can be too many things to think about at the same time. So if I can address one problem and focus on correcting it for 2 to 3 weeks, then hopefully it will become a habit and I can then move on to the next problem.

So my current issue is to run lightly-to try to hit the ground gently rather than pounding the pavement. This seems to be the easiest problem to resolve. I ran 8 miles yesterday and about every 1/4 mile or so I reminded myself to run lightly rather than heavy, trying to make the sound of my running dissapear. I wasn't entirely successful but I'm convinced I can do better. I don't want to continue to be one of those runners you can hear coming from miles away!

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Bull Canyon 10k

I ran the Bull Canyon 10K yesterday. Honestly, I thought I was just going to treat it like a regular old any day of the week training run, but you know how that goes-you get out there on the starting line with about 800 of your closest friends, and BAM! The competitive spirit kicks in, the adrenaline starts to flow, and you're racing even if you don't want to.

As I headed up the canyon, I watched the returning runners-the speedy guys. I was hoping maybe, just maybe to finish in the medals in my age group so I was scoping out the returning women and trying to determine if they were in my age group. I finally saw the third one going the other way and I knew I was out of the medals. OK, I told myself. Go for goal number 2. Try to make this your sub one hour 10k. So I knew my pace was fast (well, fast for me) and I thought it might be do-able. This was before I hit the dreaded 1/2 mile hill just before the turn around. I hit the hill and slogged up really, really slowly. I made it to the top and focused on taking advantage of that long downhill slide. I was cutting tangents like crazy through the entire race-this course is made for cuttng corners as it's very curvy.

I hit the last stretch, really hopeful that I had finally cracked the 1hour mark. I glanced at garmie and I knew I wouldn't make it unless I could run like a Kenyan for the last 1/4 mile or so. When I saw the finish line and the clock read 1:01:29 I knew I had just missed the mark. The Kenyan in me just didn't kick in soon enough.

It was still a good race. I had fun, I visited with runner friends that I only see at races, and I decided to sign up for a half in July. I wasn't going to do it, but I realized I'm scheduled to run 12 miles that day anyway, and my runner friends convinced me I should do it. If I'm going to be out there running anyway, I might as well do it somewhere different and get a really good breakfast afterwards.

Friday, May 8, 2009

My day in court

I spent all day Monday at our friendly county courthouse. It was the arraignment date for one of the rotten bastards-in this case, a rotten b&%*h since it's a female, who was involved in the robbery at my house in December. I had to drive to the big city, find parking, and figure out the maze that is the county building to find the correct department. Finally, in the bowels of a 4 story building (please don't laugh-that's considered a skyscraper around here!), I waited in courtroom no. 7 for my particular pondslime lady to be arraigned. After waiting through 10 other arraignments her name was finally called and I could put a face with the name.

There's nothing exceptional about her-she wouldn't stand out in a typical crowd of 30 something lower middle class women; she just looks average. I did get some serious satisfaction in seeing her sporting an orange jumpsuit and chains; and her demeanor was a combination of resignation and just a hint of fear. Unfortunately, after spending all day at the courthouse, they didn't arraign her. Her attorney wasn't there and the one that showed up for her asked the court to give her another arraignment date. Damn-that means I'll be spending next Monday at the courthouse again.

The attorney for the D.A. that I spoke to told me that there are several charges against her including selling stolen property (that would be my stolen property) and a felony charge for something else. He thinks she'll plead either no contest or guilty and the most she will probably get is a year in the county jail with time served. That means she'll probably be back on the street in just a few months time.

this has been very frustrating for me. I can't get any answers out of the sheriffs department about when I can get my stuff back that they're holding for evidence. The victims assistance people tell me to talk to the sheriffs department; the sheriff's department says it's up to the district attorney's office. The district attorney's office says to talk to the evidence officer with the sheriff's office, and he hasn't returned any calls. And everybody has tried to discourage me from attending the arraignments and court dates, and they tell me that making a victims statement is unneccessary since this person has several charges against her and she's getting the maximum sentence anyway.

The only positive note in this mess is that the detective handling this case still seems to believe that the one item I really want returned-a family heirloom that has little value on the street and a great deal of value to me and my family-may still surface. I don't know why he thinks that but he does. I hope he's right, but as time has passed I've resigned myself to the loss.