24 February 2007

May not be the smartest thing,

but I woke up this morning feeling much better so decided to workout. Saturday is weights so I figured it wouldn't kill me too much. And it didn't. I actually feel pretty good. This cold or whatever appears to be staying in my head, specifically my sinuses and that I can live with. I did get lots of rest yesterday and probably will today also, so that's a good thing.

I'm thinking of driving around and looking at some neighborhoods this afternoon. While I know most of the neighborhoods around here, I've never looked at them with an eye for living there. There are certain criteria I have. The first and foremost being no drug dealers or murderers. That's really important to me. There are also a couple of townhouse complexes I want to check out. I'm kind of caught. I have an idea of what I want to spend (because I have an idea of what I want to pay each month) which actually may be a little less we will qualify for, but I want to feel comfortable in this whole thing. Anyway, looking around I can get a good sized townhouse for actually less than I want to spend, or I can get a tiny house. And when I say tiny, I'm talking tiny, like 600 sf. Now the good part about the house is that it comes with land and we could expand in the future. Also, it's only the 2 of us and the animals, we really don't need a lot of living area. On the other hand, the townhouses relieve some of the ownership/responsibility issues I have since they take care of much of the maintenance. And we've been living in less than 1000sf for 14 years now, the thought of having 4 bedrooms and 1500 sf just gets me all kinds of excited. Actually having more than 1 bathroom would be a thrill I don't know my heart can take. Also, all the townhouses I'm interested in have pools. Now they may be smaller pools but you have no idea how much it appeals to me to have a pool within walking distance. Oh, decisions, decisions. Tomorrow afternoon is open house day. I'm definitely going around to some to check them out.

For someone who really had nothing to say I certainly rambled on for a while. I'm in a mood where I just feel like writing. I get like this once in a while and can just ramble on for days. But I won't. I'll stop here and go rest for a while. Hubby should be home from work in a couple of hours so I'll lie down and read until then.

Okay, I'm stopping now.

23 February 2007

A sick day.

I went to work this morning thinking I'd be fine, but decided to come home and take a sick day. I probably could have made it through the work day, but things are slow in the lab right now so I figured a rest day was probably better for me. Plus my head feels like it's packed with cotton and my thinking is fuzzy.

Which leads me to my next thought. There are a couple of blogs that I read that I may have to stop reading. They don't make sense to me anymore. The blog writers tend to discuss a subject without every mentioning the subject. They will wax eloquent for 3 paragraphs and I have no freaking idea what they are talking about. It's very esoteric and way beyond me. They have always written this way but lately it seems to be getting more out there. I always wonder about people like that. There are some authors who write entire books like that and they make me wonder too. Do those people spend too much time in their own heads??? Or do I not spend enough time in mine???

We are all on a very similar journey in this life. I don't think any of the blogs I read are written by people who aren't basically like me. I don't think any of you out there are Rockefeller's or Kennedy's or so stinking rich you don't have to pick your own nose. I'm pretty sure none of you are rock star famous, I like to think I would have noticed that. So basically we are all pretty similar working shlubs who like to pursue triathlons in our limited free time. We are all trying to make this fun for us, work, home, family, sports, etc. It's not always easy but we keep trying. We suffer many of the same problems and difficulties along the way and I am glad for this community to pick up ideas and pointers on how to handle things. But, as similar as we are and as much as we may share, we are all on different journeys. What greatly affects me may not bother you at all and vice versa. So when I have something to say I just say it. No beating around the bush or trying to make any literary references, I just spit it out. And I like when you folks write the same way. I don't have the time, inclination, or desire to read some esoteric drivel and try and figure out what the hell you are talking about. If I wanted to spend time deciphering writing I would read James Joyce or Thomas Mann (very esoteric and extremely hard to read). Okay, there's my piece - say it in English or don't bother to say it at all.

I think it's time to go lie back down, I think the cold medicine is getting to me :)

22 February 2007

Ugh!!

I think I'm getting sick. On the way home last night I started feeling like I was getting a head cold, today it's worse.

I had my first guitar class last night. Totally cool. I played when I was in high school (not well) but not really since then. The guitar I have is old and doesn't seem to want to stay in tune anymore. I wonder if it's the strings. They are pretty old. Maybe they get stretched out and won't stay in tune??? I don't know.

Well, that's all I have. I'm trying to stay awake until Grey's Anatomy. Like the rest of blogland I'm totally hooked on that show. Meredith can't die - she's the main character!!!

Okay, I'm off.

21 February 2007

Thank You!!

It worked!!! I've been on pins and needles all week waiting to hear from someone. They said they would call today and I spent all day thinking about it and fretting it and worrying and convincing myself it wasn't going to happen and working up Plan B..... you get the idea..

So what was all the tension about you might ask??? Well, I was preapproved for a mortgage today. Now to many of you that may not be a big thing, but to me it's huge.

First off I never really had any burning desire to own a house. It was just not a big thing to me. Of course, for the last 13 years I lived in a house on the beach and paid next to nothing in rent, that may be part of the reason. But lately taxes are just killing me and since I don't plan on having any kids, a house seemed to be the only way to reduce them. Also, I have got to get away from these freaks that live next door. It seems to be business as usual over there and I've had enough.

Second, a few years back I had my own business and allowed my partner to handle the money. Yeah, big mistake. Anyway, long story short, my credit got wrecked. Well, I've spent the last few years paying things off and getting on every one's good side. It worked. My credit score has gone up enough that we will qualify for a 100% loan. I'm sure my interest rate will be a little higher but you know what, that's okay. I can pay this for a couple years, build my credit score up even more, then refi and lower my rates. No problem!!

So I'm excited. I have a couple of properties in mind (I've been haunting the real estate websites) so now, keep your fingers crossed that I get the one I really want.

Thanks for the good vibes. I know it helped!

Just a quick note.

Yesterday was a rest day. I woke up and I could feel the Great Aloha Run in my legs. It wasn't really bad but I could feel those muscles. So I decided a day of rest was probably called for after such a good effort.

This morning though I woke up early and was ready to go. So it was weights and elliptical. I did the long version since I was early, and I feel really great. Woo Hoo!!!

There is something in the works that I should hear about today. Please send positive energy my way, I really want this to work out for me. If it does it will be very, very exciting and I'm just all a twitter :)

Okay, as I've said before I hate when people do this and I swear I'll share as soon as I know, but I need the good thoughts to make sure it happens. Keep your fingers crossed........

19 February 2007

There are many ways to measure success,

and today I found yet another one.

The Great Aloha Run this morning was just awesome. I didn't break any records, it was not my best time by far, but I think this was one of my best races ever.

After getting up at 4 a.m., driving to the finish line, catching a bus to the start, standing in line for the port-a-potties(more on this later), I still found myself with over 45 mins before the race started. So I found a place to sit and people watched for 1/2 an hour - that is always fun.

Finally, at 6:45 we headed out to the start. One of the things the Great Aloha Run does is they have the Sounds of Freedom. These are military units from all over the island that run in formation singing cadence the whole way. They line up on the side of the road and they have a silent start 8 minutes before the race starts. It's always a special sight to see them go. I'm a flag waving fool and when I see our military I just get all gushy. I feel so proud to live in a country where young men and women will volunteer to defend the rest of us. Also, having been in the Army I have a special feeling for the military. Anyhooo, in past years the Sound of Freedom would start 8 minutes before the race and the units would still be going by when the cannon sounded. This year it was different. There were only about 6 units in the race and they were gone long before the race began. It was a somber reminder of the world we live in.

Just a tiny rant: There were a couple of people with anti-Bush t-shirts on. Okay, is this really the time and place for that??? We are all there to support a great charity and to have fun and you have to bring politics into it??? Give it a rest!!! End rant.

Finally, the canon sounded and we were off. Okay, maybe not. Me and 22,000 of my closest friends took 10 minutes to cross the start line. The entire way it was really crowded and I could not figure it out. Usually after the first mile or two things start to thin out, not this year. Due to the sheer size of the crowds I only caught a couple of mile markers so I don't have all the mile splits. The ones I do have were consistently 12 min/miles. I was really pleased with that because I'm not usually that consistent a runner.

The first 2 miles literally flew by. When I came across the 2 mile marker I was actually shocked. At 3 1/2 miles was the first aid station. I was extremely pleased with myself because I had run the whole 3 1/2 miles and really felt good. As a rule I always walk through the aid stations. The ground is usually wet and slippery and I have seen people fall running through and break things. So I walk, it's easier to drink that way too.

The next 2 miles flew by and I was just feeling great. My legs felt awesome. After the 5 miles aid station the course goes up hill for a while. Uphill is my nemesis but not today. I just flew up that hill, it was great. I then, of course, took advantage of the downhill and really gained some ground. Another small hill and we could see Aloha Stadium but I know it's over 1.5 miles away. The downhill got me a good head of steam going for the cruise into the stadium. By the way, I was passing people all along the course. Very rarely did I get passed but I was bobbing and weaving the entire time.

They run you around the parking lot then down into the floor of the stadium and that's where the finish line is. I came down that ramp like a freaking rock star. I was feeling so incredible I just could not get over it. My total time: 1:54:52, not my best by far but one of my best runs ever.

So, what did I learn?? I can do these races and control my blood sugar. Today was a test of the Cliff Shot Blox. I have not used any energy supplement since my marathon blow up. Well I decided that if I'm going to run a marathon again I will need to work these into my running and learn how to use them so my blood sugar doesn't blow up on me.

I learned that strength training is one of the best things I can do for my running. My legs could have gone on forever today, it was the greatest feelings. So okay, when I stopped I felt it but as long as I was running my legs were up to the task.

I learned that white bread may not be my friend. Caution TMI ahead. I've been having lower gastrointestinal issues whenever I eat white bread lately but I really haven't paid it much mind. I would just think, maybe it's the white bread. Which by the way, I don't eat often so it's not a huge problem but also fairly easy to pinpoint. Well, last night, without thinking, I had a ciabatta roll with dinner. Oh boy, did I pay for it today. I had to hit the port-a-potties 4 times during the run. So that time of 1:54 includes those potty stops ( I forgot to stop my watch). I would guess there was 15 minutes in wasted time in line. But yeah, I have to find out exactly what's causing this and stop it.

I learned that I have successfully moved from the back of the pack to the middle of the pack, how exciting is that??

I learned that success can be found in everything you do if you look for it and that today was a major success!!!

18 February 2007

What is wrong with Blogger????

I was just looking at my archives and the dates and months are all screwed up. It shows the year as 2006 so everything is off by a year, and it shows the month as January, so everything is off by a month. What the hell is going on??? I tried to fix it but 2007 is not a option in the page element. I was really enjoying the new blogger but now it's pissing me off.

It's all about the recovery.

Years ago, probably 20 or 25, someone told me that you can gauge your fitness by how fast you recover from an activity. Now realize this was in the time before HRM and power taps and other such nonsense. The main way to judge if you were in the aerobic zone was to see if you could sing during the activity. I kid you not!! Luckily things have changed (read improved) over the years. But that statement always stuck with me, it's how fast you can recover, and it's the yardstick I still use to measure my concept of my fitness. One of my new watches even has a recover mode on it so you can time how fast you recover.

Yesterday when I went for my run I felt like I was breathing too hard but the running really felt good so I just kept going. Eventually the breathing eased up (which it always does) and I felt really awesome. I had to stop suddenly because of some little pocket dogs running in the road, and I was able to speak easily within a few seconds and once I started running again it took a minute or two to ramp up my HR. I thought at the time, see, I'm in good shape because I recover so quickly.

Today I was going to go for a bike ride but I woke up and it was windy and rainy and probably about 70 F; that's just too cold to ride ;) So I set up the trainer and popped in my Carmichael DVD. I did this DVD when I got the trainer last year and it totally kicked my ass, literally. So I figured I'd just do as much as I can today and that's all. Well, I did the entire hour and really felt great and within minutes I was totally recovered.

My point, and I really do have one, is that I was kind of worried about tomorrow's 8.25 miles because I didn't feel I had the training that I should have. After yesterday and today I feel confident I'll do fine. I'm sure I won't set any PR but I'm sure I can do it and have fun and that's really all that matters.

That's all I have to say. I have to get some rest, I have a race tomorrow :)

Conversation with Hubby

 So yesterday morning I presented my idea of working out at home to the Hubby. Once I presented it to him, he said he was in. I told him I h...