Sunday, August 22, 2010

My Beloved Camaro


This is the reason I returned to work earlier this year. This is Big Blue, my faithful 1967 Camaro. I bought the car 12 years ago; I needed a daily driver for work and I decided my replacement car had to be fun to drive; it had to be pretty, and it had be a pre-smog car. I've been fond of the mighty Camaro ever since I was a teenager and my older sister had one and refused to let me drive hers.
When I bought Big Blue, he was perfect in every way except for his horrible paint job. It was positively criminal to take a beautiful, straight, mechanically sound car like this one and put a $99 Earl Scheib weekend special paint job on it. Sadly, that is what I lived with for 12 years because good paint jobs are very, very expensive and I lacked the means to do a proper job. Then, the offer came from my former boss to return to work and I decided I would work just long enough to paint Big Blue and return him to his former glory. And that is exactly what I did. Since I worked for a car dealership, I basically took my paychecks and handed them directly to the body shop. They had Big Blue for 3 months. The color is Nantucket blue, an original 1967 color although not Big Blues original shade-he came from the factory with a Deepwater blue paint job but I fell in love with this color the minute I saw the paint chip.
It's almost like having a new car. Big Blue was always fun to drive-there's something about that big block Chevy engine that puts a smile on my face every time I roll him out of the garage. I even managed to earn enough money to have him reshod with new tires. So if you see a middle aged woman cruising around the central coast of California in a blue 1967 Camaro, grinning like an idiot, it's probably me...

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

A New Age Group!

Today is my birthday and being a runner it has a whole different and very special meaning that a non-runner just wouldn't understand. So, faithful reader, you might ask what makes this particular birthday so special? Is it a nice dinner in a fancy restaurant with real tablecloths and an actual wine list? Is it a gift that comes in a very small black velvet box or the delivery of flowers from the local florist?

Actually, none of the above examples apply to me. This birthday is extra special because this year I'm in a new age group for races! So all you ladies in the 55 to 60 group, especially at the Bull Canyon Run-there's a new kid on the block!

Oh, crud. I just realized that the lady that kicks my butt at every single race I enter is the same age as me....

Friday, August 6, 2010

A Good Run!

My runs lately have been lackluster, to put it mildly. I've had to force myself out the door and I haven't always been successful at that. Today, however, reminded me why I still love running. I hit the pavement at 8:00 am with a plan of an easy 7 miler and I wondered if I would even be able to accomplish that. I soon discovered that my mojo tank was topped off and at 6 miles I knew I would finish a 7 miler easily. At 7 miles I decided to tack on an extra mile just because I could. Running conditions were absolutely perfect-we're still enjoying our cool coastal weather with a heavy layer of clouds well into the afternoon; I could feel the moisture from the fog on my skin while I ran. I've always felt that the whole "runner's high" thing was a cruel myth; I've never felt a high from running. But today's run was pretty close to perfect and maybe my version of a runners high is just feeling a serious sense of accomplishment after a good run.