did I hear that right?
Umm, Irene? Would you ever want to live downtown? I mean, if I sold my
place... and we bought one together, it would probably be a pretty
nice one - with a yard for Molly... Don't you think?

I'm obviously not getting enough sleep this week. Somebody pinch me.

BADGERLAND STRIDERS SOUTH SHORE HALF MARATHON
BADGERLAND STRIDERS SOUTH SHORE HALF MARATHON
Milwaukee, WI
April 9, 2005


My pathetic results... By the way, it took about a minute to cross the
finish line, and this wasn't chipped. the first 2 miles, because you
have to run on the sidewalk, I was running slow because of people
traffic. The last 4 miles I walk/hopped. So I made probably very
excellent time in the middle, just bummed that I wouldn't know how
well I did cuz of my leg!!!

553 182 44 F25-29 4651 2:19:29 10:39 IL CHICAGO

Notes about this race:

1. No excuses next year! I'm coming back!
2. this is on a nice paved forest preserve trail course along the lake
and new housing developments.
3. about 10 people came out to watch us run
4. there are 600 other racers.
5. no running in the street/no traffic blocks, only traffic guards
6. bring lots of food. There were enough water stations to not carry
water with - I carried water all the way but didn't have to use it.
7. wear layers - lake breeze
8. get there early, else you won't find parking
9. pre-register - the lines are pretty long
10. get a really hot guy to drive you and wait for you at the finish line :-)
6.

Jealous
When I grow up, I want to be like Ben. WWW.bensaunders.com. Ben, a
real life superhero who I track daily through his blog, takes really
cool photos and always finds ways to inspire me in my quest to pretty
much maintain a level of physical fitness. Now Ben's doing the London
Marathon. Umm, that's about the easiest race Ben's ever done. So
maybe, some day, if I am good enough to do a marathon.... I can be
running in the same race that Ben does. Wow, I'll be so priviledged.

In the meantime, bummer, I screwed up (intentionally - don't know
where my knee stands right now) and the registration for the marine
core DC marathon is closed. Crap. Now I have to pick another marathon.

Re: scary thought - I might some day do the IRONMAN
umm, i tried posting this remotely and it failed. trying again. this
was for april 11...

> So, I just finished my 2nd ever 1/2 marathon. Now, I didn't do so well
> because my knee gave out on me... but still. This is a repeated
> experience, and it was much much easier, at least from the
> cardiovascular perspective. I would have done it in 9:45s I think...
> Maybe even 9's.... It felt great as far as the run itself... just the
> knee thing and the blisers sucked. But this opens up a certain can of
> worms a little wider.... the ironman.
>
> Just a thought: if my knee injury goes away and I am able to train....
> And if I can slowly over time turn up the intensity and length of my
> workouts a bit... To 2-3 hours a day, 5 days a week... I can now
> fathom doing an ironman. If I did an Ironman today, and I managed to
> last through it without an injury.... which you can't do unless you
> slowly condition your body to those great distances over time... then
> I would do at least as good as this woman (Sorry, this will sound like
> I don't think you did great, bib #1673. But I do think you did great,
> just that I'd be afraid to get your times because I'd never make it
> then... Don't think I have your willpower), from Ironman AZ:
> 1673 16:52:54 ATLANTA GA USA 32/36 W25-29 1792
> 34 1766 1:57:19 3:06 9:37 29 1729 8:10:29 13.7 10:37 28 1525
> 6:24:54 14:42
>
> Some analysis: there were only 36 women in my age group in that race.
> Wow, women are sort of weak in comparison to the men. I feel a duty
> here, to make at least contribute to the evening out of participation
> numbers! There were 91 men same age.
>
> Then, she finished the thing in 17 hours. Now I dunno if I can handle
> that kind of a duration, but the idea is, I should not attempt to do
> this till I can do it faster then her. Looking at her times... I can
> normally bike faster then 14 miles per hour. Now, can I do that after
> swimming 2.5 miles? Uh, probably not today, but later maybe. And then
> there's the run. Running a marathon at 15 minute miles... I think I
> will be able to do better then that. Again, not today, but down the
> line. I think my mile times would have to be around 8 minutes for me
> to attempt an ironman. Long way to go - need to shave more then 2
> minutes off, probably a lot more, since I've never done a full
> marathon. so why am I even talking then? Because I can at least fathom
> doing an ironman someday, something that would be an insane thought
> about 6 months ago!
>
> Let's pick on the swim for a second. I can now swim 3 miles... only
> problem is I stop and take breaks, and don't go fast. As it is, I
> think it would take me no more then 1.5 hours to do 3 miles. I haven't
> tried timing myself, but I will, soon as my swimming gets a bit
> better. I know I can do 3 slowly without getting too tired.
> Ironically, my swimming is closer to tri quality then my other stuff,
> even though 3 months ago it was nowhere near decent! 1.5K sunk into
> swimming lessons is paying off! (yikes). Biking a century - longest
> I've done was 30 miles. So this year I have to get up to 60, at least
> work in a few 60's into the summer. And the following year, I should
> complete an international distance tri... maybe even work up to 1/2
> ironman. Let's look at that now since that's a tad more realistic. Not
> by much, but a tad. How ready am I for that?
>
> Well, again, we have like 75 women and 300 men in the cali 1/2
> ironman. What's up with the ladies? I know that having babies puts us
> out of commission for a while and stuff, but a lot of the stay-at-home
> moms should have some time to train for triathlons instead of getting
> a fat butt?
>
> 1777 08:30:05 CA W25-29 71/74 55 1394 41:14 2:04 71 1846 4:53:41 11.4
> 71 1680 2:38:06 12:05
>
> Ok, so here we have the last woman in my age group that finished. She
> took 5 hours to bike 50+ miles slowly. At a pace of 11.5 mph. I think
> I can do better. Running the half... I did better with a bum knee.
> (ok, I know how legs feel after a brick or a tri, I'm just saying... I
> think I can now do better.). And the swim... well, I don't know enough
> to know if that's good or bad. I think her goal was just to finish.
> I'd want to be able to do at least a 15 mph bike, a 10 mph run, and
> not sure about the swim. So let's see how I'd've done....
>
> I think I would have been about here (slower bike speed over longer
> period... I think my bike speed would have been better...): 1602
> 07:13:19 CA W25-29 64/74 70 1772 50:38 2:32 63 1703 3:52:43 14.4 47
> 1119 2:05:37 9:36.
>
> Not too bad. Not too good. Come to think of it, I think I'd want to
> wait till I can do the whole thing in under 7 hours, more like 5 or 6.
> Something is just not right with working out for more then 6 hours.
>
> Now, let's look at this:
>
> 1875 203 05:01:17 CA W25-29 1/74 19 736 34:58 1:45 1 270 2:47:22 20.1
> 2 157 1:32:31 7:04
>
> this is what qualifies you for hawaii. I think that is out of the
> question for little me. :(. I don't think I'll ever be able to do 7
> minute miles. I've been struggling with getting down to even 8:30!
> But in all fairness, I might be able to get to a point where I can
> bike continuously faster then 20 mph... That would fix some of this...
> Because It would take 50 minutes of my bike time, and add like 20 or
> so minutes to my running time. Ok, so maybe... maybe some day.
> probably not, but there is a chance. If I can see finishing this thing
> in a year, and getting though it in 7 hours... when 6 months ago I was
> shocked at completing a super-sprint... then maybe in a year, I could
> see doing this, the half. And from that point on, maybe a full?
>
> So it looks like, the bike either makes you or breaks you. It's the
> longest, and your mph really adds time. A minute lag adds over 50
> minutes. I know I can maintain 16 mph no problem, and can do 18 for 10
> miles at a time. Not sure about the 56 miles. need to try.
>
> Just because I can...
>

wish list
More stuff I want, that people can buy for me for holidays if I don't
get them for myself:

1. champion chip
2. gift certificates to fleet feet
3. more belly rings, ideally gold.
4. memory cards for my camera!
5. massage gift certificates!

quick updates
Mood:  a-ok
Topic: unfinished
Quick updates:

House Hunting: found the perfect house. realtor was a (^%&$ and didn't give us a heads up that she was about to accept an offer. So I'm a bit crushed. The good news - I'm pre-approved! I have a great realtor and a super broker, if anyone needs one here.

Training: due to being out with the flu the last two weeks, not much has happened. But that didn't stop me from running the shamrock shuffle, and continuing swimming, which is going super. No biking this weekend, due to still being sick and screwing up my neck.

Men: I can safely say, I'm head over hills, full throttle in love with this guy, and he feels the same way. Cohabitation and potential future were discussed but tabled by both parties due to sanity reasons.

Life goals: I funded my IRA, finally. NOw I have to learn to manage it.

Near future: milwaukee 1/2 marathon next weekend. OUCH.

cubs game, maybe.

palm pilot, maybe.

The first remote blog post
Hello World,

Look at me! I am remote-posting from email!

Yesterday was HG's B-day. Happy B-Day HG! HG got an awesome sword
from Addie to go with her Kill Bill costume.

Yesterday I managed to: get someone to fix my plumming, take care of a
sick guinea pig, take out the trash and clean the house, talk to
several friends on the phone, organize a b-day party, figure out hang
gliding process, get my bike tuned, work, take care of various house
pets, buy groceries, find boxes, and still be on time for dinner with
GP who has PINK EYE, gross!, AA, and VK. it was nice to see VK,
haven't seen much of him lately since he moved to Ohio. But what's
AA's excuse for being late? GP and I even had time to go to Target to
get eye drops and do general shopping. Gotta get the new phone to be
able to send photos. Afterwards I managed to visit HG, read a few
chapters of Devil and the White City.

Am sick again this morning - sore throat and possible fever. Yuck.
Blew off any kind of training yesterday, and not sure what I'll do
today given the busy schedule and the 5.5 hours of sleep. I don't
normally work out unless I get 6 hours of sleep. Got a gorgeous b-day
present from T and N H. Thank you!!!

Moral dilema that people maybe can help me with:

A friend, who shall remain unnamed, asked me to vote for him and get
others to vote for him in a comic book contest. After looking at his
and others' entries, I don't believe that he should get my vote based
on quality. He really wants to win this contest. Should I: vote for
what I believe is the best entry in the contest, or my friend? This is
an intermediate part in the contest, there are four steps, he made it
to step 2 on his own. Should I at least vote for him in this and the
next step? I think I will delay the final decission on who to vote for
overall until that is due. By then, my opinion on who's entry is best
may change anyway, hopefully in his favor. But if it came down to it,
what should I do - vote fair or vote favor?

and it's 70 degrees today in chicago.

saturday, I'm dropping $300 on the bike- cleats and shoes.

test
test

test
test

Everything
Mood:  a-ok
Topic: unfinished
Dear Blog Readers --

A great many apologies for my errant blogging behavior.

Here’s a catch-all for what’s been happening with me in 2005. And I’ll try to be more regular with all this stuff shortly.

It is March 27th, so Happy Easter to those who are inclined to be religious or who simply enjoy eggs and bunnies.

Job:
-On the job front, frustrations of working for a poorly organized company lacking specific strategies and ability to make decisions are taking a small but significant toll on me. I see it as a new challenge and continue to enjoy the work. They are trying to give me more responsibility, but talks of formal title change are slow.
-The teaching has not panned out so far – not enough demand for classes in the winter semester, we’ll see how it goes in the spring.

Training:
-I am proud to report wondrous progress, vs. all the other years.
-A total of 6 races/formal have been completed since the beginning of the year:
1. x-ski race
2.10K Trail Run – took third out of 4 for age group….
3.1/2 Marathon New Orleans (under 10 minute ave miles!!!)
4.Wacky 5k – did poorly – can’t break the 9 minute!
5.Momentum Fun Run – did poorly. Can’t break the 9 minute!
6. 15k Rock Cut Trail Park Run – the toughest run of my life. Youngest female runner J. By the way, this one was really tough – running on sheets of ice, running on snow, through mud, on tough ridges around trees and branches over and under logs. With wind, snow, and ice rain. If I could do that, I can do anything, ladies and gentlemen.
-Training has been going well overall. Got the bike out once already this year, and warm weather is finally here. Need to put air in tires and splurge for cleats. Running – am able to run in controlled conditions multiple 8 minute miles, hopefully can translate that to racing. Need to do more speed training – number one point of slacking. Swimming – going really well – I’m doing miles in the pool weekly. Actually that’s where I’ll be soon as I finish this.
-Upcoming races:
1. 4/2 Shamrock Shuffle 8k
2. 4/18? 20k (God help me) Rock Cut Trail Park Run
3. ? Milwaukee ? marathon?
4. 04/10/2005 NCO Spring Ahead 8K Trail Run & 5K
5. I’ve signed up for the sprint distance Chicago tri. I’m already sorry – I am doing x2 in distance in training already. So guess I’ll try to go for speed!!!
6. Plotting to do ? Chicago marathon
7. Plotting to do DC Marine Core Marathon
8. At least one more tri this year.
9. Countless other runs.
10. plotting doing an indoor triathlon in May, once swim coach teaches me to flip.

I really really really want to do an adventure race. Need to learn how to do the kayak part. I have one more girl that would be willing to do it. Need a guy who’d partake. If anyone knows anyone anywhere that would be up for beginner level adventure racing, please send him this way.


Travel:
-New Orleans will become an annual thing – what a great time. Soon I’ll get off my lazy butt and post photos of the race and the dome – what a well managed event, only I wish New Orleans would wake up to support the runners!
-Visited AY and SG in San Jose for a surprise engagement party – that was awesome.
-Planned trips: finally, hang gliding – 2nd weekend in May. Vegas maybe late April or June. Europe, May 28th till June 7th: London, Vienna, Prague, Florence. FUUUUN!

Love life:
-cleaned up some – am proud to report that I’ve been seeing one guy only for now just over a month, and am completely head-over-heels-somebody-pinch-me.

Currently reading: Devil and the White city, still.

Sailing:
-opportunity has appeared to help a friend’s friend move a boat from East Coast to the Great Lakes.
-writing an essay to try to land a spot on the Land’s End boat for the Mac
-sailing classes start late May/June


Family:
-started making for more time for spending extended family.

Pets:
-all 3 are still alive

Other:
-New psycho neighbors moved in upstairs. Police visiting biweekly.
-House hunting – know how much I can afford and where I want to buy. Planning to make the move June/July timeframe.
-Master program – have done nothing. Need to get off my butt and do it.


So there. Updates and some detail will be available soon.