Today I am in Chicago. I went for a run this evening and was feeling pretty good about myself because it was cold and kind of icy and I went out anyway. These are the days when you don't feel like going but you know you have to. So there I am, running along, enjoying life, when I pass this guy running the other direction and JUGGLING. On the icy sidewalks. In the dark. So much for self-congratulation!
The main thing on my mind today is who is going to draw the short straw assignment of having to tell Hillary Clinton to withdraw from the race. God help us if she wins Texas or Ohio by enough of a margin to make her think she can still win the nomination. Can you imagine the hand-wringing going on in the Democratic Party right now? It must be like when the Nixon White House had to decide who was going to tell him he needed to resign. With respect to last night's debate, I was looking through the reader comments on the Washington Post online today and found this very insightful post in response to Hillary's claim of media bias:
"Hillary's whining about the media is absurd. She had a massive built in advantage with the media at the start of this race and its name was Bill Clinton. Anywhere he went he instantly monopolized coverage. She screwed up using him but that's her fault. Biden, Dodd and lots of others who have TONS more experience that Clinton got completely ignored by the media. If anyone should be complaining, they should."
Amen! In pro-Hillary news, I must admit that I loved Tina Fey's "endorsement" of Hillary on SNL in which she proclaimed that "bitch is the new black." Word.
PS: here's a link to the Tina Fey bit. High-larious. http://widgets.nbc.com/o/4727a250e66f9723/47c2f665c957dd9
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Tuesday, February 26
Today I am in Chicago after flying back from London last night. I had a nice time in Brussels and have decided that I must be part Belgian, what with their (and my) love of french fries, cheese, beer, mussels, chocolate, waffles, and Jean Claude van Damme. Okay, maybe not so much that last one. Here are a few photos:
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Saturday, February 23
Today I am in Brussels, and earlier I was in London. Brussels is an unplanned stop on my European vacation, but so far one that I am enjoying. I had dinner tonight at Restaurant Vincent, a place where my mom and Gary ate together over 20 years ago! The food was wonderful and the maitre'd flirted shamelessly, so it was an all-around uplifting experience. Tomorrow I shall walk around Grand Place and gorge myself on Belgian chocolates, and then on Monday it's back to London.
All of this loveliness aside, I am a bit homesick. I feel this way a lot when I am traveling outside the US - I'm not sure if it's that I'm so used to the comforts of home or that I feel a bit lonely traveling on my own. I swear, every time I hear an American accent I get these little pangs of "oh, I wish I was there now." I'll be glad to be back home in a few days.
Oh, I almost forgot - today I ran along the Thames!
All of this loveliness aside, I am a bit homesick. I feel this way a lot when I am traveling outside the US - I'm not sure if it's that I'm so used to the comforts of home or that I feel a bit lonely traveling on my own. I swear, every time I hear an American accent I get these little pangs of "oh, I wish I was there now." I'll be glad to be back home in a few days.
Oh, I almost forgot - today I ran along the Thames!
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Wednesday, February 13
Today I am in Chicago. The sun is shining here today, which is a nice break from our cloudy weather of late. Apparently last week we set a Chicago record for the most days in a row without sun (seven). Boy, am I happy to have been a part of that.
Heading to the UK early next week to see my old friend, Wayne. I'm sure I'll have lots of things to report, though fairly confident that most of them are things that I probably shouldn't share with my mom and dad.
Here are some new kitten pictures. I watched the last hour of the Westminster Dog Show last night and we all cheered when Uno the beagle won best in show - but I think they were a little miffed today because they were painfully cute! (Dewey is sitting on my semi-new dining room table - Rachel and Randy, you'll recognize the chairs.)
Monday, January 28, 2008
Monday, January 28
Today I am in Atlanta. This is the first time I have had to travel for work since before Christmas! Ugh. I was talking to this woman today on the plane and I was telling her I have a blog....she said, "well, don't you worry about people stalking you? I mean, for that you'd have to be very stalkable, which you obviously are." I've never had someone tell me before that I was "stalkable" and I wasn't quite sure how to take it.
Cabo was a bit of a revelation for me in that I realized I don't really like the forced socializing that comes with group trips, but I loved traveling to a destination race. I realized that I don't need these group thingies to do the races, and I can book my own trips to places I want to see and do a race. Plus, I can now be in half marathon shape at all times....yesterday I did four miles and felt like dog shit for most of it, so it was comforting to know that I can run several miles, not feel good, and still get it done. All I have to do is put one foot in front of the other.... So, with this in mind I am now entered into the Arizona Distance Classic in Tucson and the Santa Barbara Wine Country Half Marathon.
Monday, January 21, 2008
Monday, January 21
Today I am in Chicago, back from Cabo San Lucas. It was a great trip and a truly spectacular race. I finished in 2:22:23, which is 12 minutes faster than my last half marathon and 8 minutes faster than my previous personal best! I was so happy with the results - goes to show you what proper training can do....
We arrived on Thursday afternoon. There were 138 runners from Chicago Endurance Sports entered in the race, and I think we made up about a third of the field. :) I didn't sleep at all the night before I left, so I was super exhausted on Thursday night and got a solid night's sleep. It was a good thing because I didn't sleep very well at all the night before the race. There are so many things to think about when you are doing a "destination race" (especially in a foreign country) - what will I eat for breakfast? Is it safe to drink the water on the course? Will they have bathrooms? I tried to prepare as much as I could by bringing a special energy bar for breakfast, making my own Gatorade mix in the hotel, etc. Had my CES shirt all laid out with my number pinned to it, sunscreen, lip balm, energy gel, hat, sunglasses - I had never prepared in advance like that for a race before. In the end, everything worked out great. The people on the course were so nice to us - I had so much fun yelling out "hola!" to everyone and thanking them for their support. What a friendly bunch of folks. There was a funny moment around Mile 4 when we came upon a dozen Mexican men standing very quietly at the side of the road, watching us but in a somewhat somber manner. I waved and yelled out "buenas dias!" and they all sprang to life with huge smiles and loud cheers. "Aye! Chick-ah-go!," they yelled, seeing the CES logo on our shirts. "Vamos! Muy bien!" It was funny to see them go from statues to total animation. I had so much fun on the course and really tried to make the most of the experience. I think that helped me immensely with the physical challenge, given that it was a significant one. There were about 3 miles of hills from Miles 3 to 7 that were very challenging - they just kept going up, and up, and up (as hills are known to do). The road would curve and the hills would continue. But, I just kept trudging up, one foot in front of the other. Then came the turnaround and we got 3 miles of glorious downhill, the Sea of Cortez and Cabo San Lucas spread out in front of us. I turned to JoAnne, my CES friend with whom I ran most of the race and said, "This is why we run. Downhill, running in shorts and a tank top (when it's 9 degrees Fahrenheit in Chicago that day), this gorgeous view.....this is why we run." I was almost overcome by the rush of endorphins and just reveled in how thoroughly happy I felt. I need to think about it some more before I can put into words how that feels - it's like Christmas morning, the last day of school, hitting the jackpot, being in love....all at once. An amazing feeling and, for me, the reason that I keep running. Once you've felt that rush, you just want to feel it over and over again. I have never been addicted to anything in my life except that rush.
The rest of the trip was...rest. I went whale watching, ate some great food, met some wonderful new friends. I am glad to be back home with the kitty cats (and a high of 14 degrees today!) but am so happy for the experience I had in Mexico. I would do it all over again tomorrow.
Here is a link to my official certificate. :)
http://www.marcate.com.mx/home/certificado.asp?numero=224&cve_evento=123
We arrived on Thursday afternoon. There were 138 runners from Chicago Endurance Sports entered in the race, and I think we made up about a third of the field. :) I didn't sleep at all the night before I left, so I was super exhausted on Thursday night and got a solid night's sleep. It was a good thing because I didn't sleep very well at all the night before the race. There are so many things to think about when you are doing a "destination race" (especially in a foreign country) - what will I eat for breakfast? Is it safe to drink the water on the course? Will they have bathrooms? I tried to prepare as much as I could by bringing a special energy bar for breakfast, making my own Gatorade mix in the hotel, etc. Had my CES shirt all laid out with my number pinned to it, sunscreen, lip balm, energy gel, hat, sunglasses - I had never prepared in advance like that for a race before. In the end, everything worked out great. The people on the course were so nice to us - I had so much fun yelling out "hola!" to everyone and thanking them for their support. What a friendly bunch of folks. There was a funny moment around Mile 4 when we came upon a dozen Mexican men standing very quietly at the side of the road, watching us but in a somewhat somber manner. I waved and yelled out "buenas dias!" and they all sprang to life with huge smiles and loud cheers. "Aye! Chick-ah-go!," they yelled, seeing the CES logo on our shirts. "Vamos! Muy bien!" It was funny to see them go from statues to total animation. I had so much fun on the course and really tried to make the most of the experience. I think that helped me immensely with the physical challenge, given that it was a significant one. There were about 3 miles of hills from Miles 3 to 7 that were very challenging - they just kept going up, and up, and up (as hills are known to do). The road would curve and the hills would continue. But, I just kept trudging up, one foot in front of the other. Then came the turnaround and we got 3 miles of glorious downhill, the Sea of Cortez and Cabo San Lucas spread out in front of us. I turned to JoAnne, my CES friend with whom I ran most of the race and said, "This is why we run. Downhill, running in shorts and a tank top (when it's 9 degrees Fahrenheit in Chicago that day), this gorgeous view.....this is why we run." I was almost overcome by the rush of endorphins and just reveled in how thoroughly happy I felt. I need to think about it some more before I can put into words how that feels - it's like Christmas morning, the last day of school, hitting the jackpot, being in love....all at once. An amazing feeling and, for me, the reason that I keep running. Once you've felt that rush, you just want to feel it over and over again. I have never been addicted to anything in my life except that rush.
The rest of the trip was...rest. I went whale watching, ate some great food, met some wonderful new friends. I am glad to be back home with the kitty cats (and a high of 14 degrees today!) but am so happy for the experience I had in Mexico. I would do it all over again tomorrow.
Here is a link to my official certificate. :)
http://www.marcate.com.mx/home/certificado.asp?numero=224&cve_evento=123
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Wednesday, January 16
Today I am in Chicago. I am leaving for Cabo tomorrow - yippee! The race is on Saturday. I feel so prepared. I have done a few short runs this week and each one has felt awesome. I am hoping to have my personal best half marathon time here (known as a Personal Record, or PR, in running jargon...) of sub 2:30. Certainly not setting any world records, but it would be a big personal achievement and one that shows me I am ready to take my running to the next level. I was thinking today about how different it feels to run a few miles now and how your body really can adjust to longer distances to where the shorter ones feel almost effortless. It also reaffirms what I have known since I started running: if I can do this, anyone can do this. When I started running, I could run for about 30 seconds before I would have to stop and walk. Then 30 became 90 and 180 and then I could run a mile. Then a 5K. And so on. And here I am a few years later and days away from my 4th half marathon. The human body is truly an amazing machine.
I am writing this blog from my new laptop - I bought myself a Sony VAIO SZ. It's snazzy. It is so much lighter than my work laptop and it has a pretty display.
I realize I didn't really write anything about the Obama fundraiser that I went to last week. There isn't a ton to say, except that he was there and spoke for about 15 minutes - I was about 50 feet away from him. He seemed a bit worn out, but still energetic and committed. I have to admit that Hillary Clinton has impressed me lately, but I still think she's so old guard and ultimately quite boring. I saw pictures of her recently on a stage with her husband and Madeline Albright - not exactly a snapshot of the next generation candidate (unless the future is somehow back to 1993).
More from Cabo in the days to come!!!
I am writing this blog from my new laptop - I bought myself a Sony VAIO SZ. It's snazzy. It is so much lighter than my work laptop and it has a pretty display.
I realize I didn't really write anything about the Obama fundraiser that I went to last week. There isn't a ton to say, except that he was there and spoke for about 15 minutes - I was about 50 feet away from him. He seemed a bit worn out, but still energetic and committed. I have to admit that Hillary Clinton has impressed me lately, but I still think she's so old guard and ultimately quite boring. I saw pictures of her recently on a stage with her husband and Madeline Albright - not exactly a snapshot of the next generation candidate (unless the future is somehow back to 1993).
More from Cabo in the days to come!!!
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