Work Still Sucks...

I haven't been posting much lately because I've been really really busy at work. The last two weeks have been spent on a big project and it's meant working full time every day of the week plus Saturdays, and it sucks like a Hoover. A big, giant, oversized Hoover vacuum cleaner-that's been my job the last two weeks. But the good news is I got it done, with one day to spare, and next week I'll be back to my customary part-time sneak out the back door at lunch time routine.

Yeah, baby-I am the data entering, schedule cross referencing, mistake finding and correcting queen of accounting! And how many atta-girl, great job, pats on the back did I get for my efforts? None. Zero. Zilch. Nada. Yup, returning to work after a couple of years of retirement has truly taught me something-nothing ever changes.

My work schedule these last two weeks has meant more deadmill running even though the weather has been fairly nice. The only way I can fit in my runs is if I get up at the crack of dawn and hit the dreaded machine. Don't get me wrong-I'm glad it's right there in my bedroom so I can use it when I need to, but I still hate it.

Ice Skating

When I'm doing housework I usually have the tv on, mostly for background noise and occasionally to listen to a movie or program I'm kind of interested in. I only have 3 channels so my programming choices are limited especially on Sundays because I'm not much of a pro sports fan. So today, while working on a sewing project, I have a choice of a football game, an infomercial for some kitchen gadget, or figure skating. I opted for figure skating, and I've come to a major conclusion regarding the male ice skaters. I watched them for most of the afternoon and my opinion is based on certain moves they make during their performances and their costume choices.

I have determined that the movie "Blades of Glory" was not a funny spoof of male figure skaters. It was a documentary.

Here Comes the Sun

So I wake up early this morning and what do I see? Is it possible? Could that be...the SUN? I mean I haven't seen that big golden sort of glowy thing in the sky for a long time but I seem to remember it vaguely-it's all warm and bright and it means I'm off the deadmill! I hit the streets for a 6.2 miler this morning and it was glorious. I felt like I was flying and my feet never touched the pavement. Let's face it, faithful readers-running outdoors beats the deadmill all to heck-there is just no comparison. And I had the lovely experience of dodging rain puddles through the whole run!

More Rain

Every run this week has been on the deadmill and today will not be an exception. I almost ran yesterday outdoors after work-the rain stopped for a bit and I thought I could squeeze a 4 miler in between thunder storms; but just as I was getting changed into my running gear it started to pour, then it started to hail and I knew it would be another deadmill run. There's more rain forecast for today and I will be on the deadmill yet again. I definitely have a love/hate relationship with the mill-I'm glad it's there, just in case I need it, but when I'm on it I hate every minute.

And here's a special message to my favorite co-worker-you know who you are. You're the one that gave me a huge project this week because you were falling behind and couldn't finish it. I did exactly what you told me to do; I pulled stacks and stacks of vendor files and started a spreadsheet and entered all that boring data and then I put all the files back in storage. So why did you choose yesterday at 4:00 to tell me that you forgot to mention that there's one vital extra piece of information that needs to be on that spreadsheet? Now I will spend all day today and probably all day Saturday pulling all those files so I can tease out that bit of information and add it to the spreadsheet. Thanks so much. You should know that I believe in karma and I believe that you will be punished-perhaps not soon and perhaps not by me, but you will pay for this...

monsoon season

Our beautiful warm weather has come to an end; we now have weeks of rain to look forward to. This won't be the light, misty, yeah you can run outdoors rain. This is downpour rain with flooding and trees knocked down and power outages. I've been forced to use the treadmill all week and I'm dreading Friday's 8 mile run.

So, our power was off all day yesterday and do you know what my only real fear was? Let's see...what would scare someone about a potential power outage that could last for days as it has in the past-could it be the food spoilage because the fridge isn't refridgerating? Or perhaps no heat in the house? Or nothing to do but read books and play with a Nintendo ds for days on end? Nope, none of the above. What I feared most about a power outage was that I couldn't run outdoors because of the rain, and I couldn't use the treadmill because of the power outage, so how was I going run? I actually considered trying to run outdoors despite the weather and Hubby pointed out the lunacy of that plan. Fortunately the power came back on and the treadmill is again an option!

70 Degrees!

I'm back on a running schedule and I've been hitting the pavement around 6:00 am-yes, I'm back to pre-dawn runs and I'm really enjoying it. There's something really wonderful about running in moonlight, just before the sun rises and well before your average joe has even had his first cup of coffee.

And why, you may ask, am I running so early in the morning? The answer is twofold. First, I do it because I'm back at work and I prefer getting my run in before my work day starts rather than after I'm done; and secondly, because it's been averaging 65 to 70 degrees here in the afternoon. That's right, faithful readers, 70 degrees! I don't mean to make those of you who live in a colder climate jealous, but it's been downright balmy here and Hubby and I have even taken the Bugeye out for evening drives just before dinner.

Hubby keeps telling my I should just treadmill it and skip the outdoor runs; but then, he's not a runner. While he's really supportive of my addictionhabit, he just doesn't understand. Unfortunately he'll never know what it feels like to be running under a full moon in a quiet neighborhood with only a stray cat and an occasional horse in a pasture for company. It's mornings like I've had this week that make me wish I was a poet, and could describe the feeling so that a non-runner could understand why those of us who run do what we do.

I'm Slower than Oprah

I found this website about celebrity marathoners and I was intriqued by the times of some of these people-dang, some of them are pretty fast! Most are faster than me, of course; but who knew that Will Ferrell is not only one of the funniest people on the big screen, but a pretty good runner as well? Meredith Baxter, Anthony Edwards, Lisa Ling-all faster than me. Al Gore is faster, too, and I wonder if he runs in organic shoes made with natural products that don't increase his carbon footprint? The one that stings a bit is Oprah-yup, you guessed it; faster than me. I mean really-Oprah? How is that possible? I guess if I had a personal coach and a nutritional expert at my side every day like she probably did I'd finish with a better time.

Happily, there were a couple of back of the packers in the list. I would be right behind Mario Lopez (5:41:41) and Freddie Prinz (5:50:49) and then we could all wait for David Lee Roth to cross the finish line in 6+ hours. I figure David Lee Roth is so slow because it must be really, really hard to run in spandex tights...

Happy New Year!

So, faithful readers, it's a new year full of promise. I kind of floundered a bit, running-wise, after I finished the marathon; now it's time to focus on new goals. I haven't been running as much as I wanted to this last month. I took 2 weeks off after the race and then I caught a horrible cold so it's all been very short runs. I just filled in my calendar for the next 3 months and my goal is to rebuild my base and achieve a 40 mile average per week with at least a 12 mile long run-a 15 miler occasionally would be lovely! I have a race in February so there's plenty of time to prepare and all I have to do is decide if I want to do the 5k or the 10k.

I just checked my log and last year I ran a whopping total of 1426 miles. My longest run of the year, naturally was 26.2 miles. Oddly, I seem to have slowed down last year-perhaps I sacrificed speed for distance? That's another goal I'd like to meet for 2010-get faster. It would be nice to finish a half marathon ahead of another runner.

I'm still working and I hope the decision to return to work wasn't a mistake. I'm going to talk to my boss and reiterate that I'll be coming in late because I want to continue running in the mornings. It hasn't been a problem so far because we're so slow at work that I can make my own hours; however this month I'll be busy with year end projects and I'm going to have to get creative with my schedule to fit in my runs. As much as I hate it, the treadmill may become my new best friend this year.

So Happy New Year, everyone! Keep running and I hope you all have a healthy, prosperous new year!