Westward tomorrow...

A week in cargo shorts and chacos (my uniform of choice) has passed quickly and my latest visit to "spa Bueken," aka the home of my parents, will come to a close tomorrow when I fly back to Seattle. It's been a good, warm week and I've slept and eaten very well as always. I also have had my feet on the beach every day I've been here...so nice. Yesterday we went to the movies and saw "Marley and Me" (I cried as much as when I read the book, yikes) and today we did a short trip over to the neighbor island, Jekyll, for lunch and a little sight-seeing.

In anticipation of sitting on airplanes all day tomorrow (and killing the very last piece of the Christmas cheesecake tonight), I got in a bunch of workouts today. I went for another 4 mile run on the beach (hamstring hurt, but the scenery and stretching a lot before/after helped)...then to the gym for an outdoor swim with my mom after breakfast...then back to the gym in the late afternoon for a spin class. I hadn't taken a spin class yet on this visit and it's always good to do at least one and get in the experience of a southern-influenced ride. Usually, this means a drawling and somewhat cheerleader-ish instructor playing country and christian music with several intermittent "whoo-hoo!" yells, but this time the teacher was a guy named, George, who was probably in his 50s. George had slightly less drawl than most of the health club staff and he was sucking down a venti cup of Starbucks on his bike in between swigs from his water bottle...however, he did kick my butt and the southern influence was still there as the music included one Lynard Skynard song and 2 Willie Nelson cool down songs.

I must admit, I do have a soft spot for visiting the whole southern scene and have found myself saying things like, "yes, ma'am" and "y'all" here and there. I didn't eat any grits this time, but the my mom's cooking has been steallar and the last dinner of the vacation my mom has made (upon my request, god love her) is another big heap of fresh boiled shrimp...YUM.

It's a nice place to visit...but...

So here are a few reasons why it's GREAT to visit St. Simon's Island, GA for the holiday week...

1. Record high temps of about 80 degrees 2 days after Christmas. I took this attempt at an artsy photo today as I was walking the beach in shorts and a tank top with my feet in the water, wishing I'd packed my wetsuit for a swim:


The format of today was basically this, with a few breaks in between for meals and an errand to care for some friends' dog:

Run/walk on the beach
Nap on the beach
Read on the beach
Walk the beach text messaging with people in Seattle who would really appreciate this scene

2. My mom & stepdad who are way fun beach buddies and who go to the gym and appreciate happy hour as much as I do...my mom and I had a good workout yesterday on weights and in the outdoor pool at the island health club. How many other 40-somethings can brag about their mom like I can?

And now let's just contrast the reasons to visit with the reasons for me NOT to live here...I think this bumper sticker is pretty much 'nuff said:

WTF?

And then there were the 6 dudes (I'm guessing they were also Georgia Bulldawgs) on the beach next to us today, several of whom were literally peeing on the wooden fence in the public parking area at about 4:30 p.m. when they and we (unfortunately timed our exit and) were leaving the beach...

The good news about the "run on the beach" part of today was that I did exactly that...my first run in several weeks. I've still been feeling the stupid hamstring, but have been pretty diligent about stretching lately and decided I couldn't pass up the chance to run on the beach. I stretched, walked a warm up, ran 4 miles, walked, and stretched again...I felt the hamstring during and after, but it wasn't horrific...I'm calling it a success. I really want to have my running self back and healthy in '09...I miss it.

New Christmas carol from the Beatles?

I always find it a bit odd how you can get on a plane in one kind of weather and get off to a completely different world --I love it, but it's a little wierd. I left Seattle late on Christmas Eve after a(nother) day of watching more snow dump on everything and navigating the city with big boots and my trusty 4 wheel drive. I had dinner with my pal, Dave, on Alki and then he shuttled me to the airport where I tossed my hiking boots and heavy socks in the back of his car. DONE with those for a while, thankfully. I put on my flip flops and boarded the redeye flights for the south. On Christmas Day, I got off the plane in Jacksonville to my mom & stepdad (also in flip flops), 75 degrees, and sun. Ahhhhh. As soon as we got home, my mom put the turkey in the oven and I put on shorts and took off in her car for the beach... where I had a long walk and did a little decompression of the last week(s)...more of that to come, for sure. I love my mom's cabrio (see photo above!) and am psyched that it's my ride for the week.

There were a lot of people on the beach flying kites, walking dogs, and playing frisbee. I saw some guys who were playing bocce' ball and "Good Day Sunshine" was playing on their boom box. I decided that song should be filed under "Christmas carols" in my head henceforth. After my walk was the usual great family dinner which included my mom's awesome stuffing and my favorite cheesecake--both of which were made in enough volume to create leftovers for me to keep eating for days...perfect. We watched "Mamma Mia" and then I crashed hard and slept for about 11 hours.

Today is foggy, but it should burn off...I'm pretty resolute on my plan to see/walk the beach every day I'm here and wear socks only when it's absolutely necessary.

MORE snow...

I honestly don't think I've seen this much snow in my life...even the year I lived in Chicago. I'm actually starting to miss seeing pavement.

Yesterday morning, I met some girls at Voluteer Park for a sledding adventure. April & Becky had hosted a dinner party on Saturday night and busted out their serving trays to use as sleds. They were more successful than I was in navigating these things...on my 2nd run, I ended up in a backwards somersault and felt my neck go, "munch..." It hurt the rest of the day and I'm still feeling it a bit today. Here are some of us with the tray-sleds:

After the morning play session, April & Becky came over to the Shoebox for brunch. My afternoon entertainment was 45 minutes on the bike trainer watching the Seahawks on TV and the snow dumping outside my windows...it just kept coming down.

The late afternoon/evening was spent with the same girls plus a few more on a bit of a pub crawl around Capitol Hill. We did some bad karoke at the Crescent, went to the Saint, and ended up at Purr. In between locations, we joined a group of about 100 Seattleites who'd congregated at the top of the Olive/Denny St. Hill. There were lots of sledders---manyof whom were pretty tanked---zooming down the hill (which has been closed to cars for about 3 days) toward downtown. I was waiting for the Advil to help my earlier tumble and limited my entertainment to watching. The funniest thing about this scene were the random and crazy items people were using as sleds...there was a huge pink surfboard (usually with about 4 people on it), metal mixing bowls, a dog bed, pieces of garbage cans, miscellaneous plastic things, stolen real estate and restaurant signs, a desk chair floor mat, and quite a few other random items. It was quite a scene. When I did my now daily walk downtown to the gym this morning, I went by the same hill and it looked like a garbage dump. There were piles of the once-sleds and all the beer cans and boxes all over the hill, it was pretty gross:

When I got back to the Shoebox a few minutes ago, I dug my car out from under more than a foot of snow and started it just to make sure it'd fire up. It did and I'm currently in the midst of deciding whether to road trip down to Olympia overnight to see Heather & Chase or whether to join the group on the Hill for a potluck...I'm itching to get out of my 2-mile radius, but it could be a little dicey getting to I-5...

First quarter DONE!!

I wish I had a dollar for every one of these snow-caused fender benders around town...I saw this one today on Capitol Hill when I was on (my now daily) ice hike downtown.
There were no humans in sight of these marooned cars (and btw, don't you love that one of them is a Subaru with a ski carrier on the top...you'd think this might not be the most likely vehicle for this kind of mishap, right?!)...guess the drivers are just staying warm somewhere and waiting it out at this point.

Today started out sunny, beautiful, and COLD--like in the teens. Many of the streets were still covered, but not in snow, it was almost solid ice. This made it more difficult to find crunchier stuff to walk on and get any traction, but still fun to be out walking. I haven't started my car since Wednesday and am hoping it'll still fire up when this stuff melts! I also need the weather to change so I can wash my favorite XC ski pants that I've been wearing every single day! I'm starting to run out of running tights aka long underwear, too...

I hiked down to the gym for a swim and then to school where we were able to do our last practical exams...yea! A bunch of people made it in today and it was fun to have a classroom full of massages going on and most of our teachers there--really good energy. My friend, Mari, and I exchanged massages and got our final practical exams checked off. YEA!! I'm a third of the way through school and now on break until January 12! Whoop! By the time we all got done, it was about 3:00 p.m.and snowing yet again. Most people made a run for their buses and cars, but 4 of us went to Happy Hour at Southlake Grill to celebrate the end of our first quarter. I walked part of the way home with Laura and when we parted ways at 12th & John I slipped and fell on the icy/snowy sidewalk. How nice that I managed not to wipe out for the last 3 days when hiking up the icy hills alone, but bit it when I was with someone else.

Most of the Saturday night social options have deteriorated tonight due to the weather, but April & Becky may lead the charge out for some night sledding later at Volunteer Park...

Snow blast continues...

The snow blast/ice roads continued today and, again, school was closed. However, I was really fortunate/lucky that one of our instructors went in to school in case any of us could make it. I was the only one who could/did and was more than happy to hike down the hill and get my hardest exam checked off. Shew! It was great to get that one done.

My car has not been started now in about 48 hours, but my trusty hiking boots have logged quite a few miles! As much as I prefer 80 degrees and sunny, I'm kind of digging the snow scene this time. It's fun to be out and about and the sun today on yesterday's snow was really cool.

After I finished my kinesiology final downtown, I went to the gym. I was on the hamster machine watching the noon news when a story came on TV that I could also partially see out the window of the gym....

Why in the sam hell a bus driver --wait, make that 2 of them--- would go down the Thomas St. hill when it's a sheet of ice is beyond me, but it certainly made the news...and my little workout...and my walk home...more interesting. Things are still pretty dang icy and I decided late this afternoon (when one of my carpool buddies got sick) to ditch out on a party I really wanted to attend in Ballard.

Just after I reluctantly ditched the party idea, Becky proposed happy hour part deaux at Liberty...a few of us rallied and had another really fun evening with Andrew, the super cool owner, at Liberty. Tonight he indulged Becky's tequila interest and gave us a few tastings that were a bit more my speed than the bourbon last night. I also expressed interest in one of the cool bottles and, when we left, Andrew had emptied it and gave it to me. I had admitted earlier in the day that I think Andrew is great ("man crush!" Becky texted back to me), but I don't even know HOW to flirt with a dude and I'm going to brush off Stacia and Becky's accusations that I was doing so. The bottle is way cool, though, and I will seek a good use for it in the Shoebox!

Snow Blast 2008!!

Here's what my neighborhood looked like today!

Yesterday was a classic example of Seattle snow-phobia...schools were closed, the local news was amped, and it was all anticipation with no precipitation. Our school was open, though, and we had a review for today's big kinesiology test (definitely the hardest final of all our classes). After school last night, I knew I should study, but I went to Tatyana's for a walk, dinner, and a do-it-yourself tarot card reading with her new deck of cards. We had a fun walk near Lake Washington looking at Christmas lights, she made some great pasta, and next thing I knew it was after 9 p.m. when I was headed home. I tried to study a little bit and went to bed at 11:00 feeling a bit guilty and under-prepped.

I woke up this morning at 5:40 to THUNDER...huh??? I looked out and thought it was foggy, then switched on the TV and realized it was dumping SNOW. School was closed soon after...the universe had somehow rewarded my lack of studying with at least one more day till the test. Although I was really hoping to get 2 finals done today, I also love a snow day...and definitely needed some study time.

Living on the hill is great for a snow day---I was able to completely enjoy it without getting cabin fever and without having to even consider getting in my car. I lounged around with my coffee, walked downtown to the gym for a nice swim, went to a coffee shop to study, went for a walk with Martha and her pugs, and grocery shopped...as soon as I got home and was thinking about baking some holiday stuff, I got the heads-up from Stacia that some fun girls who also live on the hill were going to Liberty for Happy Hour. Sweet! I put on my snow gear for the 3rd time today and headed out yet again to meet them. They hadn't received the fish order for sushi at Liberty, so April & Becky went across the street and got us a pizza. We also had Andrew, the super cool bartender and owner of Liberty, educate us on several kinds of bourbon when somebody ordered a Maker's Mark. He brought us several samples and told us all about it. I'm not exactly a bourbon drinker, but it was kind of interesting (and throat warming) to try a few mini samples. We heart Andrew! I walked part way home with Stacia who had used her XC skis for transportation, pretty cool.


Throughout the day I saw some crazy car gymnastics, some wackos on bikes (one of whom was wearing ski goggles but no helmet), some kamikaze sledders, and watched a lot of happy dogs having fun in the snow. I also got to practice a little massage on Becky's feet at Happy Hour as they were really cold. And in between it all, I actually reviewed the 30 muscles I need to (hope to!) know when my test actually happens. I also swam a mile in the pool just to see how long it would take and did it in 26:07 with no warm up. I'm calling it a good day!

Furry fun

I'm currently dogsitting 2 of the cutest labs on the planet, Winnie and Maddie (oh, yeah, there's a cat around here, too somewhere... as evidenced by loud meows at all hours of the night that sound like a small child who's very cold, hungry, or in pain though clearly this obese feline is none of these...but I digress from the protagonists of the story, the dogs and yours truly). Winnie and Maddie are 3 year old litter mates and cute, cute, cute, dontcha think???

Here's Winnie:

This is Maddie

This is "We're sitting for a cookie, why is that camera phone in our face?" pose

These wonderful creatures (and me until tomorrow) live in Ballard where, like everywhere else in the Seattle area, "SNOWSTORM 2008" hit last night. This storm-- which has been over-predicted for several days-- actually happened (!) and snow fell last night until past midnight.

I was scheduled to work this morning at the 12 K's of Christmas Fun Run in Kirkland with an arrival time of 5:00 a.m. After a beer and dinner with my pal, Lisa, at the 74th St. Ale House last night, I came home and attempted to crash early. This was unsuccessful for several reasons: (1) my head was way too busy, (2) 2 dogs in the bed leaves less-than-optimal space for a human (this does not help my body image, suddenly I feel too big for a bed?!), and (3)the snow/road conditions + alarm set for 4:00 a.m. I got up at 11:00 to watch the news, the snow, and a bit of SNL while the dogs didn't budge out of the bed (after all, why should they?). I think I finally slept from about 12:30 - 3:30 and then was UP again. I fed the dogs (who were like, "Food at 4 a.m., cool, you can dog sit anytime!") and enlisted their help for a quick walk and road condition assessment, trying not to think about how wacko it is to be walking in the freezing cold at 4 a.m. on a Sunday. Things weren't too frozen, so I decided to get out there and go to Kirkland with my biggest ski coat, toe and hand warmers, lobster gloves, boots...and a marginal attitude. The drive was no problem and I got to the site to meet up with my friend, Karra, and the other race prep peeps.

We set things up for the race for an hour or so at which time the Race Directors said that the Kirkland police might cancel the race due to slip 'n slide ice conditions...we had to wait till 7:00ish for a decision, during which time we idled at least half a tank of someone's gas blasting heat in a truck to sauna level temperatures. The cops cancelled the race and I was free to bail at 8:00 a.m....let's just say I was not disappointed.

I got home and took the doggies to a local school ball field for a little illegal off-leash action. On the way there, I did a little impromptu skating as 2 energetic 70ish pound labs pulled on their leashes in anticipation. They are really good on leash, but get pretty excited before a play session. Fortunately, I stayed upright, albeit leash tangled here and there. After some swearing and near misses of my butt-on-pavement, we arrived at the field to find at least 10 other outlaw dogs playing off leash in the snow with their humans. Good times. They are a blast to watch as Maddie will fetch endlessly as if impersonating a cheetah (ok, that's an embellishment, but she is crazy fast), and Winnie chases Maddie, never the ball. Yesterday we were at Golden Gardens where they turned into 4-legged mudballs, but today the grass and snow prevented a chilly post play hose session.

Not sure what's on the schedule for the rest of the suddenly free day...perhaps a nap or some studying. This week is finals week and I have 4 to go including one big one on Thursday. I can't believe the first quarter is almost over already!

Turkey day weekend

5-day weekends are a really really good idea. I'm in the middle of the long Thanksgiving weekend and enjoying the break after the first 2 months of school.

The Seattle Half (and full) marathon is going on right now, but obviously, I'm not running it this year. My hamstring situation is still preventing anything resembling a normal running schedule and I'm continuing the trigger point pain release treatments from the gurus. I'm really hoping to be able to run pain-free again at some point, but am really frustrated in the meantime...I keep losing my patience and running 1-2 times per week, but I'm not sure that's such a great idea. I did the Howe St. stairs yesterday before a guru treatment and my quads are pretty mad at me today...it's been 4 months since Troika and I barely feel like a triathlete anymore.

So enough about running, let's talk about food. Thanksgiving was way fun. Chase went to the east coast this year and I claimed her spot at the table with Heather and went with her to her family's in Montesano. Let's just say that there was SO much food that even after 20 people had dinner, there was hardly a dent made in the food volume and it looked as though dinner had yet to be served. Super yum. Heather's mom, Candy, is a chef and owns the restaurant Savory Faire in Montesano. She also has a really cool BIG kitchen in their house with an island that's a huge cutting board---you can actually chop on it, it's not just for show. Heather and I got to her parents' house fairly early so we could help a little with the cooking...we were hungry already and Candy whipped up a frittata-- basically in her peripheral vision-- for us while all the other things were simultanously in motion the bigger dinner prep...impressive. The wine was opened just before noon and I had a blast using huge restaurant sized bowls and knives (really big ones!) and helping with the cooking (OK, it was more like just having a front row seat to watch the production, but I did do a little work on the stuffing). I'm also proud to report that Candy taught me a new way to cut onions. We went back and forth to the restaurant twice for supplies and it became apparent early in the cooking process that Candy is second only to Julia Childs in the use of butter...we're talking big hunks of it melting all over the place for various dishes. My "Cooking Light" tendencies went out the window and it was a real holiday. We (ok, she) even made a green bean casserole that was totally from scratch, down to the homemade onion straws for the top---no canned soup (it was real sour cream) or anything pre-fab in this one. I had a great time...by the time I got home to the Shoebox it was 9 p.m. and I fell into bed.

The rest of the weekend has been pretty mellow...Seujan and I went to see the kid's first JV basketball game last night and I've done a little studying, a bit of working out, and a lot of relaxing...nice to have some down time before the last few weeks of the quarter and finals coming up...

Hey-Hey, Ho-Ho

Prop 8 has got to GO!!

These are some pics from the Proposition 8 Protest rally yesterday in Seattle...great event! Leave it to gay people to turn a protest about the lack of civil rights into a bit of gay pride in November. After a morning run, I went to a little pre-rally mimosa party yesterday morning before a group of us went to Volunteer Park for the gathering and the big march. We ended up with this cool flag and ran up to the front of the march, landing us within the big photo in the newspaper today (OK, you had to look really hard to see us, but we'll take it). Anyway, it was awesome and there were something like 7,000 people there.

After the march, I went to see a super massage guru at a running shop in Lynnwood about my hamstring. This 76 year old guy is amazing and does killer trigger point/pain release work with the assistance of some crazy machines that are like, well, little body jack-hammers. It was unlike any treatment I've ever had and pretty amazing--nothing like the stuff I'm learning in massage school, that's for sure. I'm definitely going back to him and am hoping he can become a bit of a mentor to me...he works primarily on runners/athletes and knows a ton.

After the marching and the hammering, I met the usual suspects back on the hill last night for Hot Flash and a bit more vodka than may have been neccesary...much fun as always. It was a totally fun day and the studying work ethic was, um, pretty much toast.

I studied a little today (still not enough, but the books were cracked, I promise), got in another nice outdoor bike ride, and made some guac burgers with Seujan. She is training for a crazy 50 mile trail run in about 3 weeks and had run 20 miles yesterday and 26 today...it's possible she's really the nutcase I always believed her to be...I mean, really, WHO DOES THAT, right?

School continues to be great although I have a test and a practical in my kinesiology class on Thursday that could be a bit of a challenge...last week in that class, I got to be the muscle model. Our instructor,Michael, used me as a demo and drew on my back with magic markers to outline the muscles. Then we all drew on each others' backs and it was really pretty cool. The only problem was in the practical class later that day when we were doing massage on each other and getting the marker ink all over our hands, the sheets, and our shirts...I think the last of it finally came off of me in the pool the next morning. Anyway...yeah, there's a test on Thursday that will probably be a bit harder than all the other tests so far. I've taken my muscle flashcards to bed with me a few times, but the information didn't magically jump into my dreams or my memory upon waking...I may have to actually study.

Mellow Saturday

Another week of school flew by and it appears I'm already about halfway through the first quarter already...wow. Although I'm happily settled in to student mode, I'm still pretty tired a lot and have been really wiped out at the end of many school days. This week, I had another test and learned tons of new stuff in the hands-on classes including a great neck sequence--I zonked out about 3 times on the table in class that day when I was the recipient!

Despite being pretty tired all week, I kept the usual workout schedule and actually went for a run (2 in one week!) Wednesday after school...my hamstring is still pretty friggin' cranky, but I had another fresh air craving and went out for a 4-miler just as it was getting dark. The other highlights of the week were, of course, the election (which, fortunately, Obama slam-dunked before my bed time), going to Tatyana's for dinner on Thursday (what luxury---dinner made for me!), and having my new pal from School, Shannon and her partner, Emily, and Seujan over for dinner on Friday night. I made some killer chicken chili and cornbread if I say so myself.

This morning I was hoping to go out on my bike, but it was pouring. I got out my bike trainer and the 3 episodes of "Grey's Anatomy" I've taped over the last few weeks and settled in for an indoor ride. As soon as I really started sweating, there was a sun break outside and no more rain. By then, though, I was committed to my workout plan and absorbed in Grey's, so I stayed put and made it 2 hours on the bike...my butt and nether regions fell asleep at about the end of the first episode, but I took a quick break and regained feeling in all of my parts soon thereafter. Later this afternoon I walked down to Broadway and met Cathy and Cara at the movies to see "Happy Go Lucky." Unfortunately, the title of the film seemed to represent the writer's work ethic while creating the screenplay; the movie had no plot...all 3 of us walked out saying, "WHAT was that movie about???" as we walked to Siam for some good Thai food and conversation...good mellow Saturday.

I heart groceries!

Today is my mom's birthday...go mom!!!

My hamstring is still producing a dull roar most of the time, but I got fed up with waiting to go running (and starting to feel like I'm not really a triathlete anymore) and took myself to Greenlake yesterday for a run. I did a nice flat 4 miler in between rainstorms and got reaquainted with my running shoes. The hamstring is annoyed, but it isn't too much more pissed off than usual today. I must admit that there are some other sore things, though, that I'm feeling...kind of embarrassing that a 4-mile run made me sore, but I haven't run in a month so I guess it makes sense...yikes. As my mom, the birthday girl, would say, "Getting old is not for sissies." Augh.

This morning it was back to the pool. A few weeks ago Julie decided that we should stay a little later on Mondays and do 4,000 yards. This was the 3rd 4,000 yard Monday and it was a great workout, but tough...went to the gym later and definitely felt it.

Today was also my first no-work Monday as last week was the end of my time at the ADA...I'd like to say I was incredibly productive today with a totally wide open day, but, well...let's be honest and call it marginally productive. I did complete a poorly drawn diagram of the 3 layers of the skin with my colored pencils (thank god, our anatomy teacher says it will not be graded on artistic merit), installed MSN messenger (cause I need a 3rd means for IM'ing besides on gmail and facebook), and, upon worrying about my finances yet again consulted craigslist. I answered an ad to be in a focus group about grocery stores and got a call tonight. Looks like I'll be hanging out for 2 hours with other shoppers in the 35-44 age range to talk about grocery shopping next Wednesday evening! I was quite happy that one of the screening questions was whether I enjoy grocery shopping and I could tell Louise, the nice phone screener lady who was following her script very carefully, that I do, indeed LOVE it! Can't wait to go talk about food for 2 hours and make $75 next week!

Hopefully, this is Obama-eve...looking forward to seeing what happens with the election tomorrow.

How is it November already?

Holy smokes, how have 4 weeks of school already gone by??? This week flew...I was told that it must mean I'm pretty engaged in what I'm doing if the time is flying by so fast. True, I'm still really digging it and I think Tuesday was my favorite day of school yet. I had my first 2 quizzes on Wednesday and Thursday of this week and it appears that my brain is still capable of digesting academic content...good news there. I also made a new friend from the other day class at school which makes me pretty happy, too.

I just realized that I haven't blogged in a week and the week went by so fast I'm not even sure I can remember what to report! I had my last day of working at the ADA this week, so I cleaned up my cube and had a little send off from my colleagues which included a gift of a gift card to "Waking Life," a very cool massage supply store. Can't wait to go buy some more oil flavors to try! It was a little wierd, but really good to wrap things up there (although giving up my 24/7 downtown parking pass was downright painful).

I was lucky to get in a few nice sunny bike rides last weekend (Saturday, Sunday, and Monday) and walked to school once this week, too...but the weather is changing and this morning I realized that I hadn't been outside for a workout since Monday---deeee-pressing. I was pleasantly surprised this morning, though, when I got up and it was just gray and NOT actually raining YET (despite the forecast of rain/showers until the end of time). I got myself moving early and was out on my bike before 9:00 for a good 42 mile ride around the south end of the lake. I successfully beat the rain (whoo-hoo!) and had a really good ride...got home before noon and had plenty of time to prep for a practice massage on Seujan this afternoon.

The time changes tonight and it's fine with me to have an extra hour of sleep...or perhaps an extra hour of studying if I can quit screwing around so much (and doing things like blogging) when I SHOULD be studying...).

Bike a cold, starve a fever?

I have a stupid cold. I'm pretty sure I caught it at school as my massage swap partner from Wednesday's class was really sick on Thursday and by about Thursday night my throat started getting scratchy...ggrrrr. However, as usual, I'm sort of in denial about it and decided that "Feed a cold, starve a fever" could be replaced by "Beer a cold..." last night --i.e. 2 beers at happy hour with Anh-- and "Bike a cold..." today. I studied a bit this morning, drank tea and vitamin C stuff, and had to get out when the sun started showing up around noon. The extra volume in my head deflated in the cool fresh air and I had a really great 44 mile snot blowing ride over Mercer Island and around the south end of the lake. The fall colors are really pretty and it was great to be out in some sun. Of course, my head is expanding again now that I'm back indoors and took a shower...but it was well worth it.! I'm going to see a movie called, "Steam" with some people at the film festival in a while and will do my best not to be too disruptively sniffy...

The highlights of school yesterday included 3 of my 19-year-old classmates showing me some YouTube video of cage fighting that they really thought I would love because, well, they do (I had to say, "um, not so much..." within the first 10 seconds when there was blood and, of course, fighting) and later creating a limerick with Mari about "Strains." The class was broken up into small groups to research different pathologies and encouraged to creatively present them to the class. My rhyming was in classic form (if I say so myself) and I made up 3 verses about my hamstring and why massage would be helpful for it. I was glad we weren't assigned to research athritis like a couple of the other groups--I mean what the hell rhymes with rhumatoid or arthrits? I can't remember much of it now, but it started out with "In my hamstring I have this damn pain..." Our performance was well received.

school-induced narcolepsy

One of the best things about massage school is getting bodywork several days per week...I swear I didn't think about that little perk when I decided to do this, but it is pretty great. On Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, our afternoon classes usually include exchanging/practicing on a partner and today I finally found my ideal partner: Jessica, the person who prefers to receive in the first part of class, allowing whoever she's working with (I'll be fighting to be this person henceforth) to finish the day horizontal on a table as the receiver. The bummer, of course, is having to get back off the table after a full day of school and get somewhere quickly or get in a second work out...I've been a little, um, narcoleptic during practice sessions a few times this week...I've always said that they never should have phased out the afternoon nap after kindergarten and I'm happy to have a few of them back as I've been pretty beat these last few weeks. Despite being tired, though, I can say at the end of week 3 that I'm still really digging school and am learning a lot. Our Thursday afternoon teacher is a little "out there" and we love him...today he wanted to show us some tools that were a little "out of the box," and by the end of the afternoon, Jessica and I got to practice standing and kneeling on each other's hamstrings and also standing on the soles of each other's feet (i.e. one person on the table and the other one walking around on the person on the table). It was a good day. Next week I have my first 2 tests...

Squished in before and after school have been the usual workouts...well, usual except for the continued absence of running due to the damn hamstring...but swimming is great, biking has been mostly great, too, and hamstering on the elliptical machine at the gym has allowed me to pretend that I might not completely lose all my running fitness before I can run again...I think I'm going to continue on running hiatus until at least the end of this month...sigh.

The fall is flying by and I can't believe the end of October is in a week---sometimes summer seems like a minute ago and sometimes like years ago. I noticed today when I wrote down the date somewhere that it was my half birthday...after all the changes in the last year, it kinda makes me wonder how various things will look by my real birthday...hm. I damn well better have a functioning hamstring by then.

Fallin' for fall?

Last night I had a rare moment of restraint and chose not to go to Happy Hour with Anh...It was quite the dilemma and not an easy decision, but I was quite happy with my choice to re-group a little after week #2 of school and chill. I made a low budget dinner, studied a little with Jenny's dogs and then rewarded myself with 2 episodes of "Dalllas Cowboy Cheerleaders: Making the Team" on CMT. Ah, trash tv at its finest and the first 2 episodes of the new season were on (I know, how could there have been ONE season, much less 3!?) I love America. And cable. I was psyched to lounge on the couch and laughed out loud several times while texting various people to tell them they should be watching it, too. I stayed up till 10:30 before sleeping 9 good hours to start the weekend.

Today has been another gorgeous fall day...although I definitely prefer summer and 80-85 degrees, I have to admit that the fall season is growing on me. Sunshine and fall colors made for a good solo double loop bike ride around Mercer Island...got in 42 miles. One highlight of the ride was the observation of real PAVING of the chunky pavement between Leschi and Madrona...there will be some blissful smooth blacktop for the next bike ride down there and it's about time (could somebody send that crew to the Burke Gilman trail next, please?)! The next stop is the gay/lesbian film fest with Chase & Heather, then Hot Flash...and if I can stay awake, SNL!

Tubercles, condyles and fossas, oh my!

The last time I took anatomy and kinesiology was...um...about 22 years ago (yes, more years ago than the age of several of my classmates). I've been forced to admit that I may have forgotten a few things since then. Today in our kines class we had to locate a whole bunch of bones (like almost all of 'em) and boney landmarks. A lot of things sounded familiar, but I needed all the book photos and the help of my group-mates playing with a big skeleton to find it all. Fortunately, we had a few breaks in the middle as my head got a bit full and walking around the block seemed like a really good idea. It was another really good day, though, and the practical sessions yesterday and today were awesome...I even got some nice positive feedback from the instructors this afternoon about my body mechanics. I feel like there's a LOT to learn, but a lot has happened already and I'm looking forward to working on my friends soon. I'm really impressed with our instructors and the way everything is wholistic and integrated...it's really cool and I'm totally digging it. and liking my classmates more and more, too.

I'm hanging with Jenny's dogs and cat till next Tuesday and have been rallying them for kibble and a quick game of fetch-in-the-dark every day at 5:30 a.m. so I can rush off to work out. They are more reliable than the U.S. Postal service in their enthusiasm for fetching (cold, rain, dark...they beg for more) and they could go on and on and on...I play with them twice a day and am starting to fear for my rotator cuff! One of the dogs, Ruby, has been sleeping with me (for some reason I've been spared of them both being in my bed and actually have a little bed space) and I've slept like a rock every night, dreaming a lot of wacky busy stuff...I think it's just my subconscious taking a big burp with all the new stuff happening and settling in to school life. I've been in bed before 9:30 every night, but have craved a bit more sleep and recovery than I've been getting. I keep thinking I'll catch up over the weekend, but then I realize that I have a shitload of stuff going on this weekend, too...

This morning I went home to the Shoebox for a morning spin on the trainer and got in a short hamster session after school. Not so easy to do a late afternoon workout after a busy day, especially after swapping massage practice and feeling much more like a nap than a second workout...I was proud of myself for dragging my butt into the gym!

Tomorrow is Friday...sweet.

School is cool

It's week #2 of school and I'm still really liking it...I had a great day at school today (my Ethics Class and the teacher rocks) and also managed to get in a hamster session at the gym before school and a short (brisk, brr!) bike ride after. We learned petrissage today in the afternoon class and I volunteered to be the demo person... which meant that I got to be worked on by an instructor and then again by my swap partner of the day, Mari. Sweet! It was a really great deal, but meant I didn't get to SEE the demo that had been done on me by the teacher...and I've recently discovered (via a learning styles test we are taking) that I'm a visual more than a kinesthetic learner, so I might not try to be the first volunteer to be the demo in the future.

Anyway, I've learned effleurage and petrissage and tomorrow is friction. Bring it! I have planned practice sessions for this coming weekend to work on Tatyana and Liz...hopefully, I can put enough of this stuff together to imitate an actual massage. Yea for willing guinea pigs!

I'm still feeling like I have a lot of plates spinning and adjusments happening, especially with dog/house-sitting this week, but it's possible I'll get them spinning in synch...well, maybe.

Brain out of retirement

If chasing one's tail were an Olympic event, I'd have medalled this week...gold. Between a new schedule, bringing my brain out of retirement and into school mode, beagle and house-sitting, work outs, and some social stuff (somehow I managed to have plans every night but one this past week), I was pretty dang frazzled. Let's just say I'm reviewing my time management skills and next week will be (must be) different... I haven't NEEDED a weekend as much as I did yesterday in a loooonnnnggg time. But it feels great to have my head and energy wrapped around something new and very cool...I'm totally digging school! There are about 18 people in my class and, thank god(dess), I'm not the only one in my age group...there are about 3 of us. Of course, I'm old enough to be the parent of several (ok most) of my classmates, but it kind of keeps things interesting. One cool thing I noticed this week was that I was in tornado mode during almost all parts of every single day EXCEPT when I was actually in class at school...the place and the people have good energy and I was able to "land" and engage when I was in class.

It appears that I've started a house and dog sitting business on the side without really trying...I've had 3 dog-sit gigs back to back and just got another one starting tomorrow which will go for about 8 days. I'm pretty psyched to be re-locating up to Jenny P's house to hang out with her 2 cool dogs, Ruby and Rafiki and Noodle, the cat. These little gigs are helping to offset the financial crunch of school and things like, oh, spending $103 at Office Depot today for school supplies (a girl NEEDS colored pencils for the anatomy books, you know, but holy crap that stuff is expensive).

My stupid freakin' hamstring is still not 100% functional, not even close. I ran 4 miles on Tuesday (my only run in 5 weeks) and it got all mad again. I went to PT yesterday and Kristen gave me the "no go" for running for at least a week again and, of course, she found something else I'm doing mechanically wrong and gave me some exercises for my iliopsoas...augh.

After the deluge of week #1, I have a substantial to-do list this weekend. I knocked out a few things so far, but what I knew I needed most and first was a good long bike ride. Today was a cool but gorgeous sunny fall day and I went around the north end of Lake Washington...got in 50 miles and it was exactly perfect. I now feel more like myself again and ready to tackle a few more things...tomorrow...cause there's a Libra-palooza party tonight!

Beagle in da house!

This week I'm dog-sitting my favorite beagle, Rosie...it's my 3rd week in a row with a dog/house-sitting gig (thank you, universe, for throwing these my way as the starving student chapter is beginning) and it's been great to be around so much dog energy. I had a blast with Roxy, the little football impersonator chihuahua (pick her up and run), had fun with Kirby & Nacho while my pal, Stacia was off winning the national Tennis Championships this past weekend in Tucson (go Staishe!), and I'm really digging having "the little potato" beagle this week. I love love love love LOVE this beagle and haven't gotten to hang out with her in several months, so I was psyched when her humans got a hold of me the other day. We're doing the stealth beagle-in-the-Shoebox routine like we did last spring and I'm hoping it'll fly again. I'm not exactly allowed to have a dog in the Shoebox, but the Potato never (and I mean NEVER) barks, so I'm hopeful. I'm visiting her cat friend, Tink (yeah, another cat, WHATever) at their house every day, but we're shacking up at my place until Saturday unless we get busted.

I'm getting in my workouts, but the weather has gone completely to CRAP and the Rosie triathlon of sleeping, reclining restfully with eyes at half-mast, and walking leisurely if necessary seems like a good idea as the season is gets increasingly more cold, dark, wet, and windy (augh, shoot me now). She slept while I went to the pool for swim team this morning and napped while I was on the bike trainer this evening...and, from the looks of things every time I come home, she pretty much sleeps in between napping!

I was going to try running around greenlake today (PT gave permission last week), but it was so lousy outside, I opted for watching the news with the dog on the bike trainer. I'm thinking that my aspirations of being a golden retriever in my next life could possibly be replaced by being a beagle. Seems neither would suck if you have the right humans looking out for you.

Tomorrow is my first day of school and I'm really looking forward to starting the new chapter...my brain is pretty hungry and it will be fun to get things going!

What me, competitive?

Today was orientation day for massage school...don't think I've blogged about this, but I'm making a major life change and going to school full time to become a massage therapist. I'm totally psyched and school starts on Tuesday. I spent several hours yesterday working on a scholarship application essay and e-mailing it back and forth to my pal, Carie, in Colorado who is a great writer and editor to fine tune it (we ended up with 496 words on a 500 word limit). Between the 2 of us and our bantering back and forth online, I've been feeling more and more competitive and really want to (kick some ass and) win the scholarship...So that may have colored my mood today going into orientation.

Of course, as soon as I got there this morning I started sizing everyone up immediately (just like in the transition area when I get to a race...) and trying to figure out who could have possibly written an essay as good as mine. After the initial introductions (which included everyone answering the question of "What movie would you BE today?" I chose Thelma & Louise), we played an icebreaker "human bingo" game. As soon as they said that there were prizes, I went right to task. I'm happy to report that not only was I one of 4 winners, I was the FIRST winner to get a bingo. Hey, it was worth a $5 gift card to Taco del Mar, so I'm calling it a success and the starving student fund can certainly use some free food! Today a burrito, next may be the $2,000 scholarship!!

My last week before school starts seems to be flying by...I'm dog sitting again, this time for Stacia's dogs, and the last couple of days were still sunny so I was outdoors as much as possible. I played with Ja'Narah at Alki on Tuesday and yesterday I went out to St. Ed's Park to mountain bike with Jenny and Nicole...except both of them had to cancel. As soon as I got out there, I got text messages from both of them saying were stuck at work and couldn't get out to play with me. The perils of having real and important jobs, I guess. I was bummed, but was already out there and it was a really great evening so I did my first solo mountain bike ride. I managed not to kill myself or get lost...it was actually a really great ride--I had a blast!

Carpe Swimmin'

This morning I managed to talk Karin G. into another brisk and dark lake Washington swim...no one else was even moderately tempted, but she's a champ and rallied. We met at Madison Beach for a 6:15 a.m. launch with the stars still clear and the beginnings of an orange horizon sunrise. The water was calm and, I swear, it was a little warmer than last Friday morning. We had a great swim and Tatyana was on the beach when we returned. Karin flew off to work and T and I went for coffee and an overdue "catch up and process our lives" session at Starbucks. Great morning, god bless neoprene.

Yesterday I had yet another weather-inspired bike ride (after a swim in the morning and weights at lunch, guess who can't sit still as usual). I've been photosynthesizing on a bike 6 of the last 8 days which might be a record for me. My legs felt heavy all day yesterday, but the sun was just too much to resist and once I started riding I felt good, even on the hills. I had a great ride around Mercer Island and to Seward Park in a sleeveless jersey with views of Mt. Rainier...not bad for the very end of September! The idea of fall is much more palatable on a sunny afternoon in record-setting temperatures, that's for sure. I was in bed crashed out at 9:00 p.m.

Bachelor Blue

My toenail color is back to blue and I painted them myself...'nuff said... Fortunately, the blue color of my toes and, OK, a bit of my mood this last week, has been shared by the SKY and a last blast of warm weather has improved my disposition considerably. Thank god it's not raining all the time already as I just can't take it yet.

On Friday morning, I had a really great sunrise swim in the lake...it was basically a solo swim as the only other people there were 2 really fast dudes I don't know. After one of them helped me get my wetsuit on, I didn't see them again till we were back on the beach. It was a pretty dang brisk swim, but the moon and sky were amazing and when I stopped for a few seconds at the Tennis Club to turn around and clear my goggles, Mt. Rainier was totally clear and I could see the snow on it. Sweet...any lake swim at this point is total bonus as most people have already hung up their wetsuits for the season.

I road-tripped down to Olympia on Friday afternoon after PT (where, by the way, I got good marks for hamstring improvement) to hang out with Heather and Chase...exactly what I needed and they made a great dinner and I crashed there. Yesterday morning I went for a great 40+ mile bike ride around Olympia, out to Boston Harbor...lots of great scenery and hardly any traffic...really great. I also caught up with Stacy & Wendy for a little while and got to see part of Carter (age 6)'s flag football game which was about the cutest thing ever.

Today was sunny yet again and I went for another ride...I figure screw the rest day idea when it's sunny and 70 because it ain't gonna last. I had just gotten over to Mercer Island when my bike decided to become a single-speed and I couldn't shift the rear deraillier. And, of course, it was stuck in the hardest gear on the back. CRAP. I went right back across the bridge and to Triumph where the super nice dude (same one who first aided my bike on at least one other occasion) discovered I'd snapped the cable and replaced it. I was glad I had the emergency debit card in my bento box so I could pay the $12.50 and be on my way. I went back to Mercer Island again and got in a total of about 41 miles on a perfect sunny afternoon.

I managed to get invited over to Cathy's this evening for food and TV with she and Stacia...first episode of the Amazing Race is on tonight...cool!

The little Hoover

Today was my last day of house sitting for Jill & Michele...here's a shot of the little football impersonator, Roxy. She was totally fun to hang out with and is a quirky funny (did I mention spoiled?) creature, for sure.I've always been much more of a big dog person (as in big dogs, not big person although there was my freshman year of college when I gained at least 8 pounds on peanut butter alone, but I digress...), but I now have a new appreciation for little dogs. Roxy is a total food whore (as one of her moms says, I didn't say it first) and I'm starting to call her the little Hoover. She really lives for food like nobody else, even me. She also became a good workout partner...the other day when I was on my bike trainer for over an hour, she chillaxed the entire time in my chair right next to the bike...and at least twice when I've been doing my PT and core exercises, she has literally ridden along. One morning I was lying flat on my stomach on the floor bemoaning the fact that it was time to do planks when she climbed on my back, curled up, and camped out. I rallied and did my planks and she didn't move at all, just stayed on my back...this morning, I was on my back about to do bridges and she climbed on my stomach, curled up, and stayed there for the sets of bridges. On both occasions, it was a nice distraction and I could give myself credit for the extra 3 pounds of resistance...good deal.

Today's housesitting snafus included waking up and discovering that I'd slept all night with the back door unlocked, fighting with the cat (who, I'm sure I mentioned, hates me) at 5:45 a.m.-- and having to wield the hose to get her back indoors, and falling down the stairs this afternoon. My friends have a gorgeous and very immaculate condo...the pretty bamboo floors are clean enough to eat off of, I swear--it's a great place. I made the mistake of putting on some socks and starting to go downstairs while looking to my left at the cat (who, I'm sure was still remembering the hose episode from the morning and set this whole thing up) and next thing I knew, I was halfway down the stairs in a pile with a few things hurting and the F word flying out of my mouth...youch!

The day ended well, however, with a really fun mountain bike ride with Nicole at St. Ed's Park. It was my first kinda-rainy and very-close-to-dark ride, but really fun and Nicole is a total crack-up...she navigated the trails for us, frequently yelling back, "Got 'er, Otter?" to make sure I was OK, and it was really fun. I also managed to get through a turn on the trail that I've never made before and felt pretty good about it...way fun! We may need to get some headlamps before next week as the days keep getting shorter (grr), and she seems to think that I should learn snowboarding this winter...hmmm...

I've also started using the old heart rate monitor this week...I got in 2 good road bike rides and started tracking things again. It's been almost 3 weeks since I've gone for a run, but I'm trying to behave and am religiously resting the dang hamstring and doing my PT exercises every day...it's getting better and I haven't lost hope for doing the Seattle Half in November...we'll see.

Stealth swim

It's the first day of fall and it certainly feels like it. However, despite the "highs in the low 60's" forecast for today, I'm holding out a little longer and refusing to wear socks. I'm bucking up one day at a time here...can't handle it all at once.

I am housesitting at Michele & Jill's for a couple more days and taking care of Roxy, the (slightly spoiled) Chihuahua, and Zoe, the fuzzy cute cat who (as most cats do) doesn't like me so much. And I'm not making that up...this morning she just would NOT come back into the house, despite my rumbling of the treat bag and my 2 attempted mini-safaris into the bushes where she was camping out as far from me as possible and looking at me like, "yeah, just try to get me out of this corner..." I was unsuccessful and will go back later to work on my imitation of Jill's nice cat-enticing voice, but I'm not at all confident I can woo her indoors without the assistance of some tough love from the hose...

Anyway, I got up early in the mini animal kingdom today, got them fed, and headed for the pool at Seattle U...went in the door right on time, through the locker room, and onto the pool deck where I was completely alone. For the whole hour. No teammates, no coach, nobody. I think we must be in between sessions until next week...anyway, I decided to carpe diem the indoor open water opportunity and had a slightly lonely but decent 3,000 yard swim...

Gettin' out my ax

"If Mother Nature had a second home, Idaho would be it." I cannot stop laughing at the slogan we saw several times in Idaho travel literature. Every time we read it, we just busted up. Despite the ridiculous-ness of that quote, however, I can say whole heartedly that Sandpoint, Idaho is a GREAT town...and I'd definitely go back in a hot second. The short vacation flew by (isn't that the theme of the last 3 months) and both HH and I didn't want to leave...we maximized every bit of the trip and got home as late as possible. We drove over on Sunday-- singing through the state to an awesome ipod playlist of cheesy 70s tunes -- and stayed until Wednesday at this too-cute "Cowboy Cabin" right on the lake...so fun!



Lake Pend Orille in Sandpoint is 43 miles long with mountains all around...gorgeous. The weather was perfect and we discovered that the whole place is a big 'ol playground for biking, mountain biking, hiking, skiing, swimming, and pretty much everything fun. And with the exception of one confrontational bigoted jerk-face resident we encountered (hopefully the exception that proves the rule), the people in Sandpoint were friendly and really cool.

On Monday, we drove all around the area, and up and down the mountain to Schweitzer ski resort so HH could look at some property. The morning of gaping at the views and saying a zillion times, "I like it here!" continued into the afternoon as we went for a really great hike near town, followed, of course, by a brisk (brr) open water swim in the lake and happy hour on the dock by the Cowboy Cabin.


On Tuesday and Wednesday, we biked the same trail we'd hiked on Monday and I'm quite proud to say that my mountain biking ability (and thus, enthusiasm) continued to build some momentum...I LOVED riding up and down that trail with HH and am hoping to find more stuff around home that I can ride/learn this fall. I also got in another blissful solo lake swim on Tuesday afternoon while HH continued her real estate searching... I had a blast swimming around looking at the mountains and the lake front homes and then sitting on the sunny dock soaking up some late season sun and the view.

Unfortunately, things back on the Seattle home front are shifting into fall and after less than 48 hours of driving back from Mother Nature's 2nd home (and did I mention a near-miss speeding ticket when I was driving? Shew, just a warning), the trip already seems like the distant past and a bit of a metaphor for the entire summer (kick in the Elton John soundtrack, "Don't let the su-uh-nnnnnn...go down on me....").

My friend, Heather (the other Heather), has a saying I've swiped and use frequently now about people each having a pile of wood to chop--as in dealing with their own "stuff," and the fact that we all have our own "wood to chop." It appears that dealing with the transitions of the end of this summer is my wood to chop at the moment...so, along that theme, a visual from the Cowboy Cabin below. This summer has been so so so fun...and I'm not not NOT at all happy to be letting it go...chop chop.

Facebook is the new Blogger

OK, OK, I can no longer take the assessment of my blog as "languishing" as an insult. It's become more of a valid observation. However, lately it's seemed that most everyone I know is on Facebook and we all get each other's concise and frequent updates (and, hey, I'm thinking concise is something that perhaps could serve me well...) plus lots of photos, too. It almost feels redundant to post photos here when I already put them up on Facebook. So languishing or not, I'm going with the strategy of using Facebook as my blogging crutch from now on when I'm not up for my usual verbosity.

ANYWAY...catching up again here...last weekend was another fun-a-thon with happy hour with Anh on Friday, a Storm Game + Karoke on Saturday (group efforts I participated in after several beers included "Don't Go Breakin' My Heart" and "We are Family") and the last roof BBQ party I hosted on top of the Shoebox building on Sunday night. On Monday I came down with something that only hiking with HH could cure and we spent the day up off of Hwy 2 at Lake Serene. It was another perfect fun day...the tally of those this summer has gotten pretty high, for sure. HH was smart enough to hike with 2 pumpkin beers in her pack (and nice enough to put them in a ziplock of ice when I wasn't looking and surprise me with COLD ones at the top...SWEET!!)





I've also been to a new PT 3 times in the last week for the hamstring situation...not surprisingly, the problem seems to need: (1) rest from running and, (2) improved core strength that can only be achieved by doing exercises correctly (for godsake, isn't it enough to just DO them? Crap, I hate doing them RIGHT and figuring out how to turn "on" the TA muscles, doesn't someone just have a remote or something?). I haven't run in a week, but have been hanging in there with a bit of cycling, another mountain biking lesson (during which I had a short attitude problem, but eventually corrected it) and a lot of swimming, indoors and in the lake. I also have to admit that I've hardly been using my HR monitor at all and...here's the big confession...I'm starting to NOT miss it.

HH and I are road tripping to Sandpoint, Idaho, tomorrow for about 5 days to play...the forecast is stellar and I can't wait! Another chunk of summer...woo-hoo! I'm savoring every second of sun and fun as the end is unfortunately in sight...

Exactly Never

"Exactly never" is the amount of times I would have predicted a few months ago that I'd ever want to learn mountain biking. We know what's happened with that...I'm hooked. It's also the number of times a week ago, that I'd have predicted that I'd play soccer again-- or want to. As a matter of fact, I was having a glass of wine with my cousin, Liz, on Friday evening and she asked if I ever play soccer anymore...and I replied adamantly--as I have for several years now since college-- that "I'm retired." Enter the usual reason that "Exactly never" has translated into "That would be so much fun!" for the last few months, HH. At the time I was hanging out with Liz, HH (a veteran of 5th grade soccer, almost "exactly never" status as if she'd care anyway) was in typical "upgrade" mode at an "invitation only" opening night party for players in the FOB soccer tournament. By the end of the evening, she, of course had been recruited for a team and was scheduled to play 2 games the next day. On Saturday morning, I gave her my cleats, socks, and 22 year old college shin guards with some "go get 'em" wishes...and I went out for a long run. I ran, well slogged, 10 miles down on Lake Washington Blvd. and returned to the Shoebox to shower and head out to watch (that's WATCH) FOB.

Despite the fact that I was wearing jeans + chacos, and had just eaten a huge egg & cheese bagel on the way to the field, all I had to do was see the grass fields... and HH running around out there with a bunch of other cute girls... and it was all over--- I was twitching to kick the ball and completely jealous that she'd gotten hooked up with a team without me. When she caught my eye from where she was playing and yelled, "You should be out here!" a pit crew on the sidelines kicked into gear and before I knew it, I was wearing shorts, a jersey, and cleats and chasing the ball around...and I even scored a goal with my left foot and thought, "Maybe I still have it!" Note to self: a 10 mile warm up for coming out of several years of soccer retirement is not recommended. Intermittent Jello shots and beers, however, make the whole thing better (this event is, as Stacia pointed out, a "soccer" tournament. Clearly, the emphasis here is placed on more fun and debauchery-related activities than soccer to say the least---makes Pride weekend look kind of like nursery school). I only played half a game on Saturday due to a family event in town (dangit, I missed HH's first goal!), but it was enough to determine how and where I'd be sore by the end of the weekend...I was hurting already.

Enter day 2. Unlike the other teams, most of our teammates didn't go out on Saturday night (honestly, I stretched and tried to work on some small knots in my IT bands) and we proudly dubbed ourselves, "Team Stay at Home." This helped us start the games on Sunday with a little more energy than our hungover-yet-PBR-toting opponents. (We're talking players and referees drinking beer and the DJ thumping tunes on the field by 9:30 a.m...why was college soccer never like this??). We won both games on Sunday (was I the only one keeping score? They seemed to notice I was a little more competitive than a few of the other players, oops...) and, I must say, there was a pretty impressive goal scored when I passed the ball to HH and she executed a perfect shot. Way fun. By the end of the 2nd game, however, I think most of us had caught up to the rest of the teams in beverage consumption and the soccer part of the "soccer" tournament had pretty much been scrapped on all 3 fields. At this point, I did NOT care about that fact and it was an effort to even walk anymore. I think we ended up in 3rd place in our division, but thankfully the final "competition" was not exactly a soccer game...By 4:00, things had deteriorated (or do I mean improved?) into quite the exhibition of costumes and behavior unsuitable to document on a blog or Facebook... and I needed a nap and some food to recover for the real party at Cowgirls later that night. I would love to post a more detailed description and some photos of the weekend, but, well...let's just say that might not be a good idea. I will say that the short summary of Sunday night's closing party included HH skillfully riding the mechanical bull at the bar with several hundred cheering fans and leave it at that. We were completely levelled on Monday and I am still a little sore 4 (!) days later. This morning, after a painful shuffling 5-mile run, I got a new prescription for physical therapy where I will try to have my hamstring re-constructed starting tomorrow...

Gimme an A, and another and another!

Summer appears to be on a bit of a hiatus and the last 2 mornings have been a bit darker, soggier, and October-esque as I've driven to the pool instead of the lake. Attendance at the pool remains summer-session-sparse and I'm getting accustomed to having my own lane and tailoring the workout to whatever I dang well please. It isn't a sunrise at the lake, but it's not bad, either.

Unfortunately, I'm less enthusiastic about cycling and I think the weather is going to mean another conversation with myself to attempt to drag myself through a session on my bike trainer later today...ugh. I really need a summer resurgence and am hoping for some vitamin D this weekend...I cannot wrap my head around fall yet!

On the way to the pool this morning, my car seemed to be a bit loud and rumbly. Of course, my first impulse when I think my car is making noise is to turn up the stereo (head-in-the-sand strategy!), but I mostly resisted that urge and tried to figure it out. I coasted, idled higher, listened...WTF? I thought the rumbling was a bunch of stuff I threw in the back yesterday, turned the music back up, and took the stuff out when I got home from swimming. A little later, I was driving down the hill to work when people in various other cars started signalling, pointing at my car, and mouthing, "flat tire!" DUH. CRAP. I'd have thought about that right away on my bike, but hadn't even considered it in my car. I limped my car down the hill and into the parking garage since I had to hightail it to a meeting. After my meeting, I got out all my favorite tools to fix any problem: the phone, pieces of paper, the internet, and a credit card (oh come on, you didn't really think I'd wield a tire iron, do you?)! I read my tire warranty/service agreement (which, of course, conveniently expired about 2,000 miles ago) pulled out my AAA card (also expired) , and googled the number for AAA. Within 30 minutes, the tools had all performed in complete synergy and I had a renewed AAA membership (with an extra $20 fee for the "pre-existing condition" precipitating the renewal, they are not stupid), a changed inflated tire, and a nice interaction with a friendly and uber competent AAA worker dude with speedy and impressive REAL tools! Overall, it was a minimally inconvenient morning compared to how much of a hassle it could have been...I must admit, I love city living and convenience!

Campin!

I'd like to start with a rant...it is simply not cool that, for the last 17 days when the weather was mostly good and there were a zillion fun outdoor things to do, the Olympics---which I LOVE-- were on TV. But NOWWWWW...when the weather is crap and I'm home from the weekend camping trip...the Democratic National Convention is on TV on every gol-dang channel. What I wouldn't give right now for some abstract Olympic sport I'd never follow in real life like the equestrian competition...or rhythmic gym-spastics...or anything where people are vying for a medal.

But I digress... back to the fun topic of the latest camping report.

Things started off in turbo mode at about 6 a.m. on Friday morning as neither HH nor I were exactly packed and both or us had to run around to get things together to meet Michele, Jill, and Angie to caravan to the ferry in Anacortes...fortunately, as seen below, the most important of the "10 essentials," (wine, more wine, a flashlight, a toothbrush, a tent, and at least one camping pal) all made it to the campsite by that evening and waiting for the ferry wasn't painful at all.

Once we got to Orcas and set up camp, HH and I went for a really great ride around the Island...I had some nostalgic flashbacks of tour guiding and HH was nice enough to let me guide the ride and blather on. Along the way, we stopped at a shop that had "Mad Housewife" wine and it was a no-brainer that we needed to bring back a bottle for Jill. Fortunately, my prior guiding experience included the knowledge that a bottle of wine fits perfectly in a water bottle cage...as demonstrated here:

Upon receipt, Jill promptly demonstrated that the wine was the right choice...
On day 2, I got in an awesome morning swim in Cascade Lake and, after breakfast, everyone went on various hikes...HH and I hiked up Mt. Constitution and had a GREAT time!

When we got back from our hike, we went down to the lake where Michele, Jill, and their dog, Roxy, had Cathy paddling them around and enjoying the scenery.

HH, Indigo, and I were interested in getting pseudo-clean, but not so interested in taking a real shower, so we hopped in the lake as Diller did a little fly fishing on the shore (while wearing a very snazzy vest that I unfortunately did not photograph--it was way cool). Anyway, I got out first and was lounging on a picnic table in the sun when Cathy came urgently flying up in her car looking for Diller & Indie (who, at the time, was happily heading for the other side of the same toasty picnic table). Indie's plans for lounging were quickly thwarted as Cath explained that Bugsy, their pug, was locked in their vehicle back at the campsite, leaning on the horn, and setting off the car alarm annoying many of our fellow campground residents (and let's just say Bugsy was not the first one to call attention to our campsite on this trip...). Every time we've heard a car alarm since Saturday, we've looked at each other and said "Bugsy!!" Anyway, here's Bugsy with Indie...pretty fierce, huh? Oh, and the other irony is that the little old guy is, um, totally deaf. Gotta love it.
The rest of the weekend was really fun and included several more stories (at least a couple of which are unfit to print) and one major group decision. We're going to train as a group to hike in (and out!) of the Grand Canyon in about 13 months...as soon as we get the trip booked, I'm going to dig out my old coaching whistle (I've been appointed as the coach) and the group training will begin!!

Fortunately, it didn't rain until Sunday morning and we got out of there without getting ourselves or all of our crap TOO soaked...shew.

A few more photos of the weekend...

After a lot of campsite eating (ok, and drinking) all weekend and sitting around waiting for the ferry, riding the ferry, and sitting in traffic yesterday, I felt like a total slug...got in a 6 mile run first thing this morning and went to spin class at lunch. Spin kicked my butt as it was the first speedwork I've done since the race 3 weeks ago. I'm pretty dang sure I've decided there will be no more races this season...