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.

I have attached a photo from Cabo - I don't know why I have these cheesy grins in every picture dating back 30 years....aye carumba....

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

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!!!

Barack Obama for President

I am writing this to anyone who hasn't yet decided to support Barack Obama for president. I've been alive for 37 years. I've been aware of politics almost all my life. At ten years old, I cried when Ronald Reagan was elected. I am writing now as somewho who believes that we have a moral, ethical, and political duty to elect Barack Obama as our next president.

For the past 8 years, I have been questioning my patriotism. Wondering if I could ever love this country with the nationalist pride I see in other countries, wondering if the shame at our actions in the world will ever make me feel proud to be an American again. What Barack Obama makes me understand is that it is because I love this country that I am sad about its current state. It is because I am proud to be an American that I support a Democratic candidate who believes in the rights of all citizens to participate fully in this country, regardless of their race, religion, economic status, sex, or sexual orientation. It is because I am a patriot that I support a candidate who believes we can do better and who is where he is because he worked his ass off, not because he cashed in family favors. Barack Obama makes me hope. He embodies everything that is great about this country. I believe what he says, I believe in who he is, and I believe he will be the next president of the United States. A person like him may only come along once in my lifetime - and we are so fortunate as a nation that this brilliant man who has spent his life working for people has chosen this time to stand up and say "pick me." Let's not waste this opportunity. Please join me in supporting Barack Obama for President.

Please watch Barack's speech after the Iowa caucuses - it will make you swell with pride.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XB-sNaaaJRU

For more on Barack's campaign, go to http://www.barackobama.com/

Today I am in Chicago and have had quite an eventful day. First, I woke up to my carbon monoxide detector going off, so I called the fire department. Then, I accidentally armed my alarm system and that started going off - only problem there is that I have never enabled it so I didn't know what the code was! So that's blaring, the CM detector is chirping, and the fire engines are on their way. The firemen (all total southside Chicago guys...super nice to me but not exactly the hot fireman stereotype - I was crushed) got a moderatly low CM reading and called Peoples Gas to come out and take a look....turns out it was due an open fireplace damper and a dirty furnace filter. I am such a girl.