Game on!

so I got the BodyBugg activated yesterday. AFTER I'd eaten probably a full day's worth of tamales, leftover Christmas cookies and See's candy. And after I ran 4 miles at the gym yesterday morning. So we're counting today as the starting point. The game of moving my body to burn 1000 more calories a day than I take in is officially on.

There is no mystery to weight loss -- there is only burning more than you eat. That's not to say that it's easy, because if it was, we wouldn't be a nation of overweight people, with a billion-dollar industry tied to weight loss. But the challenge has always been making sure you're burning what you think you're burning. And knowing exactly what you're eating. So for me, there will be no more mystery. I will need to be meticulous with the logging of the food, but the interface of the online tracking is pretty user-friendly (or it is now that I've installed the IE add-in to my Firefox browser). And I can custom-add any food that I need to. And I'm going to be brutally honest. That's the only way this will work. If I eat that piece of candy, or hit the snack machine at the office, then I will have to pay for that candy with a trip up the stairs or a walk around the block. And I know that I will eat that piece of candy. And I will hit the snack machine, because that's how I roll. But now, there is a concrete cost connected to it that I will have to pay. Simple as that. I think once I start to see results I'll be more motivated to keep it up, and I'll be more motivated to make those decisions. But I'm not going to tackle that all at once.

This is what the interface looks like, with my real data for today so far:


I like the graphs at the bottom -- I can mouse over them and it gives me a count of the calories burned per minute during that time. The spikes at the bottom were from cleaning the kitchen this morning. I've not done anything really out of the ordinary so far, so it will be interesting to see how this afternoon's run shows up on the graphs. And what a leisurely stroll around the park looks like, too. Wonder how much I can burn by taking down the tree later? I still have a lot of learning to do about the different views, and the more data I have, the more info it will give me. And I will share here as much as I can. The accountability is good for me.

So game on. Should be a good one, with hopefully me as the big loser AND winner. Happy Sunday!

'cause I got nothing

to post, you get to see the annual post-Christmas rundown of what Santa and assorted family members gave me for Christmas. Yet again, I asked for and received gifts that will help me get this arse in race-ready condition. Things that make me excited to work out. And, like usual, the folks delivered. In no particular order:

Timex Ironman iControl:
Yes, it's orange. Natch. And it is that bright and vivid on my arm. LOVE IT!! Still haven't connected the iPod to it, since that means I can't use the Nike+ foot pod with it at the same time. Not that I can currently find the Nike+ foot pod anyway.... Never mind. The iPod is out of juice and I didn't bring the charger cable with me this trip. No worries -- we'll test drive the iControl part this weekend. When I hit the gym and get this activated:


It's a BodyBugg, and yes, I probably could accomplish the same weight loss without it, if I was a little more conscientious about what I put in my mouth and made sure I got all the workouts in. Probably. But I haven't made much headway without it so far, have I? So I thought it was worth a shot. And that's what Christmas is for, in our house, at least, to splurge on each other on the things that we wouldn't necessarily get for ourselves on a normal day. So once I get this thing activated and running, look forward to hearing more about it and the related results. I'm all about the gadget and feedback and "playing the game" to hit the numbers. So I'm optimistic.

Of course, if I'm going to burn more calories, I need some kickin' gear to do it in, right? Which is where my gift card to NikeTown will come in handy. Time to stock up on the 10/2 collection, methinks.

What else? got a couple of dress skirts for work, a kickin' pair of boots for work (perfect for these freakin' cold NYC mornings) and some sweaters for work. All very cool and very appreciated, but not as fun as the gadgets above.

Of course, the Garmin is still dead and I'd been holding off on getting a new GPS unit until Christmas. Now I'm in the market for one and will have to wait for a good sale (and the next bonus cycle). Maybe I'll be able to hold out for Mother's Day, but probably not since I have a couple of races between now and then. We shall see, we shall see. It's rather ungracious to yelp about what you didn't get under the tree, no? Especially when the haul was generous and awesome. So, um, disregard this last paragraph, m'kay?

It's get-away day today, so I should get to moving so I can head out of here and hit the office. The sooner to hit the road afterward. Peace out, and have a great weekend!

Merry Christmas!

Christmas_Eve 014, originally uploaded by ccervant_99.

From our Family to Yours.

Hope you've had as great (or better) time these last few days as we have. I've had a good opportunity to slow down and enjoy my boys (all three of them) and recharge the batteries, as it were. And having two kitties around makes it extra fun, too!

Here She is!

As promised, the new kitten at Casa de Skatemom!

Her little nose is scabbed up because she tried to nose her way out of a crate last week, according to the lady from the shelter. Seven weeks old and itty bitty, especially compared to Princess Summer Blossom.

Speaking of which, we have new photo of the existing royalty, just for good measure and to be sure that there is no animosity between the new and the established:

And, because it is Christmas Eve, you get this, too:

We won't talk about how just minutes before this, on the way into the workshop, Elder Child had told me that he was willing to STAND next to Santa, but was not in any way going to get in his lap. By the end of the conversation (which was pretty lengthy, based on the fidgeting of the next kids in line) he was the one smiling and laughing more than the little one. That one just was serious as a heart attack throughout the whole encounter. In a while I'll scan the photo from the official photographer that was quite excellent, but for now, this gives you a good idea of the day. He's twelve now, and I have a sad suspicion that this may be the last good Santa photo I get of him.

Gotta run -- I'm actually on the clock some today, so I must switch over to the other computer and log some decent hours here in a while. Have a wonderful day and I will be posting later tonight and/or tomorrow.

oops, we did it again!

so, yeah. About six months ago or so, we brought a new member of our family home. She's awesome and nutso and everything a cat should be. 'cept she was a little lonely. Or maybe we decided having a kitten in the house was so much fun we had to do it all over again. And we really had wanted to get two at the time we adopted Her Royal Highness, Queen-in-Training, Supreme Diva of the House Princess Summer Blossom. But we didn't, because PSB was the right cat at the time, and none others at the shelter seemed right.

But today, we were burning time waiting to see National Treasure II, doing a little last-minute shopping. We needed cat litter and a kitty stocking full of treats for PSB, so we stopped at the pet store. Where they were having adoptions from a local shelter. And they had two little baby kittens. A couple of older cats, too. We walked in and saw the most adorable gray kitten with little white legs and a little white-patched face. Tiny and sweet. Almost in unison, the boys turned and looked at us and said, "We need another cat." Not "Can we have another cat?" or "What would it be like if we had another kitten?" But "We NEED another cat." And Hub and I looked at each other and thought about it, then quickly decided we needed to leave the pet store. Right away. Like, immediate-like. We headed down the strip mall to Marshall's and picked up a few things and pondered the possibility.

On the way back to the car, we stopped at the pet store again. We really did need kitty litter. Turned out we needed a new litter box, a new bowl, new toys and new baby cat food (even smaller than kitten food PSB still eats). Why did we need all this? Because the dang cat was still there. Still cute as a button. Cuter. The other one, her brother, was spoken for, but she was still available and still in NEED of a new home. Kinda like we were in NEED of a new kitten. Sigh. "We'll take her."

Her name is Soxie. As in "Roxie." Pretty sure we'll call her Two-Socks. Or just Socks. The introduction through the door is uneventful so far. It'll be a few days before they meet face-to-face for any amount of time. Photos to follow. Gotta run.

Even after the tequila...

I ran. Told you I had new motivation. I only did 2.5 miles, but still.

See, what happened last night is that our team went out for dinner. In TriBeCa. At some little Spanish tapas bar. With a flamenco dancer (who was amazing, BTW).

And at some point over the night (which wasn't a very long night, either -- I was at the apt asleep before the second episode of SATC was over), my project manager had convinced me to have a tequila shot. And I may have had a few sips of the white sangria. Not too many, because prior to this, the last time I had anything stronger than diet green tea was when we had dinner club and someone (who shall remain nameless but knows dang well who she is... ahem, DENISE!) made peach bellinis which knocked me on my ass after just a few sips and directly caused me to skip my run the next morning. Seriously, honestly, I maybe have had alcohol on about three occasions in the last five years. But every ten years or so, I do enjoy a little bit (a very little bit) of good tequila. Not the cheap border bar tequila we used to drink in college, but good smooth tequila. So it wasn't too tough to convince me to have a shot. And I'd had enough water during dinner that after the initial "I can't feel the bottom half of my face" sensation you get with a tequila shot wore off I was fine. Fine enough to get off my as$ this morning and hit the treadmill in the sad little excuse for a gym in my building. So, go me.

Gotta go -- I'm a bit wiped out tonight. We managed to escape the office at a reasonable hour so I went all tourista with a friend of mine and we hit a few little shops near Times Square for some last-minute NYC Christmas shopping. The best find of the night was easily a Pirates of the Caribbean statue with two little M&M guys being attacked by a squid. This is such a perfect confluence of things for TDP DinoBoy, you cannot even imagine. And it was half-price, so score! Peace out -- got to be rested for the last haul before a nice 4-day weekend.

She's ALIVE!

She's baaack! in case you hadn't heard... the original source of all random linkage is back in the, um, groove, as it were. Go by and give her some comment love, then thump her on the head for being gone for so long. Now that she's back, can the Platy be far behind??
(This probably means NOTHING to anyone from my real life or my running/tri group folks -- only the original bloggy friends will fully appreciate the webby wackiness that is the Batgrl)

Not much else going on, except that I'm in the midst of reading Ultramarathon Man and have a renewed sense of motivation. I also have a clear plan for the running that gets me through April, where we will switch focus to triathlon and that swim thang for the summer. Stay tuned for details.

That is all.

*This* is a vacation?

What's been keeping me busy on my week home from the project:

• finishing nine loads of laundry, not counting the kitchen mats and curtains (see below)
  
• completed two 50-minute gym workouts with my trainer -- would have been three, but the girly is graduating from college tomorrow, so she's not in
  
• three sessions with a sports massage therapist/chiro for my cranky shin/knee (in Dallas, no less!)
• podiatrist appointment and follow-up scan for Elder Child's left foot
• cleaning out the closets in the kids' rooms
• re-arranging the living room to make room for the tree
• setting up and decorating the Christmas tree (with some help!)
• painting the kitchen (just finished today!)
• creating, ordering and addressing/stuffing the Christmas cards -- waiting for postage and they're outta here
• completing Christmas shopping for pretty much everyone but Hub
• making dinner (!) once or twice this week -- without using the microwave!!
• washing the curtains in the kitchen, bedrooms and den
• dropping off and picking up the boys from school every day
• attending 1 scout meeting (2 in about half an hour), 2 hockey practices and a band concert
• having lunch with three friends from my old job yesterday in Dallas

Sigh. I'm *almost* ready to go back to work now!! Nope, I take that back!

Greetings from Wichita Falls,TX

not from the start line of the White Rock Marathon. This is the first Rock I'm sitting out since I started this little side venture and it feels very weird to not be approaching the Turtle Creek western-themed waterstop manned by Luke's Locker right now. Instead, I'm sitting in a Comfort Inn in Wichita Falls, preparing for a hockey tournament in a bit. BTW, call me spoiled by the Marriott and/or a corporate apartment, but this particular Comfort Inn is lacking a bit in the "comfort" area, if you get my drift. But, I do have to say that with the weather that rolled in last night of cold and wet (high in the lower 50s, expecting to drop throughout the morning, coupled with drizzle, rain and thunderstorms) that I'm a little glad to not be toeing the line today.

We did go to the Marathon Expo yesterday, where I spent at least an hour and a little more $$, trying to motivate myself to get back into the marathon groove. I did pick up a couple of Bondi bands, which I have been wearing pretty much nonstop since then. One is in my signature cornflower yellow, with "26.2" across the front, which will be henceforth part of my standard training attire. The other is in the second most perfect color evah, burnt orange, with "I'd Rather Be Running" stamped on it - this will be my "off-track" standard, if you will. Just a couple of reminders of what I am and what I need to focus on in the next few months.

I also picked up a 2008 race calendar, so I need to scan through it and pick another spring race (after Austin), probably in April, and an early fall race. I also picked up some tri-related brochures, with info on training camps and swimming camps. Gotta get back into that groove as well.

The other thing I did was get my gait analyzed, at least superficially. I do this weird pull-back thing with my left arm that twists my upper body withe every stride, and I have a definite Frankenstein-monster-ish thud on the right side when I step down. Even with fresh legs, I have a full mid-foot plant, which was plainly obvious, and I know that as soon as I get any amount of tired I start flat-footing it bigtime. I could see very clearly once they pulled it up on the video screen what all the problems with my stride are (and we're not even talking about the monster thigh issues at this point, but that's another post entirely... sigh) and why I have so much trouble with my lower back aching. So I'm going into the sports chiro place on Tuesday to have a more thorough look-see. I've been meaning to find another place with a more sports performance-oriented focus, but just haven't found the time, so this was a perfect opportunity. so even though I'm not running today (and hopefully passing the 10K mark by about right now...), I still got a lot out of the expo. I had to find things to motivate me there, to get me back on track, because my initial feelings when we walked in were those of great sadness and regret that I wasn't, that I'm not, ready to run a full marathon right now. But that time will come again, in February, and I'm not letting it fall away from me again.

So, there. Gotta go -- we're doing the sweep of the room and checking out to head to the rink.
Later, and good luck to all the WR'ers.

Mama, it's COLD outside!!

brrrr. wasn't so bad when I landed this morning (we left on time and landed early -- first time EVAH!! at LGA), but in the time I was in the office, it got very cold. And windy. Like rattling the windows windy. And cold. Did I mention that? I had my long wool coat -- the one with missing buttons that I didn't notice were missing because I NEVER wear it in Texas. Because it's never cold enough to wear anything more than a sweatshirt and jeans. Or if it's really cold, a hooded sweatshirt. Seriously. I lived the whole winter last year living in long-sleeved tees and gap sweatpants. So to have to wear a long wool coat and still be cold? Brrr.

In other news, we have Turkey Trot photos, but they are horrendous and shall not be shared here, mostly because they highlight the worst feature on my body, namely the stomach that ate Brooklyn. Sigh. I SWORE up and down when I started this job and this travel that it wouldn't affect my workouts, but sadly, it *has* affected the regularity with which I actually work out, and the quality of my workouts, and thusly, the size of my waistband. Deep sigh. And my speed is the same as it was last year, roughly, but yet I'm heavier (only about three pounds from this time last year, but still, I'm squishier). So it makes me wonder how much faster I would be if I could really finally lose this weight. Really. Finally. Lose. the Weight.

Too much to consider right now. I just have a new motivation to eat properly and keep to the schedule. As has been the case the last few years, I know what needs to be done, I just need to actually make it happen. I'm the "Queen of Making it Happen" in my professional world, and take great pride in being so. I just need to transfer that "git 'er done" to my nutrition and training. To myself. Because I deserve it just as much as any project that I'm working on, or anything else in my life.

So, there. Scintillating, I know. But, as to not leave you thinking that I'm sad and mopey about my weight (I'm not -- I know what needs to happen and why it's not, and I know what I need to do about it), I leave you with this:


Gotta go, so I can wake up and hit the TM upstairs before work tomorrow. Laters!

Going Home

at last. Or we're trying to, at least. Currently in a cab on the Upper East Side, slowly wending my way toward LaGuardia. So I can catch the 8:00 pm flight... instead of the 3:30. Ahem. Enough said.

Tried to enjoy the Cowboys' game last night. It was tough listening to snoremeister Bryant Gumbel and the cheeshead homers. It seemed like they were so hesitant to admit that the Cowboys might be the better team. Even at the end, they focused on Favre being out of it instead of giving full credit where credit is due. Argh. No matter -- my boys at home are doubtless thrilled about their 11-1 'Boys. Even if we did get spanked by the Patriots. We're enjoying the ride while we can.

What else, what else? Not much, except did I mention that I get to go home in a minute? Thrilled about that, let me tell ya!

Oh, and the forecast for NYC next week is supposed to be in the mid-20s, with highs only in the 40s, if that. Um, we have a problem -- me no likey the cold. I thinks I will be very sad next week, especially if I don't get the heater in the living room of the apartment fixed. I'll just need to be sure I bring a double set of flannel pajamas and fuzzy slippers to keep me warm.

that is all -- the battery on this thing is nearing it's end and there is no plug in sight in the cab. The good news is that I've actually gotten a little closer to the airport since I've been typing. I might actually make it on time --shush, don't jinx me!!

Peace out -- see you on the other side of the weekend. I don't plan on even bringing the computer out of the bag tomorrow or Sunday.

If I *have* to be away from home...

then I can't really think of a better evening than this:

paella and good conversation with the team at Havana (Cuban restaurant in West Village)
warm chocolate cake with ice cream
Chris Isaak with Craig Ferguson on the Late, Late Show

Um, yeah, I'm a total loser. Can't be helped, so I may as well embrace it, no?

YORN: 5 miles last night -- down Park Ave to 14th Street, back up 7th St to the apartment, 49:50 running time (about another 5 minutes waiting for the lights to change)

ORN: 4 miles this morning, 45 minutes.
The gym in this building is fairly sucky, in that there is only one TV instead of the 4 at the other apt. building. And the cable on it doesn't work, so there is only the local channels. And the lady on the other TM was watching the bad morning news team FULL BLAST, so that I couldn't hear Grace Lazenby on my iPod. But that was OK because it was freakin' frigid outside.

Gotta run, so I can give full attention to Mr. Isaak and Mr. Ferguson. peace out.

In which I apologize profusely

for being such a slacker blogger. I was home (HOME!!) last week, working from the front office the first part of the week, and it was so loverly that I couldn't stand spending any time online once I was free from work obligations. I did spend some time surfing the blogroll over there and on personal email for a bit Thursday morning, but beyond that, I just couldn't handle being in front of the computer. So I didn't do update after Wednesday AM. Sorry.

The weather was yucky and cold from Thursday midday (right about the time we left for turkey dinner at Grandma's house) until I left Monday morning. It was perfect for some deep hibernation and lazying, which is exactly what we did. Hub and his dad and brother took the Elder Child for his first hunting trip Friday and Saturday, so I had TDP DinoBoy all to myself those two days. We spent a LOT of time watching old Looney Tunes cartoons, the pop-up versions of High School Musical, and Arthur episodes on the DVR. We did the bare minimum amount of housekeeping, and spent much of the weekend snuggling with the cat and eating popcorn. We relived his trip to the city when we watched Enchanted and the Macy's Thanksgiving parade.

The Tooth Fairy paid us a visit while I was home, too, which was very good timing on her part. The lower tooth on TDP DinoBoy had been loose for months, with the permanent tooth growing in nearly full behind it. It finally came out Wednesday morning, not without some wiggling on his part, but I was very lucky to have been home for it, as was Hub, since he fully admitted that he wouldn't have figured out how to do the certificate thing and cash exchange.

Oh, yeah, and that Turkey Trot thing. I had run the day before, right, when it was freakin' Africa hot and humid, right? And I was thoroughly disgusted with my performance and the wheezing and gasping that accompanied what felt like a very slow four miles. So I went into Thursday morning's run with the attitude that it would only be a fun way to burn off some calories and make room for the pumpkin cheesecake later that day (which, BTW, was fabulous!). I had put any thought of a PR well behind me. Also, I had confirmation that morning that the Garmin is indeed kaput. After three years and more than 3000 miles, the display on it doesn't even come on. I'm hoping that i can hook it up to the serial port and get the last bit of data on it transferred to the desktop, at least, but I realized early Thursday that I had to go low-tech and run with only my sad little stopwatch, with no lap times or any other way to measure splits. So I was going in for fun and the t-shirt, pretty much (they always have great long-sleeved tees, which i pretty much live in from October to February), and wouldn't have any data to dissect later on. Which, really, let's face it, is half the fun of running!

So, after being nearly 80 on Wednesday morning, the temps fell almost 40 degrees in 24 hours, so that when I left the house Thursday, it was only 41,with a fierce wind. There's a stretch of the Turkey Trot course, early on in the first two miles, where we run along the highway, pretty much unprotected from the winds. I knew that wasn't going to be fun. I layered a tank with two long-sleeved tech shirts, and wore my number on the top one. I thought I might have to strip one off, and in retrospect, i should have pinned my number on the bottom one, but I decided that it might be cold enough that I could handle both layers. Mistake number one. Second mistake was taking it a bit too easy on the first couple of laps. I ended up passing the first mile marker at 11:00 and change on my watch, which just reinforced my thinking that a PR was out of reach. Right past the first water stop at the mile 2 marker, I had to pull off to the side and take the top two shirts off, then put the outer layer back on and tie the inner shirt around my waist (dumping it was NOT an option - this is the LS shirt that I've worn in all my marathons and I LOVE it!). That probably burned a good 30-40 seconds, since I was pretty much not in a rush or anything. Plus my hair came loose and I had to futz with the ponytail thingy for a bit.

I've done the 10k on this course probably three or four years now; I did the 5K instead a couple of years in there when Elder Child ran it with me before his foot problems waylaid him. Each time, the hills kill me. There aren't any big ones, just a lot of rollers that come pretty close together in the first 4.5 miles. These are always my bane, and I dread them. This year, I was able to handle them with ease, and passed several folks at each one. I think this is due to the inclines I hit when I run around Central Park. In any case, I was getting stronger the longer the race went on. I was having a blast, making sure to thank the police officers and course volunteers, and I was just clipping off the miles without much effort at all. Last year, when I had that PR and crossed at 1:02 and change, I thought I was going to puke I'd been breathing so hard and swallowing so much air. This time, I felt strong and relaxed, but was reeling more and more folks in the closer we got to the finish. I must have seriously boogied on the last four miles, since I was at 22 and change after I stopped to change shirts. So, I was very surprised to come across the street from to the finish and see 1:02:40 on the clock -- I had no idea I'd been going that fast for the second half of the race. Who knew?! I ended up crossing at 1:03:05, about 25 seconds shy of last year's time.

So I didn't PR, but hey, I had fun, and I felt good at the end. I was a little disappointed, but in the end, I decided that if I had that good of a time (for me) without really trying, I do have a 10K PR in me. But it was not to be that day. And that's OK. Really, it's OK. I went out to enjoy the day and that's what ended up happening. The weather turned sour later that day (witness the snow during the Cowboys game if you don't believe me!), but that morning, it was clear and brisk, and truly a glorious morning once we got warmed up and going. Right about mile 5, the sky was so bright and the day so crisp that I seriously got teared up, thinking about how lucky I was to be home, to be where I was that day, to be in good enough shape to enjoy the race and the atmosphere and to really be thankful for what I have. It was a good way to start the day, PR or not.

So, there. I missed the PR by about 5 seconds a mile. I spent too much and yet not enough time with the boys hanging out and snuggling and reconnecting. I didnt' do a whit of work more than was required. Not a bad week, if I do say so myself.

Gotta run. Almost time for Sex and the City re-runs on TBS. So sad, but they're the highlight of my evenings here in at the apartment. Sigh. Peace out!!

looking for my mojo

I believe I've misplaced it, probably somewhere around 52nd and 8th. Sigh. Just hadn't felt like doing much of anything the last few days. I did get out for a run this morning, in what felt like sweltering conditions (although weather.com says its only 71 with 60 percent humidity -- bah! ). I managed to keep up a 10:00 mile for 4, which is pretty good, but nothing close to what I'll need to sustain to PR tomorrow on the Turkey Trot course. Which has hills. Oy.

The weight has continued to fluctuate -- it barely maintains when I don't run, and doesn't budge at all when I do run. I know it's all about the intake, and my intake is for crap lately. 60 percent of that can be attributed to the work hours and environment -- I don't often get time to eat a decent lunch, so I end up snacking on whatever 4-hour-old sandwiches were brought in for someone else's lunch meeting. And by the time I get out of the office and head to the apartment, i don't feel like eating a good dinner, so I end up snacking on something (I have at least stayed away from the cupcakes lately) but it's not nearly the good balance that I need. And that plays into not only the weight but the energy and motivation for the next morning, in that I don't wake up in time to run in the morning, and even if I did, I'd be running on empty. Sigh. But I know that I've got to get a handle on it. I know the right things to do -- actually making them a priority is going to be the tough part, but I know that it's got to be done, for my long-term sanity and well-being. Getting back on track while I'm away from the project this week is step one.

So I'm hoping to find a little corner of my mojo while I'm home, at least enough that I can grab onto it and keep it with me for a while longer. I'm in significantly more control of when and what I eat, and we've been able to sit down to a home-cooked meal every night I've been home (except for Scout meeting day, but even that was leftover home-made shrimp with rice from Sunday). I felt good on the run this morning, even if I did feel like I was wading through the air.

And bottom line, as I sit here in my office, in my house, with my kids and hubby asleep in the next rooms over, even if my running mojo stays lost for a few more days or, hell, even weeks, right now, at this moment, I'm doing OK. Better than OK, actually.

Hope you have a great Thanksgiving (y'all Canadians, too!) and enjoy time with your friends and family. I may or may not post a Turkey Trot report -- it depends less on whether I PR and more on whether I can remember my Blogger password, that I apparently reset last week and yet can't now remember. As long as it stays in my browser cookies, I'm OK. Gotta blast!

The good news?

I've been a commenting fool for the last two hours, reading all that I've missed out on in blogland. Boy, y'all are crazy-busy, even in the off-season. I've had more than enough opportunity to catch up on all my favorite reads.

The bad news?
I've had two hours to catch up blogs because of the freakin' wind at LaGuardia. Tell me, folks, if you can see what is wrong with *this* picture:


Yes, my life sucketh mightily right now. Harumph. But, what are you gonna do? Of course, the grand irony was that the cab ride from midtown to LGA took all of 35 minutes (a new PR, as it were), the security line had ONE person in it in front of me, and she had her crap in a pile so by the time I got my shoes off the xray conveyor belt was empty and waiting for me. Of course.

One happy side effect of the delay? I'm getting all my Christmas or-gan-eye-za-shun done, so I'll have completed my lists and updated the addresses by the time I get home tonight. Whenever the heck that might be.

Oooh, customer service award goes to American Airlines on this one. Just NOW got a voicemail from them. Telling me my flight, that should have been boarded half an hour ago, that should be taking off in two minutes, is delayed. Thanks for sharing. Argh.

um, yeah, hi...

apologies for the three of you out there who stop by on a regular basis. This past week has been crazy-busy to say the least. Three nights in a row of not leaving the office until 10:00 pm. Which sadly translated into no running to speak of, except for last night when I was finally determined to hit the streets for a 50-minute jaunt through Times Square and down to Chelsea, then back up 5th Ave to see all the storefronts. I ended up walking some, running some, just depending on how I felt and how crowded the sidewalks were and what taxis were trying to run me down. I just needed to get out and move.

You know how some people have a bad day at work and walk out saying, "I need a drink"? or, usually for me, "I need some chocolate"? This week, it was all about the "I NEED to run." Not fast, not far, just a bit. But the problem with working until 10:00 is that my nutrition was for sh!t (and not in the usual "I ate crap"way, but in the "I have eaten NOTHING substantial since 11:00 am" way) to the point that I had no fuel for a run, and I knew if I went out that late that I would be wired until past 1:00 AM. As it was, it was hard for me to fall asleep before 12:30 with all the things jumbled in my head. So nothing until last night.

But I haven't been a total sloth. My apartment is a nice brisk 16-minute walk from the office and I've walked it every day -- I will only take a cab if it's pouring rain, something beyond a mist. So at a minimum I've gotten half-hour walks in each day. And I have started each morning with some combination of lunges, plies, yoga stretches (let's not call it all-out yoga but yoga-like I'll agree to). So I'm OK, but just am missing the running.

Going home today, and will be home for the week next week, although working from the front office M-T. Should be a good break and will give me plenty of time to recharge for the next big push here in the city.

gotta blast, but thanks for the concern. all is well.

running in the city

I really do enjoy running in the city. While I always prefer to run in the mornings at home, when I'm here in NYC I find the best way to unwind after a crazy day at the project is to go for a run.

And speaking of a crazy day at the project -- who goes for a smoke break during a regularly-scheduled status meeting? Yes, they're the client, but honestly. Get up in the middle of a meeting (that YOU called and insist on, BTW!) and then come back 10 minutes later? And not even pretend to hide the lighter and cigarette holder when you throw them down on the conference table? Anyway, I digress. Where was I?

Oh, yeah, I was running out to the south side of the reservoir and then back down the west side of the park to Columbus Circle and then trying to get through the packs of tourists that crowd the sidewalks near the new apartment. So, yeah, on nights like today, I remember how much I love running. I covered just over 5.5 miles in 54:45, which was pretty good time considering how much i had to zig and zag around the folks standing around the streets. Never mind if I never run another race again (highly unlikely, BTW -- I crave the finisher hardware too much), I know on nights like tonight that I will always, as long as I can do it, be a runner.

tomorrow is fly-away day. Cannot wait. I miss my boys. and my crazy psycho possum-like cat. and my sweetie. and my bed. The weekends are too short, but that makes me treasure the time all the more. Peace out!

in the thick of it

moved to a new apartment closer to Times Square area of mid-town. It's a bit more crowded and significantly louder in this part of town. Just a lot more bustling.

I'm doing well, but I did decide not to do White Rock this year. Which means no marathons for me at all this year. I feel like I *could* pull out the long run mileage in the next three weeks to be somewhat ready, but I wouldn't have fun. And I certainly wouldn't be prepped to do anything close to my PR. Add to that the fact that I haven't signed up yet. Add to that a hockey tournament about 90 miles north of year that would take the boys away for the weekend without me if I stayed behind to run. So I'm not doing it. Makes the fact that I haven't been able to run at all this week because of work a little less onerous. I'm disappointed, but mostly OK with it, because I know it's the right decision.

But I am targeting Austin for February 2008 -- I need to sign up this weekend to make it real. Then, we'll just plan to have a long weekend in Austin, all of us, and I'll get to have my time with my boys and that husband of mine *and* I'll get to run. Plus I have more time (and longer stretches at home over the holidays) to get the mileage up to the level where it needs to be to have a safe and enjoyable marathon.

So that's the big news. I hadn't posted it even though I decided it Sunday because I wasn't sure how to do it. But there it is.

One thing it has freed me up to do is to look at a few shorter races for Saturday mornings, so I'll be doing a lot more shorter fun things that the kids can come with and participate in the fun runs. So expect to hear about some of those. For now, I should get ready for work. Peace out!

To the Schlub at the Gym

Yeah, you. When you come up to me and say, "I'm not rushing you or anything... but, how much longer are you going to be on there?" when i'm on the treadmill, um, yeah, you ARE kind of rushing me. And, when there is not one but TWO other treadmills available, your question is completely unnecessary. Seriously. I am NOT going to rush my workout so you can jump on. Ugh.

Anyway, I did 2 miles of hills, followed by one mile of speed intervals, followed by 2.2 miles outside (so I could free up (another) treadmill for schlub guy). Total of 5.2 miles, in about 55 minutes.

running again

so after a week off I'm running again. Up and down the Hudson River Parkway and around the west end of Central Park. Where they have the bleachers up for the marathon this week. Sigh. I wish I was doing NYC this year -- I might have a little more motivation. I bailed last night after a couple of strong runs Monday and Tuesday. But the sadness of missing Halloween at home, together with extreme stress from the day at the office, combined to leave me drained of all energy. And then there was a deal on Bravo about the scariest moments in films, so that sucked me in, until I drowsed off well before 10:00 pm. How sad is that? And the weather was perfect for a run, but I just was wiped out, again, more emotionally than physically.

anyhoo, tonight will hopefully be an 8-miler around the park and into the East Side neighborhoods I used to run in when I was at the hotel. Looking forward to that -- that's what I was supposed to last night.

Not much more going on. As fun as it was to have the kids here, it is even more sucky to be apart from them again.

As soon as I get photos from Hub I'll post them. TDP DinoBoy was Greedo and we were unsuccessful in getting Elder Child to don the Han Solo garb and go with. I even told him I'd get him this shirt, but he opted out of that, too -- apparently he didn't want to be a geek. I thought it would be hilarious! Anyhoo, they apparently also got a shot of Elder Child stripping the mask off a la Scooby Doo -- "and we'd have gotten away with it, too, if not for those meddling kids!!" Yeah, they're worried about being geeks. Horse and barn door, folks, horse and barn door.

Empty

the apartment is empty now. It's always been barren and sterile, but now, after three days of being filled with laughter and love (and a little bit of bickering), it seems even emptier than before. We had a wonderful weekend, despite dismal weather for most of the first two days. We walked a ton (especially for little 7-year-old feet and for 12-year-old feet with bad arches), and it was magical to see this place through their eyes. Everything was exciting to them, even things as mundane as the revolving doors and the yellow taxis. And the things that aren't mundane? Well, those things flipped them out entirely.

Without a doubt, the highlight of the weekend was the trip to the Empire State Building. We'd originally planned for it as a Sunday morning thing, but after the day was so horridly rainy all day, we couldn't believe that it cleared up so nicely later in the afternoon. We had dinner at the apartment, along with a fabulous chocolate cake from Buttercup bakery, and even though the table we sat around was 1400 miles from home, it felt complete because we were all there. Then we watched a few Looney Tunes cartoons from his birthday DVD collection, and decided on the spur of the moment to head down to the ESB at night. A quick check of the webcam reassured us that visibility was 20 miles, so we grabbed our CityPasses and a cab. Luckily, with the CityPass, we were able to skip the lines and head straight to the elevators. The gasp and squeal of delight when we went out onto the observation deck was well worth the entire trip.

Haven't run in a week. I was considering going out tonight, but the physical exhaustion of th weekend, coupled with the emotional letdown of being left alone is a bit much to deal with. So instead, I'm going to sort through the 300+ photographs and let the memories we created this weekend linger a little longer.

NYC Adventure Day 1

Breakfast at the apartment. 20-minute walk to the American Natural History Museum. Seven full hours of very cool, educational, enlightening fun. Hall of Mammals. Mexican and South American artifacts, including an enormous sun stone. Dinosaurs. LOTS of dinosaurs. No, really. LOTS of dinosaurs. Topped off with a rainy walk for a few blocks before successfully hailing a cab. I think my favorite were the enormous fossils of all the dinos that I know so well from reading TDP DinoBoy all his dinosaur books.

We're currently waiting for the rain to subside so we can head down to Times Square for the lights, ambience and some dinner. And, if it's still open, the ginormous Toys R Us. If not, we'll hit that crazy hyper place tomorrow before we do the Circle Line cruise.

State of my Mind

This is the state of my mind lately, that the Arby's commercial with the Irish step dancing monkeys cracks me up.

The state of my body is that I am taking a break this week from the running. After last week and covering three time zones in 72 hours, I find myself physically and mentally exhausted. I have been trying to wake up early the last two days to run, but just find that I don't have it in me. I just lay in bed and try to stretch the tight spot in my lower back and wake up, but I just haven't been able to do it. Rather than lament the missing mileage, I opt instead to take a deliberate break. If I feel like a run, I will head out and run, but if I don't, I won't sweat it. I did do a couple of yoga and stretching routines I found on the OnDemand thing on the cable here, so it wasn't a total waste. But I feel like even though I have a race coming up in about seven weeks, I need to take this week and recover and give all the little creaks and aches a chance to heal or I won't make it.

And mentally, the last six months have been tough. Yes, things are going well with work, really well, actually, but the overall picture of how things have shaken out has taken some adjustment, not just on my part, but for all of us. And I have to figure out how much of other folks' adjustments I can take on myself. And when I'm home, especially for such a limited amount of time, I feel like I spend all my time running, running, running, scrambling to do things and take care of things and cram as much life into 2.5 days of the week because the other 4.5 days are all about getting back to those 2.5 days.

None of this makes any sense to you, I'm sure. I'm sure it doesn't even really make that much sense to me. All I know is that I have to bend my routine some to keep it from breaking me. And if that means I hang up the shoes for a week, then so be it.

brrrr.

News flash (or not!): Colorado is cold. OK, colder than I've been used to, even lately in NYC. I ran 3 on the TM at the hotel and then braved the outdoors for another 2-2.5 (not sure exactly how much until I GMap it). I should have worn my long-sleeved shirt, but since I started out in the gym, I didn't wear it. Lesson learned for tomorrow.

Gotta run -- on a short, short, short break from presentations.

ORN -- 5 - 5.25 miles, 55-ish minutes or so.

still here

still churning away. missed the long run this weekend because my brother had a 5-hour layover Sunday morning, and in the greater scheme of things, that seemed more important. It was not a choice I regret. I did fit in a 5-miler, but the 15 didn't happen.

Still doing the NYC-Dallas thing, with a little Denver thrown into the mix this week. Looking forward to getting a couple of runs done in the thin air up there, although I'm quite sure I've lost my conditioning for the altitude that I built up earlier this spring.

Next weekend, the boys and Hub come up for the weekend. It's going to be epic. We have no plans except the Natural History Museum, the Empire State Building, Central Park and Yankee Stadium. Everything else we do above and beyond that will be cake. I'm sure there will be lots of photos. After that, i have marathon to look forward to and keep me going, then we'll have to come up with another milestone to keep me moving ahead.

I'm dreadfully behind on blog reading, but I promise to catch up and post comments as much as possible this weekend. Peace out!!

this could be problematic...

I'm down to only one fudgsicle in the apartment freezer.

ORN -- ~3.25 miles to and through the park then back to the apt.

I'm about 10 miles behind schedule for the week already. I'll have to make up Monday's and yesterday's runs tomorrow and Friday. Traveling into the city on Monday AM instead of Sunday night played havoc with my running schedule. Yet... it was worth it to have an extra evening at home with the boys (all three of them!!)

Do or Die

so I said earlier that I had a "do or die" 15-miler today. what I meant by that is that I had to do the distance to stay on track with the plan for the White Rock Marathon the 2nd week of December. I've been playing with my schedule lately to the point that this week's distance had to be covered, or I couldn't really safely escalate the long runs to 20 miles in the time I have left. The weekday runs have been going well and i know I could cover the mileage physically. The question was whether the brain had 15 miles in her.

I got the answer to that question pretty definitively when I was getting ready for bed last night. After a morning run of 5 miles (in pretty ridiculous humidity) and then 6 hours walking around the Texas State Fair, not to mention Friday's leg-focused weight session with my trainer, I was feeling pretty beat up, and the legs had taken the brunt of it. As I set the alarm for 5:00, a necessity in order to 1) race the sunrise and accompanying heat and 2) be back in time for the boys to get to 9:15 checking clinic at the rink, I halfway griped that I had to run today. So Hub very innocently suggested that I cut back today's distance, or even bail on it entirely. Now, he's fully supportive of my running and racing, and his suggestion was not meant to be negative, in a saboteur kind of way. Rather, it was him reacting to what he knew was a tough week and a long day yesterday, and his way of telling me that the only person who expected me to run was me. He said maybe I should plan to do the half at White Rock and plan for a spring race like Austin or Houston or even Cowtown close to home. But my instinct, and my final decision after thinking about it during the run, was to say, "No way. I'm doing White Rock again. It was my first, and as much as I hate that damn lake, I'm doing it again." When faced with the prospect of NOT doing it, I realized how fully and completely I want to do it again. Getting the miles in has to be a priority to make it happen, and so it will be.

So, all that to say: I ran 14.5 miles today. I did the first 12 out on the road, in two huge sweeping loops around my house. I finished the last 2.5 on the treadmill in the playroom; I could have gone the last .5, both physically and mentally, so I decided I didn't need to. I know that doesn't make sense. But I'd demonstrated to myself that I could do 15, and that I can do the full 16 called for next week and the week after that. Then a cutback week, and then 18, 18 and 20, right in time for taper right after Thanksgiving. This will happen. My times have been slower than last year's time when it comes to the long runs, and I'm OK with that. I'm not feeling beat up and defeated at the end of the runs, so I'm doing better with hydration and nutrition. I feel like after 5 previous races, I know better what I need to do to prepare for this. And I'm poised and ready to do it.

Mile splits (all but the first include 1:00 of walking at the start of each lap -- I'll be doing this during the race, so for the first time, I'm training like this):
Mile 1: 11:11
Mile 2: 11:20
Mile 3: 11:55
Mile 4: 10:58
Mile 5: 11:12
Mile 6: 11:21
Mile 7: 11:30
Mile 8: 11:34
Mile 9: 11:44
Mile 10: 11:32
Mile 11: 11:29
Mile 12: 11:49
Mile 13: 12:00 -- on TM inside
Mile 14: 12:00 -- on TM inside
Mile .5: 6:00 -- on TM inside

Total Time: 2:17:43 outside, 30:00 TM, total of 2:47:43

4 day weekend

because of the Columbus Day holiday in NYC, I have a 4-day weekend. Lots to do to fill the time: Laundry. A once-a-year State Fair cinnamon roll. Catching up with my brother and sis-in-law at the fair tomorrow. Seeing the Transformers cars at the Automobile building. A do-or-die 15-miler. Movie night with the boys.

Gotta run. Have a great weekend -- I know I plan to!!

Long days

and very short nights. At least it seems that way, that morning comes way too soon, regardless of what time I turn in for the night. I'd have more to say but I'm wiped out completely.

I do have to give a huge shout-out to my little buddy, TDP DinoBoy, who successfully earned his first Tiger Cub badge last Saturday night. It was the best part of a pretty busy weekend, having him up there with his little pals, in his uniform and neckerchief. He was very excited and is looking forward to doing a lot of fun activities with his den and pack. I've got photos, but didn't have a chance to upload before I left.

ORN: ~4 miles right before House. Ran up the Hudson River parkway to 97th, across to the park, then down Central Park East to 72nd. Stopped by my favorite deli for a dinner-to-go of salmon, veggies and mashed potatoes. Yummy.

YORN: 5 miles yesterday -- ran a mile to Columbus Circle to meet up with a friend from work, then we went up to the East side, then around the south end of the reservoir and back. It was an absolutely gorgeous evening, with a light breeze and perfect temperatures. It was a great autumn evening.

confidential to DH

Hi there. So glad you distracted me so while I was supposed to be studying for that Psych 301 test. The last 20 years have been amazing, and the best is yet to come.

a week

what a difference a week makes. This time last week, I ran 6 miles in a total time of 1:04:44. Today, I ran 6 miles in a total time of 1:00:44. Four minutes difference. cool.

more later. lots of updates on the kids' stuff. lunch now, though.

it was 20 years ago today

so, apparently my high school reunion is this weekend. So glad I got advance notice of that. Maybe that's what all those Classmates spam emails were a few months ago. Whatever. What is hee-lar-ee-yus is seeing the photo album of the mixer this summer (yah, didn't get the evite for that soiree, either.... hmmm) and seeing how the mighty have fallen. There are a couple of the cheerleading queens that still look pretty much the same, if not a little pinched and tight. Like they have to work really hard to maintain themselves. A few of the others are significantly overweight, and some have so drastically aged that I didn't recognize them. And the folks posting the captions were so not helpful, giving the pictures amazingly intuitive captions like "Homecoming Mixer004" and "HHS Picnic 042" Um, help a gal out - and at least give me an idea of who these people are.

What's interesting is that there are only a few people that I have kept in touch with since high school. I had a very close-knit group of friends from 10th grade through senior year -- we were the speech & drama geeks, who spent all our weekends at forensics competitions or one-act play performances. Some of us were in band too (not I, said the cat) and I spent a lot of time with the yearbook and newspaper crowd, but the core of us were pretty close until about our second year of college. Then things changed as we started to find ourselves and grow into the people we ultimately became. I hear about their whereabouts from my parents on occasion, but for the most part, I've lost touch. My friends now are my college buddies, and more recently, my work buddies (hi! Diane! howdy Marissa!!) Or, just those folks that come into your life that you seem to click with and that share your lifestyle, your aspirations and your interests (hi! Denise!!). And, of course, all those folks that I've never met and wouldn't know from Adam if I crossed them on the street, but whose blogging names and mastheads I know by heart.

I don't know what those folks from my high school would say about me if they were to see my race photos now, or if they tried to identify me from a party pic (which likely wouldn't happen --unless it's a 7-year-old's birthday party at the zoo). Would they recognize me? I'm heavier now than I was at 17, but I wasn't athletic at all then like I am now. I have some gray hair now, but it doesn't jump out at you. I guess I have a few lines and wrinkles, but I don't compensate for them by wearing too much makeup -- in fact, I hardly wear any makeup at all. Folks I work with now are usually surprised by two things when they get to know me: first, that I have run 5 marathons and second, that I am closer to 40 than 35. So I guess I've aged fairly well. If it counts for anything, I certainly feel like I'm finally figuring some stuff out.

So, I won't be making it to my 20th high school reunion this weekend. Instead, I'll be hitting the gym for another session with my trainer, watching my husband play hockey with his pals, spending as much time as I can with my two boys, then capping it off with a nice 14-miler Sunday morning. I think I prefer my plans instead anyway.

ORN -- 5 miles -- 3.7 from my apartment to Times Square and back, then 1.3 miles on the TM. I thought I had to be back by 8:00 to watch House, but then realized that it doesn't start until 9:00 here. I had time to finish laundry, eat dinner and blog. Love it.

Sunday ORN -- 13.5 miles in 2:31. I took walk breaks every mile, but didn't do the intervals on the Garmin. Instead, I used the lap timer and checked it to make sure I only walked for a minute each time. So my average lap time of 11:15 included the walking portions. It was slower than I'd prefer, but I'm not going for any speed records this year; I just want to finish strong and not hit that damn wall by mile 19.

dumbass

hey, idiot! Apparently the fact that you got into MIT isn't a really good indicator of your actual IQ. Do you not realize that two of the highjacked planes from 9-11 took off from Logan? Or are you so clever that you think it was a cute prank? Maybe you're just jacked in the head and have some serious issues and getting arrested means you'll get some much-needed psychological help.

I fly on a major airline twice a week. I count on the airlines and the TSA and all the pain in the ass regulations and rules to keep me safe when I'm 10,000 feet in the air. I put up with the cluelessness of the casual pleasure travelers in front of me in the security line. I tolerate the 3-1-1 rule and have learned to get along with the minimum of toiletries when I'm on site. I take my shoes off and willingly subject myself to the Puffer and other scans and searches. I do it because I want to land safely each time and come home to my family.

Don't make these people's jobs harder than it already is. And you best be glad you weren't shot down where you stood with your play-doh bomb around you, because even six years later, there are still some things that you just don't joke about. I don't care that it wasn't a real bomb, or that you didn't actually go into the airport.

Sorry. We now return to regularly scheduled programming.

4 miles

north on Hudson River parkway to 96th, down Central Park West back to 68th, back to Riverside. Nice cool evening again. The doorman at my building laughs at me because I'm convinced this gorgeous weather has to last through February. It will, right? Cool and fallish until at least Valentine's Day, right? The way he laughs at me makes me think I will be very glad to get home to Texas three days a week come late November and December.

I get to go home tomorrow. Yippee. Me loves get-away days. And I'll be Platinum with the airline by the end of September. That means special-guy privileges, and possible upgrades to 1st class. No more steerage for me. Cannot wait. For now, it's beddie-bye time, especially if I'm going to get a 4-5 miler in before work tomorrow. Peace out!

running around Central Park

literally, I ran around the park today. Literally. I started out at 66th, went south on West End to the 60th street, across to Columbus Circle and down the south end of the park. Let's just say the, um, fragrance, of the horses around all the carriages idling there was less than pleasant. Then, I clipped up along the Museum Mile to 110th street, cut west to the western edge of the park, and headed back south again. The cobblestone-ey walks on the outside walks of the park were starting to give my ankles issues, since there were lots of bumps and uneven spots (especially once you passed the upper 90s on the East Side... hmm, trying not to draw conclusions about the upkeep and the demographic change you get up on that side...). So when I hit 97th st, I cut further west to Broadway and then turned back south again. I had to do a lot of zigging and zagging to avoid running headfirst into all the pedestrians and to try to time the lights, but my ankles were thankful for the stable footing.

all told, I ran exactly 7 miles in 1:11. I did manage to stop the watch when I had to stop for too long at the lights, so the time is actually fairly accurate. The weather was glorious, and I'm glad I put off the run this morning by screwing around online until it was too late to go out. I wouldnt' have made myself go for 7 if I'd done even 3 or 4 this morning.

Tomorrow is another weights day, plus a short 4-miler. I'll probably do weights in the morning then run up the Hudson parkway tomorrow night. That will leave a 5-miler Thursday morning before work. Not a bad week if I can pull it all together.

Gotta run -- the battery is about to go dead on this laptop, plus my internal battery is fading fast too! Ciao!!

PS -- the 24 Tease class was too hilarious -- plus the instructor picked out all the new people and gave us props like feather boas and silk ties. Ahem. It was fun if only because it was so preposterous. The most wacky thing about it was the names of the moves. Those are deserving of a whole other post! And, yes, it was a ridiculous workout -- I don't know if the lunges and squats were to blame for all my soreness or if it was the moves in this class!!

gah!

Have I ever talked about how much I loathe lunges? And squats? Ugh. My hamstrings are hating life right now, let's just leave it at that.

ORNs for the last week:
Today -- 6 miles in glorious early Texas fall weather.

Yesterday -- 2 miles at the gym, 25-minute session with a trainer -- the Jump-Start thing at 24 Hr that included above lunges and squats, and a 30-minute "strip-tease" aerobics class.

Thursday -- 6 miles in glorious early New York fall weather -- to Central Park, up the west side to 96th Street, across to Museum Mile, down East side to the south end of park, then back up past Columbus Circle to the apartment. Amazing and magical and not-at-all-routine.

Wednesday -- 3.5 miles on the TM at the apartment, followed by 1 mile up the Hudson River Park one the sun came up enough.

Tuesday -- 3 miles on the TM at the apartment. Nothing remarkable about it.

Monday -- big, fat nothing. We'll call it recovery from Sunday's 11-miler. Yeah, I like that.

On a related note, I'm getting the itch to get one more tri under my belt before the season is over. That would necessitate me getting into the pool, though. And actually filling the Purple People Eater's tires with air. There is one small local with a pool swim coming up in about four weeks. I'll decide definitively by the end of this week. You'll be the next to know.

can I go to sleep now?

How 'bout now? Now? sheesh, I'm freaking' tired. But, it is time for beddie-bye, so... bye.

I promise a real post in the next 48 hours. For reals.

good luck and god speed

to all the IM Wisconsin folks today. May you have good weather and the race of your lives. I know already how strong your hearts are.

um, hi there...

sorry. lots of fun this weekend and then back to the salt mines, so not much time to update.

We had a great time down in Austin, despite getting rained out for the Round Rock baseball game. Mostly because the rainout wasn't merely a little bit of rain. No, this was a great, torrential,raining too heavy to cross ten feet into the open air without being completely drenched. This was a great amazing storm, with lightning nearly hitting the park, OMG, we should get under cover instead of standing here enjoying the sheets of rain. This was stand around taking turns devouring a funnel cake while we watched the grounds crew play slip-n-slide on the tarp. The minor-league ballpark in Round Rock is a thing of beauty, designed so fans can enjoy the grand game as it was intended, with all the seats close to the field, cozy places to hang out in the concourses, and great concessions like barbecue, 18 flavors of snow-cones and cotton candy. The game was the stuff that vacation memories are made of, even though we never saw one pitch, but instead retreated to the hotel to watch the Simpsons on DVD.

Saturday, we woke late, moseyed to breakfast, and then wandered around Austin a bit before heading to the gym near the hotel for a little workout. We then had the most wonderful lunch of catfish at an old haunt of ours; nothing had changed there since we last visited 10 years ago except the addition of a National Championship banner and the highway is now a little wider and closer to the front door. Even TDP DinoBoy, who doesn't generally like seafood, was impressed with his lunch, and Elder Child was disappointed that he'd not tasted catfish nirvana until now. Let's just say we were really glad we'd put in our time at the gym!

Then it was on to campus, where we visited the new (to us -- I can't remember how long it's been open) Bob Bullock Museum of Texas History. You see, for you non-Texans, our state history is something we take very seriously. It's not every state in the union that was once it's own country, after all. We could have spent more than the two hours we did there, except that it was soon time to hit the Alumni Center on campus for pre-game festivities. Then we left the two big boys to enjoy the game (or not -- they were disgusted by the outcome despite the winning score) while TDP DinoBoy and I met up with M & A for some pizza and putt-putt. We had tons of fun, except at the end, when TDP DinoBoy was very sad that we had to call it a night and went into pout mode. I couldn't even get him to say goodbye to M & A, since he was so mad at me. I can't say I blamed him, I had a lot of fun, too.

Sunday morning, we had another lazy morning and relaxed breakfast, then headed back to the house, arriving in record time. I don't even want to know how fast Hub was driving. Really, I don't. Alls i know is that I finished the second Traveling Pants book before we arrived home. We did a lot of relaxing, a lot of reading together on the big bed, a lot of just hanging out and being for the rest of the weekend. It was nice, and a nice reprieve from the hustle and bustle we've been under siege of for the last few weeks.

The running is going. I missed my 7-miler today, trying to squeeze in 32 hours of work into 3 working days, but no worries. I will get it all in tomorrow, even if I have to split it out. Then I'm home the next day. These three-day weeks are pretty cool, I have to say. anyhoo, gotta hit the PC for work, so gotta run.

The Getting out of Town Catch Up Post

Yep, we're leaving on a jet plane. No, not really, we're taking the Vibe. Got tix for a Round Rock Express baseball game tonight (they're playing the Isotopes! Like in the Simpsons!!) and then tomorrow, after a day of cavorting around Austin, the Elder Child and Hub are going to the Longhorn game while TDP DinoBoy and I find something to do. Then we'll linger late into the morning on Sunday before heading back home Sunday PM. Should be a fun relaxing family weekend.

I ran "long" this morning at the gym -- 8 miles. I could have gone longer, but I had to get home, clean up and stop at the Verizon store for a new phone before picking up the boy at noon. My old one was kaput and while it still rang, I could make calls and receive text messages, the screen was totally black so I couldn't see who was calling, who I was trying to call, or read said messages. Except if I held it at just the right angle in bright enough light, I could barely make out enough the characters to see the list of previous calls. The sad part is that they were not able to save my data, so I lost all my phone numbers and my ringtones (Jurassic Park for the boys, "Pop Goes My Heart" for Hub and generic for everyone else!) and my photos of kitty. So sad. But at least the warranty was still good so it didn't cost me anything.

What else? Hmm. Ran 3 miles in Central Park Wednesday PM, 4 miles on the treadmill at the apartment Thursday and then the 8 today. When I was done, an older man walked up to me and said he'd noticed me racking up the miles. I did 5 miles on one TM, then took a short break to refill the water bottle, chat with Hub who was on the elliptical, and find a machine that had better audio so I could watch Rachel Ray without hearing static. Then I did the last three. He said he was impressed with my stamina, and more impressed that I wasn't even breathing hard when I got off the machine. He asked if I was training for a marathon (despite the fact that I had my White Rock 2006 technical shirt on) and wished me luck. He was so nice and his stopping to tell me that my work had been noticed was a very touching gesture. It made me feel good about putting out the effort to get my run in before the fun this weekend. I kinda felt bad that I bailed on the last 6 that I *should* have done....

ORN

look at that, a run report. short, because I have to get dressed (er, actually, I have to pull myself away from Mike & Mike in the Morning and hop into the shower first...), but a run report anyway.

So, yesterday morning was the first day waking up in the corporate apartment. I had thoughts of a 3-miler to start off with, and the Hudson River Park was calling my name. But I got out there and it was eerie and spooky and nearly deserted. The sun wasn't up yet, but it wasn't quite pitch black still, but it was still too dark out. The thing with this stretch near my building is that there is a lot of construction going on, so large sections of the path are bordered by scaffolding and wooden walls and black screens on the fences. So you could be in the path, underneath the highway and nobody can really see you. Not too much of an issue if the path is busy, but very uncomfortable to a solo woman in the early morning. I got about 400 yards down the path, saw only one cyclist a long away, and decided that it just didn't feel right. So I headed back to the building and did a 5K on the treadmill.

So last night, I decided to try it again, in the light of day. A colleague who lives in the same building had said it was bustling in the evenings; I had a few minutes to burn before an 8:00 PM conference call, so I headed out for a couple of miles. The verdict after seeing the trail in the light of day? Meh. Long stretches under construction, not a lot of views, along the busy, busy street. Views of the piers and the NY dept of sanitation. Not particularly scenic. Sad to say, the East River had more picturesque scenery. Hudson River smelled better, but just a hair, and not enough to overcome the general lack of safety. It was OK when it was crowded, but as it got darker, there are still lots of areas that feel very vulnerable. So, I don't think I'll be going that way in the morning alone again.

Tonight I'm meeting someone at Columbus Circle and we'll run to the park together. That should be more fun, and I'll get to see the south end of Central Park as opposed to the north end and the reservoir that I got used to seeing when I was at the hotel.

Total mileage for the day: 7
Total time elapsed: 73 minutes (33 in the morning; 40 minutes (negative splits on the out and back) in the afternoon)

Gotta dash -- there is no hair dryer here at the apartment, so I've got to spend extra time arranging the wet hair in the clip so I don't look like I just rolled out of bed and ran through the sprinklers... even if I did...

From the Desk of a 7th Grader's Mom

Eeeep! My baby boy went to 7th grade today. And I couldn't call him at the bus stop from the office in NYC because the goober left his cell phone at home. And he couldn't call me from the bus on the way home to tell me about his day because he left his cell phone at home (and I was in a Directors' meeting, even though I'm not a director, but I get to go to those meetings now! Go me!). But I did talk to him later as I trudged up West End with my rollerboard and two computer bags toward my new temporary/part-time home. He found a few friends from last year to have lunch with and hang out with between classes, and he found his way to the band hall. He is in pre-Advanced Placement for science, math, English and Texas History, so he's in class with kids closer to his academic level than last year.

We spent Friday morning at Target and Staples finding all kinds of little school supplies to fill his backpack and fortify his desk, since we didn't have an "official" list from the school. I told him we'd likely supplement with requirements from his teachers once he got to class this week, but we had all kinds of fun with locker organizers, mechanical pencils, a Texas Instruments calculator (remember those! they're like $10 now and thin -- I remember inheriting my sister's chunky one with the red LEDs for 7th grade calculator competitions -- yes, I was a mathlete! At least act a little surprised by that!!) and Texas Longhorn calendar organizers. No brainwashing here, no sir.

The little one is pretty well set with first grade. He has the same group of kids in his classes from last year, and pretty much the same routine. The only thing that's off with him is that he's about the only kid in his class that hasn't lost any teeth yet. He's got a new bottom tooth coming in, but it's coming in behind the baby teeth, so all that's happening is he's getting a gap at the bottom of his little smile. We'll have to check with the dentist if the primaries don't get loose pretty soon, or orthodontia here we come. Fun. More fun with him is his joining Cub Scouts this year. Despite his "playing" baseball this spring, he's still not all that interested in any sports, so we wanted to find something for him to do outside of school. So we're trying Tiger Cubs this year; he had a blast at the first pack meeting, so we're looking forward to having a year full of fun and learning in an activity we have no experience at all with. Of course, we knew nothing about speedskating and hockey a few years ago either....

As for my running, it's still going. I've bailed on long runs the last two weeks, mostly because I just have a hard time with Sunday mornings and running 12-13 miles during that early morning timeframe. But I've had no problem keeping up with the weekly schedule, even with the travel. It's just been that long run. But now that both kiddoes are in school, I've officially switched the schedule so long runs are on Fridays. Instead of this general pattern:
M - Rest/cross
T -- 3-4
W -- 6-8 (10 as we get into late October/November)
Th - 4-5
F - Rest/cross
S - 3-4
S -- long (12+ increasing to 20)

we will now have this:
M - 3-4
T - 6-8 (10 as we get into late October/November)
W - 4-5
Th - Rest (travel day - likely a rest day)
F - long (12+ increasing to 20)
S - Rest/cross
S - 4-6

I think this will get me back on track in a couple of ways:
1) Friday mornings are pretty much wide open once I drop the kids off; it's still too hot to run outside after 8:00, but I can hit the gym for a few hours easy. Once I work up to 16+ hours it will be cool enough to run outside.
2) It takes into consideration Thursday as travel days. Normally it makes for a very long day, so if I can sleep in before starting the day, there's no harm, no foul.
3) If I want to do a walk with my pal on Saturday morning (like I did this Saturday -- wow -- used some muscles I haven't felt in a while on that one!), or go to hockey, or whatever, then we can do that and I won't feel guilty for skipping a scheduled run. But if I need to make up a shorter run, then usually Elder Child is up for joining me at the gym, and TDP DinoBoy is usually in for a trip to the gym's kids area.
4) If I miss a Monday run (like I did today, making grocery store/drugstore trips like I did instead of working out) I can make it up on Thursday if need be.

I used to be hesitant about running Thursday mornings before checking out of the hotel because I'd end up with a bag full of wet sweaty clothes that sometimes didn't make it out of the suitcase before Saturday (yeah, yeah, like I like to do laundry as soon as I get home! puhleeze). But now that I'm in an apartment, I can just throw that over the shower rod and let it air dry until I return on Sunday night. And I won't be lugging a suitcase through the airport every week either!

Another post on the new apartment will have to wait; until then, I need to get to bed. Got another long day tomorrow. Peace out!

Crazy Stupid!

So, the Texas Rangers scored their 9-game allotment of runs in one game last night! These are the guys sitting at the bottom of the AL West, firmly ensconced in last place since mid-May. I think most casual fans of the game, even in North Texas, can maybe name two or three of the spares that make up the Rangers lineup. But, wow, what a show. Elder Child called me hysterical with laughter and disbelief -- I naturally thought he'd gotten into Grampa's stash until I saw it with my own eyes on ESPN. Like I said, crazy stupid!!

Almost as crazy stupid? Me, the thirty-seven year-old, pulling an all-nighter on a project for work. I saved the hotel maid about three minutes by not even getting into the bed. Thankfully a colleague had talked me into joining her for dinner at a little place around the corner instead of picking up take-out and eating it in my room. That was the only break I got all night. Let's check in with me later this afternoon and see how I'm holding up. Oh, yeah, I have to train a bunch of client end-users today, too! Fun times!

Peace out -- must submit a few expense reports and get the corporate Amex paid off before they come after me and/or I get kicked out of the hotel!

Who'll stop the rain?

apparently, this blog has been taken over by CCR. Please, please, please make it stop (the rain, not CCR -- I kinda like CCR). The rain is bringing me down, not to mention making it impossible to hail a cab in this badboy of a city.

I did run Friday and Saturday, at the gym both days. No running Sunday -- got too lazy. No running yesterday because it was dark and rainy when I woke up. No running this morning because, well, same song, second verse. And I was up until midnight working on a project, so it was twice as hard to get up and hit the streets this morning.

BTW, why has nobody told me how awesomely funny and HOT Craig Ferguson is? How have I missed him all my life? It probably has something to do with the fact that I am usually fast asleep by 9:00ish, but whatever. Someone should have let me in on him. It's got to be the accent, or maybe the graying hair. But, wow! I found myself staying up even later than I normally would have to catch more of his show.

So, that's why I didn't run this morning. Which is crazy stupid, because it's something like 57 degrees out today, or something ridiculous like that -- I mean, really. When it hits 50s in Texas, that usually means NOVEMBER!! So I'm fairly idiotic not to take advantage of the cooler temps. But the temps are cooler because of the rain, let's not forget, and we know I can't be slogging around in the rain. The plan is to make it up with 4-5 this afternoon after I kick off from here. I've got to take advantage of the northeast side of the park for a few more days before I get relocated to my new digs on the Hudson River. I'll be moving into a corporate apartment about a 5-minute walk from our offices, so no more hoity-toity Upper East Side. And no more trying to hail a cab in the pouring rain -- I'll get to be a real New Yawker and walk in it! Wait a minute here...

Anyhoo, gotta run, but I should have some time later tonight to catch up on everyone and make sure y'all are behaving and getting a little more training in than I am!

UPDATE: How awesome was that? I ran around the north end of the park, from 92nd up to 110th, then across to Central Park West and south to 77th St. Ended up being a little less than 6 miles; I'll call it 6 since I had to walk about .25 of a mile to get back to the hotel after I stopped at the grocery store for dinner. It was cold and drizzly the whole time -- not too messy, just enough to keep the leisure walkers away and make the park nearly deserted off the main paths. I'd have gone all the way down to the south side of the park if it wasn't quickly getting dark and I didn't have about an hour's worth of work to do tonight. But, energy-wise, I was in a good groove and didn't even feel like I'd been running for an hour. I guess a couple of days' rest was a good thing!

Gotta run again -- if I don't want to be up all night I've got to switch off the fun stuff and get back to work.

Ta Daaa!

Ta Daaa!, originally uploaded by ccervant_99.

I'll try to get a better picture scanned, but you get the general idea. It was very medieval-ish. We even drank from silver goblets instead of crystal flutes. Wow. Those sleeves are huge, even by mid-90s standards!!

Caving in to the Pressure

Geez, y'all are a tough crowd! I will do what I can to get an electronic copy of the bridal scene from 1994 (remember, it was 1994!!!) and upload it today. Right now I'm headed out to register the Elder Child in 7th grade (eep!) and then hit the gym for 4-6 miles.

I also need to recover from last night's unplanned stop in Little Rock, Arkansas. I'm telling you, travelling between DFW and LaGuardia is killing me. And yet, even with the delays and surprise fuel stops, I remain less stressed now than I was when I worked in Dallas. How sad is that?

Anyhoo, I'll do what I can about the wedding pix -- I've got a great album, but none are scanned and I don't have a scanner here. I promise you, though, you will NOT be disappointed -- the sleeves alone are enough to make you laugh!!

Lucky 13

13 years ago today, I was decked out in the biggest heaviest ivory brocade wedding gown ever sold off the rack at Jessica McClintock. It was more suited for the October date we'd originally set when we first got engaged, but when reality hit and we realized Hub would be in the midst of his 2nd year of b-school mid-terms then, we moved the date up to August. But by then I'd already fallen in love with the dress, so August heat and convertible top on the wedding car be damned, I was going to wear the dress. It was my day, dangnabit!!

Except it wasn't just my day. It was our day. If he hadn't already won my heart by then, he sealed the deal when he cried when he saw me coming down the aisle. He hadn't seen the dress, hadn't known what to expect. And being the tomboy that I was, never wearing makeup or having my hair worn anyway but in a Pebbles-knot on top of my head, he was totally blown away by the made-up, upswept, pushed-up version of me that entered the church. I can't remember anything from the ceremony except that the Irish priest mispronounced our names and sounded like the Lucky Charms leprechaun. And at one point, my bridesmaids caught me admiring my new rings in the rays of sunlight from the skylight instead of listening to what was going on at the altar.

It totally bites being away from him today, but we had a typical (for us) celebration at lunch yesterday after pond hockey. He and the older boy were both sweaty and stinky, but high on the goals they both scored. TDP DinoBoy ate all my fruit salad per usual. It was a casual, comfortable family lunch, and it was the perfect embodiment of our marriage. As I wrote him in the card I left in his sock drawer (it was the one place I knew he'd find it!!), I don't just love him as much as I did 13 years ago, I love the life we've made together. It's far from perfect, far from easy sometimes, but it's ours, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

11 miles

brutal. the heat, I mean. the 11 miles was just dandy. But, dangit, it's hot out there. 82 at 5:15, with some ridiculous humidity out there just to make it fun. I headed out, intending to do two 4-mile loops and end it with a 3-miler. That would give me the chance to switch out the lawn sprinkler and refill the water bottle at each lap. And, for once, the plan became reality.

My iPod decided to turn itself off after 90 seconds, so I ran without music for the whole two hours. I had set the Garmin for intervals of 1 mile run, 1 minute rest, with the fast pace alert set at 10:25. Part of the reason I've not been able to run long the last two weeks is that I go out way too fast, so today I had the beeps telling me when to slow the heck down. Final average pace was 11:00, which is about right for me for a long haul. It's just right to keep me going without wiping me out entirely.

There really wasn't much of consequence to this run, nothing extraordinary about it to report. Just me and my feet, and my clothes, which were soaked through and sticking to me by the end. I was wearing the lightest, thinnest shorts I own, and a long tank, and it quickly became too much clothes. I had my hair in pigtails (I was rocking those pigtails like my hero Nytro) and could feel the sweat trickling down the back of my head after about five minutes. It was disgusting. But in a weird way that only you TriBloggers and RBFers can appreciate, it felt good. It means that the summer training season is nigh upon us, and it was good to get out and just run.

I got a leg up on the laundry last night, so the last load is in the washer right now, and my packing system means that loading up the rollerboard won't take but five minutes later this afternoon. And I'm on the later flight tonight, so I don't have to leave for the airport until about 5:30. We're headed to pond hockey in a bit, and then we'll all have lunch somewhere for an early celebration of our 13th wedding anniversary. Sounds like a good day to me.

hope y'all all have a good day and a good week, too. Peace out!!

how to handle the heat

spend the afternoon at the pool, natch. no purposeful swimming was done, just lots of splashing, sliding and general fun.

ORN - 4 miles at the gym this morning, late this morning, after a viewing of Breakfast at Tiffany's when Hub left for work and breakfast with the boys. I'd never seen the movie and I missed the first half hour, but it was pretty interesting nonetheless.


I'll try to post a more detailed catch=up later this weekend, but for now, last night's delayed flight out of Newark is catching up with me, so I must veg on the couch for a bit before the two big boys leave for hockey. Peace out.

I'll count it as a long run

since it's the longest run I've had in a couple of months. 9 miles and change, the change part coming as walking breaks in the first 6 miles. I headed out the door at 6:00ish, after having to find the fuel belt, fill the water bottle, put a load of clothes in the washer, and set the sprinklers going. NOTE: Let it be recorded that today, on August 5, was the first day of this summer that we've had to set out the sprinklers . It's been that wet here this summer. And everyone's yards looks amazingly green -- you just don't see that here at this time of the year.
Anyhoo, the Garmin was still set for 10 miles with 1 minute walk breaks, since that's been what's on tap for the last month and a half. So I went with it, but I could tell by the humidity in the air that it might not be a very fun run. I started out too fast for a 10-miler, I know that, but I was able to sustain about a 10:00/mile for the whole time I was outside. But that was only for 6 miles.

What I did was set out for a regular 5-mile loop, knowing i was going to have come back and change out the location of the sprinkler. I did the first half of the run in about 55 minutes, which included the 1-minute walk breaks. Then I stopped and refilled the bottle and headed out for the second 5 mile loop. And about half a mile from the house, I realized it was just too flipping hot. So I turned back home. I got in, switched the clothes to the dryer and put in a fresh load, then jumped on the treadmill. I really didn't want to, but the kids were all asleep, so there was no reason not to. So I droned on and did another three miles. Painfully boring three miles. I could have gone on for another mile to finish out the 10, but I just didn't have it me mentally. Plus, I hadn't done anything longer than 7 since July 1, so I figured I ought not push it. So next week I'll do 11, and then I'll be on track with my plan to increase for White Rock. I won't be a doing an early race this year, so I'm still OK. But I was really pushing hard to get to the 9, mentally, so I just need to push through and get to the double-digits next time.

Now we're off to hockey, then who knows what else for the rest of the afternoon until my flight later. Peace out!!

Notes to self..

from the Newark airport....

1) the grilled hot dog from the vendor outside the office? YUM! surpassed only by the one I had at Yankee Stadium last summer. Good stuff, I tell ya!
2) the knish? I'm still not *quite* sure what that is exactly, but it is nearly as ummy as the hot dog. And you can't beat a $3 lunch.
3) the trip to Newark from mid-town Manhattan? via taxi, then train, then airport tram? Sucketh mightily. I'm only hopeful that my choice of airport is vindicated by arriving sooner than I would if I'd left from LaGuardia.
4) Get another pair of cropped tights or shorts with back pocket for phone and hotel key. Rinsing out the pair I love in the sink isn't working out -- they're not drying in time for the next day's run. And NOT rinsing them out? Not an option, especially if I'm going to be picking up running buddies from the team. Can you say stink? I have a couple of more shorts that I like, but without the big pocket, they're pretty useless. I don't run with my phone at home (yeah, i know, I probably should, but I like to travel as lightly as possible when I'm in the Suburbia South) but even I'm not naive to think I can get away without it in NYC.

OK, and now the audience participation part. here is the newest big dilemma: New bicycle for momma, per the Danskin reward plan, or four tickets to the Lion King on Broadway? Roughly the same cost. Sigh. In favor of the bike -- I promised it to myself, and I earned it on that lake, dammit. In favor of the show -- what better way to have an amazing experience in NYC for the boys than to see that on their first trip? And, I haven't been on the old bike in a month+. Decisions, decisions. Wouldn't it be cool if the Broadway show fairy left me a prize under my pillow? (It would be more comfy to have tix under the pillow than a Giant!!)

Boarding now! Gotta run!! or fly, as the case may be!!

Oh, how I miss my blog and bloggy friends!

what a neglectful blogger I have become. If my poor blog were a cat, she'd be sticking her paws under the door scratching and mewling frantically for someone to slide some sliced deli meat underneath and nourish her, or open the door and pet her scruffy unbrushed fur and show some affection for just a few minutes. Sigh. So sorry!

So much to catch up on, and so little time! Still working in NYC during the week. Tried to jam as much fun and family activities into three days at home as possible, and mostly succeeded. Saw "Transformers" AGAIN on Friday, then the Simpsons movie on Saturday and spent Sunday PM at the pool until the t-storms dumped on us. Enjoyed a lot of time with my boys, except for the hubby, who was off at a two-day class learning stuff for his job. But I did catch his hockey game Friday night, and we spent the time driving to and from the rink chatting and catching up with each other. It was a good weekend, albeit a short and somewhat manically rushed one.

I am 3 miles short of 100 for the month of July. That was after this morning's 4 miles around the north end of Central Park and then around the south side of the Jackie O reservoir. So I've made a running date with a co-worker of mine for later tonight, after a conference call we've got scheduled for a bit. He hasn't run in a while and was finally convinced to try it after hearing me and another colleague extol the virtues of the park as a fabulous place to catch a run. So once that's done, I'll have 100 miles in the books for the first time since February, I believe. I came close in March, with 93 miles, and even with all the travel to Colorado in April managed to slide in 85 miles, but May was dismal with only 38 miles (that was all the swimming and cycling workouts) and June rebounded a bit with 77 miles. But if I want to be at all prepared for White Rock in December, I need to start building up the running mileage again. And there's something mental about being so close to 100 and not getting it that will make me nutso if I don't get in the last three miles tonight. Yeah, but then again, I'm the person who once ran 2.5 miles on New Year's Eve to reach 1000 for the year. Nutso already, I guess!!

Gotta run, but I swear to come back more often than once a week here. Pinky promise!!!

UPDATE: I got the three miles done! We wrapped up our con-call by 8:40, and at 8:45, we hit the streets outside the hotel. My running partner has LONG legs, and is extremely athletic, even though he hasn't run regularly in a while. So I had to keep his skinny self in check so he didn't wipe me out entirely -- I had to remind him that 1) his stride is way longer than mine! 2) this was my 2nd run of the day, and 3) the first 3/4 mile to the park is UPhill. But it was a glorious evening, and when we hit the reservoir, we caught the last gleam of sunset behind the lit-up Manhattan skyline. Pretty damn impressive, I gotta tell you! And he was thoroughly hooked on running again by the time we got back to the hotel, so I may have been a good influence on him. Gotta go -- it's way later than I expected to stay up. But I don't have to get up quite so early to run in the morning now!! Peace out!!