Today I am in Santa Barbara. I ran the Santa Barbara Wine Country Half Marathon earlier today and finished in 2:14:01!!! That's over EIGHT MINUTES better than my previous PR. I'm still in a state of disbelief that I finished so far ahead of my time in Cabo. Was it the fact I ran Valpo 3 weeks ago? The mostly downhill 2nd half of the course? The result of a good night's sleep? I really can't explain why or how I improved so much from Valpo (10 minutes improvement....) but I do recall being at the halfway point and knowing I was going to PR. There is a stunning contrast between feeling like crap almost from the start of Valpo, and this race where I felt great the whole way. And...about halfway through the course today I ran BY FAR the biggest hill of my life (a BFH, as we say in the biz).
The course was really beautiful - I would definitely do this race again. It wasn't well-organized (we waited in Solvang for about 45 minutes for the buses to pick us up so I didn't even cross the start line until more than 20 minutes after the official start) and there weren't any mile markers, but that wound up being a good thing because it was nice not to know how far I had to go (especially when I heard someone at the final water stop say were we at Mile 11 but it was really much closer to Mile 12.
Wow - what a day - I can't even express how proud I am. I really surprised myself today. Another great day to be alive, to be a runner, to mark yet another milestone in this amazing journey I've had in becoming an athlete. I am so thankful for this day to discover another dimension of my strength, my determination, my ability to achieve what I set out to do. I am over the moon!
Tomorrow it's off to Santa Ynez wine country, the home of Sideways!
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Saturday, May 3, 2008
Saturday, May 3
Today I am in Chicago. I wasn't intending to watch the Kentucky Derby today but I happened to turn on the television just as the horses were being led to the starting line. The race was exciting, but afterwards the runner-up fell to the track and it was soon learned that she broke both front ankles and was euthanized within minutes. This made me very sad.
I don't know why I've always felt a connection to horses - maybe it's my memories of being on the McKeever's farm, as it was just up the road from our house in Michigan. Maybe it's their big, brown eyes. But I remember very clearly what happened to Barbaro and how I, like countless others, marveled at his will to live and was so saddened when he finally succumbed to his injuries. Maybe my connection to horses is borne of the relationship that my family has always had with animals, whether it's treating our dogs like relatives or having so much respect for my sister's work at the Humane Society of the United States. Whatever that love is, and wherever it comes from, I felt so sad today watching that gorgeous girl and her tough race for second, only to be laid to rest on the very same track.
I don't know why I've always felt a connection to horses - maybe it's my memories of being on the McKeever's farm, as it was just up the road from our house in Michigan. Maybe it's their big, brown eyes. But I remember very clearly what happened to Barbaro and how I, like countless others, marveled at his will to live and was so saddened when he finally succumbed to his injuries. Maybe my connection to horses is borne of the relationship that my family has always had with animals, whether it's treating our dogs like relatives or having so much respect for my sister's work at the Humane Society of the United States. Whatever that love is, and wherever it comes from, I felt so sad today watching that gorgeous girl and her tough race for second, only to be laid to rest on the very same track.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Saturday, April 26
Today I am in Chicago, and technically it is Sunday but to me the day doesn't change until I have gone to sleep.
I was out with friends tonight and at some point the conversation turned to running. I was struck, not at all for the first time, that when this particular topic is raised my brain and body go into some sort of overdrive: I sit up straighter, I pay more attention to others' comments, I have many opportunities to give meaningful input. What I find even more interesting is that when I talk about running, people pay attention to what I'm saying. I don't mean that in a woe-is-me kind of way at all, but it strikes me that I have important things to say about running and that I am a pretty damn decent source of information on the subject. What strikes me even more is why on earth I don't just get off my ass (irony intended) and make this a bigger part of my life, i.e. take the plunge on opening a running store? I am utterly fascinated that I haven't done anything about this yet. I mean, how many people can say they know EXACTLY what they want to do, have the means to do it, and yet, somehow, don't do it? I must admit - the stronghold I've built around the idea that I won't succeed at this is quite impressive.
I was out with friends tonight and at some point the conversation turned to running. I was struck, not at all for the first time, that when this particular topic is raised my brain and body go into some sort of overdrive: I sit up straighter, I pay more attention to others' comments, I have many opportunities to give meaningful input. What I find even more interesting is that when I talk about running, people pay attention to what I'm saying. I don't mean that in a woe-is-me kind of way at all, but it strikes me that I have important things to say about running and that I am a pretty damn decent source of information on the subject. What strikes me even more is why on earth I don't just get off my ass (irony intended) and make this a bigger part of my life, i.e. take the plunge on opening a running store? I am utterly fascinated that I haven't done anything about this yet. I mean, how many people can say they know EXACTLY what they want to do, have the means to do it, and yet, somehow, don't do it? I must admit - the stronghold I've built around the idea that I won't succeed at this is quite impressive.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Sunday, April 20
Today I am in Boston and marathon fever is everywhere! My final time in Valpo was 2:24:31, which makes it my 2nd fastest half marathon by about a minute. My split had me doing 10:40 pace, and I slowed to 11:02 pace in the 2nd half. Nice faaaaade.....
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Saturday, April 19
Today I am in Chicago, and earlier I was in Valparaiso, IN where I ran the Valpo Mini Marathon (half marathon). I'm not sure yet of my final time but I think it was somewhere around 2:25, so it should be my second best finish. This was a tough one. I guess it's not supposed to be easy, but compared to how I felt in Cabo my last two races have been really challenging and somewhat frustrating. I only got about 3 hours of sleep the night before (and 5 the night before that) so I was pretty depleted of energy going into the race. Excuses, excuses. The frustrating thing about this one is that I totally had a chance for a PR but I was just worn out. I was at 1:50 right around 10 miles, so if I had been able to keep up a 10:00/min pace to the end I easily would have PR'd. Oh well - I'm glad I did it (my 6th half!) because I badly needed this race in advance of Santa Barbara on May 10.
A few things come to mind that I need to focus on in the days before SB:
1) Drink at least 64oz. of water every day in the week before a race.
2) I have to make sleep a priority - I can't go into another race on 3 hours sleep.
3) Pay more attention to my stress level, alcohol consumption, and what I'm eating. I wasn't particularly stressed going into this race because I had been in Palm Springs most of the week, but I wasn't sleeping for some reason (other than because I was having too much fun in PS to sleep!), and I definitely drank and ate more than usual in the Springs.
Tomorrow I go to Boston to cheer Sue on in the marathon, and then it's off to Dallas. Yee haw!
A few things come to mind that I need to focus on in the days before SB:
1) Drink at least 64oz. of water every day in the week before a race.
2) I have to make sleep a priority - I can't go into another race on 3 hours sleep.
3) Pay more attention to my stress level, alcohol consumption, and what I'm eating. I wasn't particularly stressed going into this race because I had been in Palm Springs most of the week, but I wasn't sleeping for some reason (other than because I was having too much fun in PS to sleep!), and I definitely drank and ate more than usual in the Springs.
Tomorrow I go to Boston to cheer Sue on in the marathon, and then it's off to Dallas. Yee haw!
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Thursday, April 17
Today I am in Los Angeles, at LAX to be exact, awaiting my delayed flight back to Chicago. Since I have some time I thought I would take this opportunity to voice my opinion on last night's Democratic Hit Job, er, Debate.
In a word? It sucked.
Charlie Gibson and George Snufalupagus should be ashamed of themselves. First of all, it wasn't a debate. The first 45 minutes were pure Sunday morning talk show, and a bad one at that (and GS should have shined here - it's his day job, for crying out loud - instead he sounded like a dimwitted Ross Perot). They had to give equal time to Hillary Clinton so for every question about Obama's past she would simply say that it was despicable, intolerable, regrettable, disrespectful, or some such bullshit. You all no I am no longer any kind of HRC fan but she had no chance in the first half to demonstrate any knowledge of the issues, which is her strong suit. My favorite moment of the debate was this exchange (apologies for the long paste):
MR. STEPHANOPOULOS: I want to give Senator Clinton a chance to respond, but first a follow-up on this issue, the general theme of patriotism in your relationships. A gentleman named William Ayers, he was part of the Weather Underground in the 1970s. They bombed the Pentagon, the Capitol and other buildings. He's never apologized for that. And in fact, on 9/11 he was quoted in The New York Times saying, "I don't regret setting bombs; I feel we didn't do enough."
An early organizing meeting for your state senate campaign was held at his house, and your campaign has said you are friendly. Can you explain that relationship for the voters, and explain to Democrats why it won't be a problem?
SEN. OBAMA: George, but this is an example of what I'm talking about.
This is a guy who lives in my neighborhood, who's a professor of English in Chicago, who I know and who I have not received some official endorsement from. He's not somebody who I exchange ideas from on a regular basis.
And the notion that somehow as a consequence of me knowing somebody who engaged in detestable acts 40 years ago when I was 8 years old, somehow reflects on me and my values, doesn't make much sense, George.
The fact is, is that I'm also friendly with Tom Coburn, one of the most conservative Republicans in the United States Senate, who during his campaign once said that it might be appropriate to apply the death penalty to those who carried out abortions.
Do I need to apologize for Mr. Coburn's statements? Because I certainly don't agree with those either....
....SEN. CLINTON: Well, I think that is a fair general statement, but I also believe that Senator Obama served on a board with Mr. Ayers for a period of time, the Woods Foundation, which was a paid directorship position.
And if I'm not mistaken, that relationship with Mr. Ayers on this board continued after 9/11 and after his reported comments, which were deeply hurtful to people in New York, and I would hope to every American, because they were published on 9/11 and he said that he was just sorry they hadn't done more. And what they did was set bombs and in some instances people died. So it is -- you know, I think it is, again, an issue that people will be asking about. And I have no doubt -- I know Senator Obama's a good man and I respect him greatly but I think that this is an issue that certainly the Republicans will be raising....
....SENATOR OBAMA: I'm going to have to respond to this just really quickly, but by Senator Clinton's own vetting standards, I don't think she would make it, since President Clinton pardoned or commuted the sentences of two members of the Weather Underground, which I think is a slightly more significant act than me --than me serving on a board with somebody for actions that he did 40 years ago.
Zing! That'll teach her to agree with Snufalupagus. So, we've sunk to new lows in campaigns, in attack ads, in blog posts, and now, as was, I suppose, inevitable, in political debates.
In a word? It sucked.
Charlie Gibson and George Snufalupagus should be ashamed of themselves. First of all, it wasn't a debate. The first 45 minutes were pure Sunday morning talk show, and a bad one at that (and GS should have shined here - it's his day job, for crying out loud - instead he sounded like a dimwitted Ross Perot). They had to give equal time to Hillary Clinton so for every question about Obama's past she would simply say that it was despicable, intolerable, regrettable, disrespectful, or some such bullshit. You all no I am no longer any kind of HRC fan but she had no chance in the first half to demonstrate any knowledge of the issues, which is her strong suit. My favorite moment of the debate was this exchange (apologies for the long paste):
MR. STEPHANOPOULOS: I want to give Senator Clinton a chance to respond, but first a follow-up on this issue, the general theme of patriotism in your relationships. A gentleman named William Ayers, he was part of the Weather Underground in the 1970s. They bombed the Pentagon, the Capitol and other buildings. He's never apologized for that. And in fact, on 9/11 he was quoted in The New York Times saying, "I don't regret setting bombs; I feel we didn't do enough."
An early organizing meeting for your state senate campaign was held at his house, and your campaign has said you are friendly. Can you explain that relationship for the voters, and explain to Democrats why it won't be a problem?
SEN. OBAMA: George, but this is an example of what I'm talking about.
This is a guy who lives in my neighborhood, who's a professor of English in Chicago, who I know and who I have not received some official endorsement from. He's not somebody who I exchange ideas from on a regular basis.
And the notion that somehow as a consequence of me knowing somebody who engaged in detestable acts 40 years ago when I was 8 years old, somehow reflects on me and my values, doesn't make much sense, George.
The fact is, is that I'm also friendly with Tom Coburn, one of the most conservative Republicans in the United States Senate, who during his campaign once said that it might be appropriate to apply the death penalty to those who carried out abortions.
Do I need to apologize for Mr. Coburn's statements? Because I certainly don't agree with those either....
....SEN. CLINTON: Well, I think that is a fair general statement, but I also believe that Senator Obama served on a board with Mr. Ayers for a period of time, the Woods Foundation, which was a paid directorship position.
And if I'm not mistaken, that relationship with Mr. Ayers on this board continued after 9/11 and after his reported comments, which were deeply hurtful to people in New York, and I would hope to every American, because they were published on 9/11 and he said that he was just sorry they hadn't done more. And what they did was set bombs and in some instances people died. So it is -- you know, I think it is, again, an issue that people will be asking about. And I have no doubt -- I know Senator Obama's a good man and I respect him greatly but I think that this is an issue that certainly the Republicans will be raising....
....SENATOR OBAMA: I'm going to have to respond to this just really quickly, but by Senator Clinton's own vetting standards, I don't think she would make it, since President Clinton pardoned or commuted the sentences of two members of the Weather Underground, which I think is a slightly more significant act than me --than me serving on a board with somebody for actions that he did 40 years ago.
Zing! That'll teach her to agree with Snufalupagus. So, we've sunk to new lows in campaigns, in attack ads, in blog posts, and now, as was, I suppose, inevitable, in political debates.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Wednesday, April 16
Today I am in Glendale, CA. I had four wonderful days in Palm Springs. The weather was spectacular and I had a much better time at the corporate events this year knowing what to expect in terms of not knowing anyone. As it happened, I wound up running into a man I had met over 4 years ago at a training class - we got to be fast friends that week, and at the time we were both married and he was living in Brazil. Now, we're both not married and he is living in New York. So....who knows where that will go but it was lovely to reconnect with an old friend, especially because it was such a surprise to see him after all these years.
Yesterday I had the privilege to hear from Nando Parrado, one of the Uruguayan rugby players whose plane crashed in the Andes in 1972. His story was amazing, and gave new meaning to the term "problem." I was talking to Mauricio (my long lost friend from Brazil) about it after; Mauricio has seen Nando speak a few times and in one of those talks he said that they would wake up some days thinking they were dead and had gone to hell. He said that he knows hell is not fire, it is ice. Imagine waking up and seeing nothing but snow and suffering and devastation and thinking that you were dead and in hell. That really blew my mind.
Tomorrow I have a meeting here in Glendale and then I'm going home. I haven't been gone this long in a while, and I'm looking forward to being back in my own bed.
Yesterday I had the privilege to hear from Nando Parrado, one of the Uruguayan rugby players whose plane crashed in the Andes in 1972. His story was amazing, and gave new meaning to the term "problem." I was talking to Mauricio (my long lost friend from Brazil) about it after; Mauricio has seen Nando speak a few times and in one of those talks he said that they would wake up some days thinking they were dead and had gone to hell. He said that he knows hell is not fire, it is ice. Imagine waking up and seeing nothing but snow and suffering and devastation and thinking that you were dead and in hell. That really blew my mind.
Tomorrow I have a meeting here in Glendale and then I'm going home. I haven't been gone this long in a while, and I'm looking forward to being back in my own bed.
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