At the Finish!

IMG_7534, originally uploaded by ccervant_99.

This is the official photo of us at the end of this weekend's 39.3 mile AvonWalk for Breast Cancer. Many more to come, once I get the rest of the photos from Alicia's camera.

By the Numbers

3200 -- participants in this year's San Francisco Avon Walk
7.2 million -- dollars raised by these participants (yours truly included)
39.3 -- miles walked
15:25 -- hours total on the routes over two days
60 -- pounds our new friend lost in the past year training for this; we met her while stretching and we stuck together throughout the whole route
2 -- times we crossed the Golden Gate Bridge
10 -- times we saw "Elmo Man" -- a man holding a stuffed Elmo doll -- on the course supporting his wife
1,006,000 -- dollars raised by ONE volunteer for this and other previous breast cancer walks
20 -- HOT San Jose police officers in PINK shirts on bicycles riding alongside us; there may have been fewer, there may have been more, but they were all adorable!!
1000 -- tents in Walker's Village Saturday night
14 -- stops in Port-a-Potties along the route
10 -- box trucks transporting our gear to and from the start and the village
8 -- members of Team Penny we saw -- may have been more we didn't see -- Penny is the mom of the sweetest 17-year-old boy you ever met. She lost her battle with breast cancer 2 years ago.
270 -- photographs I took in the past three days -- doesn't count what my buddy has on her camera

It was a blast, folks. And I tell you what, walking 26.2 miles is hella lot harder than running the same distance. You spend more time total on your feet, and it takes a ton more steps to reach the same destination. I spoke with many runners who felt the same way. On a marathon day, at my slowest pace, I would have been done in 5 hours and change. We were just finishing up mile 14 by that time. Granted we took more and longer breaks, and many times had to wait at stoplights and such, but the toll on my body was greater this weekend than on any marathon course I've done. I have so much respect for these walkers, and they come in all sizes, ages and physical abilities.

And the city of San Francisco -- WOW. Great vistas, magnificent scenery, wonderfully supportive crowds. the weather was PERFECT! I did get a little more sun yesterday than Saturday, and my lips are sunburned (!!), but besides that, it couldn't have been better walking weather. We were never nasty sweaty, although those portable showers were a blessing Saturday night. It was just glorious!

Probably the only negative was the hills -- the front of my right leg and my right knee are not real happy with me. That flared up on me after a particularly nasty set of rollers about mile 7-9 yesterday; I iced it and wrapped it during the lunch break, but it was still progressing from twinge to pain by the time we finished up. It feels better today after elevation and more ice, but I will definitely be visiting my therapist Tuesday morning. But since I know the problem is not structural, I didn't have any doubts about finishing. I was a little slower on the downhills than I was Saturday, but it was all good in the end.

It's still wicked early here, and I have a little bit of work to finish up before a deadline before I can fully relax and spend the rest of the day enjoying what time we have left here in San Fran. Peace out folks! Many, many photos to come!!

Almost "GO" time!

so, this is it.

We're checked in with the airline.
We're packed (mostly -- need to find the battery charger for the camera).
Fundraising goal, as of about 10 minutes ago, is at 100%! Wahooo!
We're loaded with BodyGlide, sunscreen, and PINK, PINK, PINK!

Those of you who know me know that I'm the original anti-pink chick. I think I've only ever owned two items of clothing that are pink, and one of them I sloshed paint on last year so it went bye-bye. The other is more of a melon-color and really more orangey-fuschia. So for me to wear pink? It's a big deal.

But, folks, this IS a big deal. I've said all along that I've been fortunate to not be directly touched by breast cancer. But, that's not true. The friends and family that have come together to support me have done so because THEY'VE been touched by breast cancer. And that affects them and in turn, it affects me. It affects us all. As we've been preparing for this, as I've done more research, and read the memorials, I've become acutely aware of how hideous this disease is. It strikes women in the prime of their lives, and it affects the heart and soul of a family, whether it steals their mothers, grandmothers, wives, sisters, or daughters. And so I will gladly and proudly wear pink, for this event, and probably afterward, too. I will continue to crusade even after the walk this weekend, after the blisters have healed, after the muscles are recovered, after the tears are dried. It's too important not to.

Peace out folks! I'm not taking the computer with me, so I won't be blogging, but I'll see you on the other side. Thanks for all your support along the way!!

home now

for a while, it seems. lots to catch up on around the homestead, and some actual work every now and again. still getting kicked out for showings twice a day, too, which is becoming more and more a PITA since there is no actual SALE coming out of it. mostly, though, I'm enjoying being home and sleeping in my bed and spending time with all three of my boys and those two insane cats.

Biggest item on the to-do list this week is packing and last-minute prep for the AvonWalk this weekend. Physically, we're ready, I think. Fundraising-wise, I'm at 93%, with a verbal commitment from my brother that should get me to goal. And I still have a couple of last-minute pleas to get out to some folks from the project that committed but haven't actually paid up yet. So I'm good to go there. For now, it's pretty well done but the doing, I guess.

I will probably not be blogging for a couple of days while I get a foothold on what needs to be done around here to get ready for the move (sell the house... ahem). I have already imported about 500 photos from both cameras taken over the last three months and need to go through those and post the choice ones to flickr and here. That was high on the list, and I'm glad to have the memory free for this weekend's trip. I'm sad that I didn't do more photography when I was in NYC, but I just didn't have the time/energy to do it while trying to log 40+ hours in the workweek and not keel over from exhaustion.

More to come, but probably not for a while. I have a lot of stuff to filter through about what comes next after AvonWalk, but for now, I need to get through it, give thanks that I am able to do it, and most of all, enjoy the experience. Later will come soon enough, methinks.

Peace out, folks.

One more

One more night in a hotel.
One more trip out to New Jersey to the airport.
One more wait at the gate, checking to see if I've been upgraded.

Yes, folks, I'm headed home from this project in NYC for good tomorrow afternoon. With some good fortune from the travel gods, I will be home in less than 24 hours. I've learned a lot on this project, and I've met a ton of folks, some of whom I am looking forward to working with again and who are true, deep-down, salt-of-the-earth, Good People. Others, meh. Whatever the case may be, let it be said that I gave 110% every stinking day of this project, because I did, even when it was brutal, and trust me, there were days that it surpassed brutal and went into insane.

As of right now, this moment, I don't have another traveling gig set up. I have a couple of leads on some internal projects that I can work on from home. Yes, that will be good. And even a little bit of what we call "bench time" would be welcome, no matter the impact on next quarter's bonus. I think I need it after the past 51 weeks.

For right now, though, at this very moment, there is only one thing left for me to do before I leave this fine city (love to visit, would NEVER want to live here), and that involves my running shoes, a gravel path, and a little sunset over the city. Central Park, as far as I'm concerned, is the best part of this little metro area, and I will miss it, to be sure.

So for now, one more run in the Park. I'll catch you on the other side, back in Tejas, where I belong!!

18 miles

we started at 5:15 am (shoulda been 5:00, but one of us, ahem, OK, it was ME!! woke up late so we headed out a little later than we planned) and walked for 18 miles. We took short breaks when we circle back to my friend's house at five miles, then again at 12 miles, and we finished roundabout 10:35, when the sun was already high and it was a nice 87ish or so. Felt hotter, though, since we'd not had much luck finding shade. but it was done, and now we only have to do 10 miles next Saturday, then week after next, the big weekend. I'm *nearly* done with fundraising, at 88% of goal, but I should hit it in the next week. We've determined what we're wearing each day, and my friend ordered the mini-mums on which we're going to write our donors' and honorees' names. So, we're pretty well set.

On the house front, Hub and I have procured our refrigerator and washer/dryer for the new house, along with the sofa set for the den and a new kitchen table. We've figured out what else we need before we move in, and have determined the kind of flooring we'll put in on the ground level. We need to measure the windows for the plantation shutters, and then get the blackout shades for the windows in the media room. Then all we need is to sell this stupid house so we can move in. Sigh.

One more week on the road, then I should get a break from traveling for a while. Of course, that might change any day, but for now I'm enjoying NOT having any flight plans after Thursday night.

Gotta run -- it's not particularly late, but I'm beat after waking up at 4:30 (OK, fine, 4;55!!) and then spending the day shopping for furniture and a bridal-shower gift for my brother-in-law and his fiancee. Check y'all later!!

5 Questions

Life got away from me this week, and I found myself barely having time to breathe, much less log on and blog. I was able to get in a couple of good workouts (weights one day and a 3-miler on the TM at the hotel) and a couple of short walks in while in the city, though not as much as I'd have liked.

My friend and I did 12 miles on Saturday morning, the longest she'd ever gone at one time. We did it in 3 hours and 15 minutes, which is a pretty good clip for walking. That didn't include a break halfway through at her house for water, a snack and a potty stop. Tomorrow we do 15 around my neighborhood (we take turns driving to the other's house each week), so I'm mapping out three 5-mile loops. I want to keep things as varied as possible, and I'm used to doing out-and-backs instead of loops when I run by myself. I have to, or else i find myself cutting things short after one loop. But my buddy has a smaller bladder than I do, and while I can go a full marathon without stopping for a bio-break, she is more comfortable if we're close to a full-service facility. so hence the looping route.

Anyway, one of the things that I've been meaning to do is to reply to Ellie's tag. So here goes:

1. How would you describe your running 10 years ago?
Let's see, that would be in 1998? Hmm. I think at that time, I spent a lot of time doing short 3-milers with the jogging stroller and Elder Child falling asleep about three blocks from the house. He loved the stroller (TDP DinoBoy and I finally killed it about two years ago when the threadbare tires popped -- you can see it in the header photo above) and it took away all my excuses. Hub was traveling a lot at the time, so most weeknights when we'd get home, Elder Child and I would wolf down an improv dinner and then head to the park with the stroller. I'd run about three miles there, then he'd get out and play until the sun went down, then we'd walk back. I didn't worry about time or distance and certainly never kept stats like I do now. It was a way to get out and spend time doing something for myself.

2.What is your best and worst run/race experience?
Best: Without a doubt, my first full marathon. Being at the starting line and seeing my friend about fifty yards past the timing mats -- he NEVER woke up early on a Sunday and here he was at 7:30 to cheer me on. Then, about 13 miles later, another friend was there with her two boys waving and cheering. Another four miles down the road, my family with was there with their burnt-orange lawn chairs, fresh water bottles, and hugs, right at the toughest part of the course. Five miles later, as I turned into the home stretch toward downtown, my mentor and friend was there, laughing at my dancing to the Aretha Franklin on the loudspeaker. With the exception of my husband , none of them had told me they would be there. To have so many people take time out of their day to come cheer me on was ridiculously uplifting. And I was SOO behind schedule by mile 15 that I can't even imagine how long they sat there waiting for me to come by. Finishing upright and smiling (that photo is also in the banner up top -- I'm in the yellow top and Texas shorts) was just the topper on an amazing day. I felt like I could move mountains after that race, and more importantly, that when I needed to move a mountain, I had some good friends to help me out.

Worst: Waco Marathon, October 2006. It was my fourth marathon and I was really looking for a sub-5:00 performance. But the hills, they were hilly, and the sun, it was sunny. If I'd found a sag wagon at mile 18, I would have climbed on board and probably never run another step in my life. But I didn't, so I kept running, and I finished in fine physical shape, but utterly defeated mentally. It was a tough point. There was nobody at the finish to give me a "way to go" and I had a nearly 2-hour drive in front of me. It just was not fun. I swore I'd never run in Waco again (and I lied -- the Bearathon half was there this spring, and I enjoyed the same course tremendously this time) and I wasn't sure why I was doing this.

3. Why do you run?
Because I can. Because, for a while, I couldn't. Because I am wired genetically to be fifty pounds overweight, with high blood pressure, diabetes and who knows what else. Because I want my kids to see me as a role model for how to live a healthy active lifestyle and even if I'm never a size 6 they will remember the mornings that I come home, already drenched in sweat from a nice little 10-miler before dawn, right when they are waking. I want them to see my drawers full of medals and race shirts and know that I run because I want to and I can, even if I'm not the first and sometimes the last one to cross the line. Because so many people I grew up with (including some/many in my own family) are content to be inactive and unhealthy and spend their days griping about how tired they are and how they just don't feel well. If I'm going to b!tch and moan, it's going to be that I can't move because I did too many squats and lunges. Or that my feet are beat to hell and back from the long run I finished this morning. Or that my quads are burning from the hills on the course. Not because I'm sitting idly by and letting my body fall to pieces around me like it's coded to do. And because I won't.be.that.person.

Running is my therapy, it's my time for me, it's my mental health. It's where I do my problem-solving, my organizing, my planning, and my dreaming. I draw up sketches for the back patio, for the furniture arrangement, for the next dinner party, for my career, all in my head while I run.

4. What is the best or worst piece of advice you've been given about running?
If I ever got bad advice, I'm pretty sure I ignored it. According to my husband, I never do what anybody says anyway. Probably the best is that you've got to just have fun. I will never be fast. I will never be lean and I will probably never even look like a runner. But I sure have a hella lot of fun while I'm out there.

And something about stretching. I may not have paid attention to that part.

5.Tell us something surprising about yourself that not many people know.
As a freshman in college, I participated in numerous marches and demonstrations. All for very, very, VERY liberal causes. I do not support those causes any longer. Something about having children, paying taxes, and owning a home has caused my political leanings to veer a little further to the right.

So there you go. If you've read this far, and you've ever put on a pair of running shoes, consider yourself tagged.

Gotta run. I've got a conference call in a bit and something about having finished a self-evaluation. I should start on that...

Peace out folks! have a great weekend, and I'm as always hopelessly optimistic that I'll have a chance to post again before I head out on Monday. If not, enjoy the weekend!

Two-word entry

I'm going to try to cover the last few days with a short bulleted list, using only two words per bullet. Wish me luck:

• More showings
• No offer
• Drywall's up
• Floor shopping
  
• So's brick
• Late flight :(
• Window seat :)
• Park run
• Went swimming
• Wii arrived!!
• Awesome trainer
• Foam roller
• Much pain!
• Sonic rules!!
• AvonWalk approaches
• Hockey tryouts
• Tennis lessons
• More walking
• Gotta blast!!
  

Crazy hot

and I'm not in Texas!! In NYC, the heat is crazy. It's almost like, oh I don't know, like I'm HOME!

I'm loving it!!

Tried to replicate the workout my new trainer (who is awesome and deserves a whole post of his own!) this morning. Don't know how successful I was at it, though. I don't seem to hurt as much as I did later on Friday PM. Also walked 3 miles after dinner to the hotel up on the upper East Side. If it's below 80 degrees tomorrow, I'll hit the reservoir tomorrow morning.

Counting down the days before my assignment here is over.

Currently loving Top Chef - I just discovered this awesome show, although I now feel very inferior in the kitchen. And Hub and the Elder Child are asking for things like tomahawk steaks! As if!!

Phooey

Just got home to an empty house, with just the cats here to welcome me. Hub is in Mexico City shooting commercials for work, and the boys are at Grandma's for the night. I'll pick them up tomorrow. Kind of sad to have nobody but BabyCat and Her Majesty here, but at least I get to watch Top Chef and fall asleep on the couch without guilt.

The "phooey" is because of the email I just got from NYCRR -- no go on this year's NYC marathon. I did not get picked for the marathon. Again. Dang. I was hoping that I'd be able to do it this year, since there is still the chance that I'll be working up there come the fall. So I guess that means I have to figure out what to do for the rest of the summer if I'm not doing marathon training. I won't do a fall race locally, but I'll have to decide what I want this year to look like when I get done with AvonWalk.

Gotta go -- it's late and if I'm going to be up tomorrow to meet with the trainer at 10:00, I should get to the couch, errr, to bed, right away. Peace out!