Eight Mile (not the Eminem movie)

I haven't totally abandoned the idea of the marathon yet but the "Nike Plus Incident" of last week plus the fact that I miss biking and swimming and I feel like I'm losing my strength and I feel like I'm gravitating more towards triathlons has caused me to re-think my training schedule. I'm considering moving down to a 1/2 marathon training schedule and doing more cross training geared towards Tri's. I dunno.

I did have a fantastic "long run" today. Eight miles - on the marathon course! Started at the intersection of Reedy Creek and Edwards Mill. About two miles on Reedy Creek past horses and stuff and then 2 miles into Umstead. And back. I love running in Umstead - there are hills but they are very gradual and long so you just kind of get in the groove of going uphill and settle into it instead of just gazing towards the top and holding your breath (well, not really) until you get there.

I really was starting to feel it in my abductors (or is it adductors? the ones on the outside) around mile seven which was perfect. I was close enough to the end to be able to push through.

I had a few moments where I really felt in the zone. Sorta settled into the movement. I get that with biking and swimming a lot but this was the first time with running.

I felt very Zen right afterwards. Calmed is good for me.

Second Place for Team Bob Saget

But who cares now that Tir Na Nog is serving brownie fudge sundae with mint chocolate chip? Now, isn't whipped cream a standard sundae fixin'? The sundae arrive sans whipped cream. I asked the waitress for some whipped cream and this is what we got.

I boast about the fact that my car is "Born From Jets."

Dar On Tour.

Dar Williams is coming to North Carolina mid August. Hooray! Diane and I volunteered to be on the street team which means free tickets and a meet and greet with Dar. Hooray!

Street Team means between the two of us distributing 800 flyers in the Triangle area. Hooooorrrrific thing to have to do on a really really really hot Sunday but we sweated it out and distributed about 500 of them that afternoon.

We were also given a JPG to post online. Since Jamie's Drama is as high traffic as it can get, here it is. For all the impressions this thing gets, is that less posters I have to distribute?!

After posters we had dinner and a movie at Hal's. We watched a modern day Hamlet movie. I enjoyed it but was so tired from the Tri and poster hanging that I fell asleep during the last 30 minutes.

Mars v Venus

This morning marks the long awaited (a week and a half?) meeting of Team Mars (boyz) and Team Venus (girlz) in a relay triathlon.

The night before the Tri Candace and Rich hosted a carb-loading feast at their house.

Team Venus was me (bike), Barb (run) and Candance (swim).

Team Mars was Adam (bike), Rich (run/Candace Husband), and Greg (swim).

And here are just the six of us

The ride was OK. Not as pretty as the last one. Hilly. And all the downhills were followed by a sharp curve so I never got any of that speed back on the uphills.

Barb rocked the run. She ran a 5K at a 7:20 minutes per mile pace. Barb rules! Candace also had a PR for her swim. Go us!

In the end, though, Team Mars prevailed. But not by much.

Adopt Our Orphans

Remember our scary kittens? Not so scary anymore.

Diane has done a fantastic job socializing these little boys and girl and they're on the adoption circuit. On Saturday morning we load up our Orphan kitties (Fagan, Oliver, Dodger and Rose) and head to Petco. Or Petsmart. There's some excitement on the way over. Fagan projectile vomits in the carrier and gets it all over Rose. And of course as soon as he pukes the Dodger and Oliver go right in to taste it. De-lish!

We walk into the pet store and there is a display of cages filled with little kitties and volunteers right as you walk in. Brilliant!

Er, nope. For the second time I have been betrayed upon entrance into this store. That prime real estate doesn't belong to the organization that provided us with the scary feral kitties. We're in the back. In an area that is barely the width of an isle. And there are tons of cats there. Ours are in the second layer of cat cages barely visible.

I don't give up. I slyly go to the front of the store and approach someone who is playing with the kitties. "They're are more in the back!" I whisper. Turns out that person is a volunteer not a potential adopter. Caught. Trying to poach. Ooooops.

I take Fagan out of the cage and carry him in my arms. I noticed someone looking at the kittens. I walk right up and say "Want to hold their brother?" Who can say no to that. The man holds Fagan for quite some time but not a taker.

I see a couple eying the kitties. I introduce them. "Fagan, Oliver..." The couple says "Awww, we just lost our cat Oliver. We had him for 18 years." Perfect, I think. Oliver is adopted. Nope.

So, we leave in no better shape than we came. Actually in worse shape. I have a few kitty scratches.

Happy Christmas in July.

Betrayal.

Barb and I decided to tackle this week's long run of 9 miles on the American Tobacco Trail right after work.

We did a nice long stretch and then off we went. Our paces are quite far apart so we start off together but Barb is immediately in front of me and quickly disappears. I'm at a happy pace - trying to keep it even and I have no idea what 9 miles really feels like.

The American Tobacco trail is mile marked. I pass the .25 mark on the trail. I glance at my i-Pod and Nike Plus tells me I've run .27 miles. I think nothing of it.

I pass the 3 mile mark and Nike Plus tells me I've run 3.7 miles.

I consider for just a moment that the American Tobacco Trail is wrong. I've put my faith and trust and nascent running career in the hands of this little device. It can't be wrong.

It is wrong. I feel a small sense of betrayal. And I feel a small sense of defeat. I felt like I was barely hanging on a string in terms of keeping up with miles and running at a good pace. And now to learn I've gone less miles at a slower pace. Disheartening. Especially for someone like me who loves precision and tracking. It's all undermined.

Barb, miles ahead of me realizes the same thing and thinks of me. I've also thought of her when I noticed it too. When we pass each other (it's a there and back trail so that will happen) we almost in unison explain that the Nike Plus isn't properly calibrated.

Needless to say, the run takes us much longer than planned. Barb does the full 9 I do 8.5. We left our clothes at the YMCA. YMCA closes at 7:30. At 7:40 I am still on the trail. Luckily, Barb has gotten my stuff. But I'm still a sweaty disgusting mess with plans in Durham. I need a shower. Luckily the downtown Y is open to 9. I arrive at 8:40 (we take post run stretching very seriously). The woman is like "We close at 9." I tell her I'm just there to take a shower. At 9:00 pm on a Friday night I get kicked out of the locker room.

Sigh.

Alone.

This was moving week at work. I'm one of the few folks who didn't move anywhere. The thing is that everyone around me did. And all the people who are going to sit by me are to be hired. So, I'm alone.


I'm actually liking it. It's quiet but open. Couches nearby. And the best view of the Bulls stadium in the agency. In fact, a few days after the move there was a big concert (Dylan, Nelson, Mellencamp) at the stadium. That brought people swarming to my area.

Counting Pennies.

I can't count to ten.
I mean I can. But not when I'm swimming.
I have the hardest time keeping track of how many laps I've done. I much prefer to get into the zone when I'm doing laps and get lost in my thoughts or think about form and drag instead of thinking 1-1-1-1 the whole lap through.

So, I ordered a lap-counter. It's a ring type watch thing you wear on your index finger. You push a button on the device with your thumb. Easy.

I had been eagerly awaiting the arrival of a lap counter when I went swimming this week. In the meantime, I used pennies to count. I put a pile of pennies on the white painted 3 (as in three feet depth). Every time I did a lap the pennies moved onto the black painted area around the three. Brilliant, right?

So I'm swimming and I'm happy and I'm really high on the laps (as evidenced from all the pennies in the black area) and I'm about to finish a lap and what do I see on the floor or the pool?

Yes, my pennies.

And what do I see on the deck of the pool?

A toddler. Smiling with one of my pennies in her hand.

Sigh.

Stressed.

Crab and Steak

Went to Greater Charlotte (Mooresville) for the weekend for a visit to la famiglia de Adam.

For lunch Adam bought crabs. Played with them before boiling them. Yick.


Dinner was much better. We had steak. Courtesy of my mommy (she had sent the steak as a thank you gift for Easter hospitality. Yum.

Thrilling Day.

I went to a seminar today at sponsored by SAS and JMP. It was interesting but a bit over my head. I got a nice water bottle out of it.

After said seminar I picked up a tri suit. No hiding in one of those, yeesh.

Team Bob Saget. Second Place.

Team Bob Saget came in a very respectable second place tonight. Also, I was delighted to learn that there were dessert options beyond the fruit cobblers and stuff listed on the menu. Ice Cream Brownie Sundae. Delicious. Hal did an awesome dance that I caught on video. I am searching for that file. Work it Hal in your 1$ shirt. I'm a model you know what I mean and I do my little turn on the catwalk.

Big Cats, Little Cats.

Diane's birthday was on July 6th but we celebrated it today with a kitty party. First, we visited the Carnivore Preservation Trust and saw some big kitties


After we saw big kitties, we went to Mary's house and do what all good geeks do. We played games. But first, please note the awesome decorations by Mary. I told Mary I had some balloons. Then I realized I only had black balloons. Then I remembered the kitties and Mary took it from there.

Mary also recalled that Diane mentioned the only reason (or one of the reasons?) she wanted to go on a cruise was because they fold towels in neat shapes. To heck with a cruise ship, once again, crafty Mary makes it happen.

Then we played the The Great Dal-Moody. I thought the Dal Moody's weren't bossy enough. I never got to be the Dal-Moody. Here are some good hat shots of the lesser Dal-Mooody.




And here are some nice flower shots of the Greater Dal Moody.



After Dal Moody we played Cranium. The best moment was the all play when the action was break dancing.


Adam got it before we hit the floor. Clever boy.

I like this shot of us all giving each other high fives. Because we're so awesome.

Running, wedding and sleeping.

Did a long run this morning with Candace and the Jeff Galloway runners. I felt a little guilty because I've been following Hal Higdon's running program (who I just learned went to Carleton ----- yeah!). In fact, it was the day that they were taking the group picture for the season and Candace and I decided it was easier for me to be in the picture then to not so that was a funny thing. It was evidence that I had cheated on Hal! Anyway, the Galloway method is to walk/run. I was in the 1030 pace group that had me running three and walking one. I really liked being in the pace group - helped me stay steadier and faster than I would be otherwise. And the walk run thing was OK too. It was a nice little affair but I'm back with Hal.

After that I went to Laura Windley's wedding. It was at the Hope Valley Country Club with a vintage theme. So awesome. I only have two pictures from the wedding. Both of food (sigh). The cake and a huge piece of meat.


After the wedding Diane, Adam and I came back to our place and took a nap. I'm not a good napper so I was up and about after about 45 minutes. Adam emerged another 45 minutes later. Diane never emerged. I actually got a little worried about her. I thought about checking in on her but I hate waking people up. But then again, what if she was dead or dying or something? That's definitely worse than waking someone up.

I went to bed and was still thinking about Diane not emerging from her room. I also totally forgot she has a bathroom in there so I was getting concerned that she hadn't even been out to pee. And wasn't on IM or Facebook or anything.

That next Sunday morning at 7 am it just got to me and I knocked on her door. Of course she was fine. Sigh.

My first and shortest "long run"

6 miles. Running through the woods behind Barb. I love running in the woods, except through spiderwebs. We had some hills in there too.

And this completes all the running for Week One.

Glasses, Passes & Public Enemies.

Many errands including a trip to "Specs" at Southpoint (recommended by Bengt who got his funky glasses at Specs) because apparently men do make passes at women who wear glasses.

We were all trying on specs but Diane was the one with a real mission. There was a very funny moment when she put on a pair and asked "What do you think?" We all laughed not because the glasses didn't look good, but because they were about the same pair Bengt already owned.

So, we all paid homage to Bengt and his specs.

Bengt and his ladies. Apparently women make passes at men who wear glasses.

After Specs, saw this film with pals. Not a fan.

And I broke the ten minute mile mark.

Baby steps for Babies!

On a trail. With hills. I was chasing Barb. That speeds me up.

First "long run" this Saturday. Six miles. Going to try to do it somewhere on the Raleigh course. Have yet to run that long. Going to take it slooooow.

Well, I was named after the Bionic Woman.

So, a few months ago, my pal Barb quit smoking.
She decided to do a Triathlon to deal with it.
I decided to support her and go along for the ride. And the swim. And the run.

On Sunday, June 28th, I completed my first Sprint Triathlon.

The day started at 4:45am. I hadn't really thought about breakfast so ended up having cold pizza and a Peppermint Patty.
Breakfast of Champions, right?

We arrived at the race site at 5:45am.

The instructions they sent over the day prior made the pre-race period seem complicated but in the end we easily got everything done (get chipped, body marked, set up transition area). They write your number all over your body and on the back of your leg they also write you age. Er.

Prior to the race, all participants submitted a 100m swim time. This time determined you start time for the swim. I didn't want to get trampled by other swimmers so I was very conservative about my time. Turns out I could have trampled some of the people in front of me. Next time I won't pad my swim time. And, I've got to get comfortable passing people (you need to tap them on the foot or grab their ankle or something) and I'll do flip turns as well (it just felt too crowded for that). Even with the slowdown of the folks in front of me I was ranked #42 for swimming out of 150+ women. I'm proud of this and know I can beat it.

I need to work on my transitions "wardrobe changes" if you will. My transition time from swimming to riding was almost as long as my swim. Doh! I'm definitely going to get a tri suit and I'll also remember to do basic things like have my shoes untied so that I can slip them on (I will also get the plastic things that tie your shoes for you). Silly rookie mistakes! I also need to research using sneakers and toe cages for the ride instead of clip ons. I guess the question is how much time do clip on shoes save versus how much time it take to put them on and take them off?

Here's me after the race with more thoughts on transitions



The ride was really nice. As people were passing me, I admit I was curious when they had started. I was seeing a lot of low numbers like 40, 56, 28, etc and I thought to myself "Damn, I'm #175 and I'm with the folks at the front of the pack." Until I remember that I was looking at their ages, not their start numbers. Whoops.

I took the ride as an opportunity to hydrate. Somehow I managed to drop my waterbottle while riding. It was a Carleton College Reunion waterbottle I had just gotten the weekend prior and it killed me not to stop and get it. And, I was worried about littering (concern about littering seemed to be a theme during this tri!).

I was most worried about the run. It's my weakest leg of the tri and I had to do it after a swim and a ride. My goal was just to run the whole run. And I did! It was also hillier than anything I had ever done but I made it. Hooray again. The water stations were intriguing. It's very hard to run and drink (Ahem, drink water). And when I was done I did not know what to do with the cup. Especially given what I had heard about being disqualified for littering. At the second water station I asked (while I was still running) and they told me just to throw it to the side. "Really?" I asked (still running). "I can litter?" Finally, I just threw the cup on the road. How liberating.

In the end, I was happy. I made it. And now I'm hooked. I'm planning on doing another Sprint Tri on August 9th. My birthday! I want to have a nice dinner at Bella Monica with my pals the night before and then hope some of them can attend the race the next morning to cheer me on. I think I can improve a lot now that I know how this works. I know for sure I can bring down my transition times. And, I want to up the distances a bit so I'm looking at an Olympic Tri in October.

Hey, I was named after the bionic woman, after all.

I saw Thriller for the first time at a roller skating rink.

Running just as fast as we can can can can.

Yeah, not even 10 minute miles just yet.
But you gotta start somewhere.
So, I've started.
I began this run at 8:50. Temps were down and sun was going down. It was a perfecting setting for my first 3.1 attempt.

What's the cute little helicopter doing on my dashboard?

Ugh. Already.

A Tale of Four Tails by Diane Winner with videos and Jamie Commentary

Facebook people go to this link for videos:

Throwing all common sense to the wind, Jamie and I signed up to foster four kittens last night.

Jamie's Note: I didn't sign anything.

Jamie's Note: A video of us on the drive over to Petsmart


I know, I know. Move on.

When we arrived at the PetSmart to get them, the coordinator had a carrier with four of the CUTEST kittens you've ever seen. Three orange tabbies and a grey tabby. All at that fluffy, mewing 8 week age where you find yourself reduced to a blathering idiot, willingly offering your fingers for little kitten claws to tear to shreds while you coo, "Who's a cute widdle kitten? You are! Aw, so precious and cute you widdle dawling kitty."

Jamie was instantly in love. Out came the camera (surprise) to take video of our darling new babies purring and playing through the bars of the carrier. SOooooo cute....

Jamie's Note: Here is said video. They like my purse.


But no. Not our kitties.

You should have seen Jamie's face. So disappointed. I swear she was already contemplating how she was going to get one of those fluffballs in her purse when in walked OUR kitties.

Jamie's Note: They did like my purse.

They were in two carriers. Draped with Big Towels. Carried by two people who said things in sinister voices like, "They've never been outside before... EVER." And, "They've never seen another human being before... EVER."

And, my personal favorite,

Cat People: "They're pretty scary."
Jamie: "You mean scared?"
Cat People: "No, scary."

Off come the towels, and from the very back of the carriers, squished as far as they could go, came adorably pathetic "Hiiiiissss" noises.

Jamie's Note: Before we met them, I made a joke that our kittens would be all black. Our kittens are all black.

I think Nick may finally have met his match.

Preciousnesses

I can't wait to pick up four foster kittens tonight. I want to name them

1) Precious
2) Really Precious
3) Super Precious
4) Quite Precious

Diane will never let it happen, tho.

Two Cars = A Fleet?

Scanning Project

Because I am an archivist and a minimalist I am in the midst of digitizing all my photos. It's a bit of a walk down memory lane for me going through these old pictures. Getting me ready for reunion, perhaps? Anyway, here's one of me I like. I'm a little spec on the field on the hill. Waving hello. Or goodbye.  

I bought a Saab!

Rules of Buying A Car: Be hungry and be pissed.

So, I drove to High Point NC tonight with Adam to go buy a SAAB. I told Adam that because he was a male who knows about cars and is also my boyfriend that he was going to play a crucial role in this negotiation (in other words, I wanted him to do it).

I knew Adam would do a great job playing the scene. What I didn't realize was that he played me too (in a good way though).

As we were exiting for the dealer Adam said something along the lines of this is not what he would do. Now I know that he would just go get a Hyundai or something but what I was looking for from him was his advice and counsel within the context of what I wanted to do.

I have to admit, his comment pissed me off. I've been talking about the car for weeks and if he thought I was making a big mistake, I want that information to consider. Before we were within 5 minutes of the dealer.

Little did I know he got me in this state of mind on purpose (or so he says).

Also note, and this is important, we drove out Friday after work. Arrived at 7. Dealer closes at 8. I have usually had dinner by 8.

So, we do the bullshit back and forth thing and around 745 we are $300 apart. Adam has me unsure about even wanting this car. And, I am hungry. So, it's easy for me to just walk away. And that's what we do. Walk away.

All I can think about is dinner. All Adam can think about is how quickly the dealer will call back to accept the offer.

We find dinner in Greensboro and about 2 hours after we leave we get the call.
I get the price.
I get the car.
And, I get a sandwich.

All is well.

Thanks Adam.

A quick morning fling with a green Saab.

I am very close to buying a Black SAAB in High Point, NC. I did take one look at a different SAAB in Raleigh on Thursday morning. It was green and I liked that. It was also a super hippie car. Food coop and peace and Obama stickers galore.

After test driving it I decide to pass.

15 books in 15 minutes

Don’t take too long to think about it. Fifteen books you’ve read that will always stick with you. First fifteen you can recall in no more than 15 minutes. Copy the instructions into your own note, and be sure to tag ME if I tagged you.

Diane flipped the kid books switch. Looks like I haven't read a book since 5th grade.

1. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
2. The Corrections
3. Middlesex
4. Positivity
5. From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
6. Corduroy
7. Love Monkey
8. The Adventures of Cavalier & Clay
9. The Time Traveler’s Wife
10. Ramona Quimby, Age 8
11. James & The Giant Peach
12. The Phantom Tollbooth
13. Little House of the Prairie
14. The Five Little Peppers and How They Grew
15. The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao

In other news, Team Bob Saget got second place tonight. We were a big group (actually, technically we were too big this week). With two sets of new folks there were multiple conversations occurring and I felt disoriented. Funny birthday shot at the end though.

Reunioning

For my ten year college reunion. Now I need to think of a clever response to "So, how've you been?"

I am excited about this. Something to show for the last ten years.
Adam (I think that's the name of the guy I hired to join me for reunion. At his rate, I'll call him whatever I want).
&
And a minor improvement in Swing Dance ability.

I must work in a trip to Sawatdee.

Birthdays = Bella Monica

I love birthdays because I love Bella Monica. Have a birthday. I take you to dinner at Bella Monica. Everyone wins.

And I love Diane getting a little tipsy because she is unafraid of bugs and will whack! whack! WHACK! at them until they are very very very dead.

Bengt Bowlingt Barty.

We threw a bowling party for Bengt. Overall, we're not great bowlers. But, boy, is there some great spirit.

Look at my high score. Look, look!

Look! Look at the cool bowling shirt we (well, Mary) made for Bengt.

And we closed it out with some karaoke

I'm gonna pass on speciality French Toasts from Briggs.

I ordered this for breakfast.

Got this

And left this on my plate

Segways & Proms

Rode for Clive, and then I rode a Segway around downtown Raleigh with Adam and David. David dropped in from IL for the weekend. It was great having him here. The less notice, the more fun.



After Segway adventure, we went to a Swing Dance. And then to the Marriott Bar for drinks. There was a middle school prom going on at the Marriott Bar. Diane saw some kids in the restroom who she thought were doing drugs. She reported them to the chaperones. Busted!