Tuesday, August 26

Today I am in Chicago. I am watching the Democratic National Convention and pondering how Mark Warner could have possibly wasted his keynote opportunity any more than he did. The Governor of Montana is currently on, and let me tell you - they should have given this guy the keynote (except that he keeps referring to Obama as "Barack OHHH-bama"). Speaking of politics I got the following e-card from my mother today:



Hillary Clinton. Wow. I have so much respect for her....that can't have been an easy speech to give, but she executed it flawlessly and, as Rachel Maddo of MSNBC said, will "move those who are movable." Perfect speech, perfect message, perfect execution. Bravo, Hillary!

Thursday, August 14

Today I am in Chicago. My marathon training has definitely improved....I've done two, 13-mile runs in the past two weekends (including the Chicago Distance Classic Half Marathon this past Sunday) and am feeling better about my marathon readiness. There was a point about midway through the CDC where I was a little tired but still running well, and I knew that I would definitely finish the race. That may sound strange considering it was my 8th half marathon, but there are usually these moments of doubt that cross my mind and I didn't really have any of those in this race. That was a positive sign to me. I feel better knowing that I'm following my training plan and that with each week, I am gaining confidence and putting more miles behind me.

My 20th high school reunion is this weekend. Yikes!

Here's a photo of Dewey on the new couch.

Sunday, July 20

Today I am in Chicago. I ran 13 miles in the last two days, which is more than I ran in the previous 7 days combined. My legs are SORE! I did 7 miles yesterday as part of my marathon training and then did a 10K this morning. I feel like I'm somewhat getting back into my groove with running, though it's still a struggle to convince myself to get up for it every day. Even writing about it is boring me.

Sunday, July 13

Today I am in Chicago. I am really struggling with training for the marathon. It's all about running certain distances, certain times, and checking a box in my training schedule - no fun. I was doing pretty well and then my work schedule got so crazy and I came down with a stomach bug, neither of which helped my mindset about this. I need to get back on track (the race is 3 months from yesterday!) but at the same time I feel I need to step back and just run to run for a little while, without thinking about times, distance, or checking that box. Sigh.

Sunday, June 22

Today I am in London. I flew here Friday night on my way to Budapest. Wayne and I had a great day yesterday - we met up in the early afternoon and went shopping in the West End where I found a store that carries nothing but little dresses with empire waist sashes and cap sleeves. It was Betsy Elizabeth dress heaven. We wandered back towards Leicester Square for a couple of drinks, and then went to Le Beaujolais for a lovely bottle of Lirac and a snack of yummy, super stinky cheese. Then it was off to see Cabaret, and the night took a bit of an embarassing turn when I fell asleep midway through the first act. I woke up with a start during intermission and Wayne later told me he had to shake me three times to wake me up! Aye yi yi - guess I can't get two hours of sleep on a plane and drink half a bottle of wine and expect to remain conscious. We watched the end of the show and then went out for a post-show dinner of mussels and frites. Twelve hours of sleep later I am writing this from the Hilton London Bridge in my new happie loves it black polka dot dress and leggings and I am happy. Still sleepy, but happy. Off to Budapest tonight!

Sunday, June 8

Today I am in Chicago. I picked up my marathon training program information today, and it made me feel SO much better about it. I ran 10 miles as recently as 2 weeks ago, and on this plan we don't do 10 miles until week 5! Plus, there are 2 rest days built in to the schedule, and the longest weekday run is 8 miles. I just have to manage my time really well and I should be okay. Whatever happens, I am committed to following the training program to the letter - I remember how hard my first half-marathon was after not training properly (and how much easier the ones have been when I did train properly).

I am really gonna do this!

Wednesday, May 14

Today I am in Chicago.

Okay, more about the SB race. I got to Solvang around 6:20am and saw crowds of people lining the sidewalk. It turned out these were all people waiting to be transported to the start line! The last bus was supposed to leave at 6:30 and there was NO WAY all of these people were getting on that bus. We waited, and waited, and finally at about 7:10 the last buses left to take us to the start line in Santa Ynez (never mind that the race started 10 minutes ago...). We got to the start line at 7:20 and with very little fanfare I started off on the course. It was definitely a weird way to start, weaving in through the walkers and spectators. The lengthy wait for transport left me brimming with energy, and I was mindful not to go out too fast - it was hard to read pace, though, because a) I was passing a lot of people who I would have been in front of had I started on time and b) there were no mile markers. I reached the second water stop and heard we were at 3.7 miles- I looked at my watch and I was around 40 minutes....this didn't seem right but I figured it was better to be too slow at this point anyway.

The first few miles were rolling hills that wound through residential Santa Ynez. I kept thinking that you really have to make a choice when you live in an area like that - convenience or beautiful surroundings - because although it was very pretty, there was NOTHING around for miles except for a biker bar and a general store. Around Mile 6 we started up what was billed as "the short hill climb." This was a hill to rival the mountain stages of the Tour de France (and, as I learned the following day, Solvang was a Tour training site for Lance Armstrong and team for several years). I chugged my way up - it was a real struggle but I kept telling myself I wasn't going to walk and to just keep putting one foot in front of the other. I finally made it to the top and fortunately there was a water stop so I could catch my breath before heading to the glorious downhill.

Here is a link to some photos:

http://www.fotojack.com/photo/index.htm?race=1020&val=1654

Will write more in next post.....