Friday, May 28, 2010

Soon to be Retired-Again!

I'll be finally winding down my current working gig, and next week will be my last week as a cubicle monkey. The last 2 weeks have been the worst-I've had to make sure all the work gets done as well as make sure my trainee gets properly trained and understands her role as a very small cog in a very large machine. So it's been 2 weeks of overtime and little running. I can't seem to get up early enough to fit in a run; I've been oversleeping (that means I get up at 5:00 instead of 4:00) and I think I've just really needed the extra sleep. I managed 4 miles yesterday morning and it felt wonderful, albeit slow. So I'm hoping I haven't lost too much conditioning and I'll be able to get back to running some decent miles soon.

I scored a very awesome treasure for my freezer yesterday. I was talking to a co-worker, and the conversation was about favorite foods. I mentioned that I loved lumpias-I call them Filipino egg rolls, but I only get to enjoy them at filipino weddings. My co-worker, whose wife is Filipino, told me he had about 6 dozen lumpias, home made by his wife's grandmother, in his freezer. So we arranged a trade-I made him a batch of chocolate chip cookies and he gave me 2 dozen lumpias. Now if I can just find a co-worker who makes tamales from scratch....

Friday, May 14, 2010

Work is a Drag

Sadly, my new work gig is putting a serious dent in my ability to run. I can't manage more than maybe 5 miles in the morning before work and trying to run after work is impossible, mostly because I hate running in the evening almost as much as I hate the deadmill. So I'm going to keep knocking out those pre-dawn 5 milers and try to squeeze in a longer run on the weekends. I'm thinking that if I can't maintain the kind of mileage that I want, maybe this is a good time to work on my speed. I've only been back to work for 1 week and already I can't wait for it to be done so I can go back to loafing on the sofa, watching Dr. Phil and eating bon bons.

As for my trainee, she's a very nice girl who is a quick learner. And-how about this-of all the gazillion or so people that I've trained to be cubicle monkeys, she is the only one that thanked me for training her! That's right, she actually said "Thank you for taking the time to train me. I appreciate that you're being so patient with me".

Give me a moment here as I wipe a tear from my eye....

Sunday, May 9, 2010

Bull Canyon Run

Yesterday I once again attempted to break the 1 hour 10k barrier on the mighty Bull Canyon Run. It's an out and back with a rather nasty hill just before the turn around point; my strategy this year (my 4th attempt) was to run a reasonable pace to begin, power walk up the hill, then run like hell downhill to the finish line. Alas, I didn't even come close, finishing with a time of 1:06 and some seconds. I was actually closer last year (1:01:something) and I'm wondering if I should just tough it out and run up the hill. It was still a fun day; Hubby and I know lots of people both organizing and running this race and I met a few new runners during the day. So next year I will try yet again...

And I'm returning to work next Tuesday. I'm hoping my newbie trainee catches on quick because I'm going to try and have her trained and ready to go in 2 weeks, 3 weeks tops. This won't be a fun gig because I can't make my own hours this time around and I'll once again be a slave to the deadmill.