LA-LA-LA-LA Wait ’til I get my money right…

LA-LA-LA-LA Wait ’til I get my money right…

As long as it doesn’t snow! Here is my current race plan, designed to get me to 52 combined marathons and ultras by my 52nd birthday on January 2nd.

I didn’t want to do the triple this year (three marathons in three days – did it last year and I’m calling that good), didn’t want to do a double (two marathons in two days – did that last year too, good on that one too!) Instead I’ll do two in two weeks – that’ll give my getting-older bones a chance to rest. Last year we ran the entire 26 miles of the Flatass in frozen snow, and about four miles of First Call in snow (plus we did the same at the Last Chance the day before). I have no desire to repeat those experiences, so I’m hanging on to the option to bail out on snowy courses. Though I’d like to hit 52 at 52, it’s just not that important to me. The prediction is for a warm winter, so maybe it won’t be a problem. We’ll see.

The only plan I have for after the first of the year is to run the entire 24 hours of Pac Rim. I don’t have a training plan laid out, I’ll work on that later…

I’ve been a little tired since Portland, fought off a short-lived cold and have kept up with Pilates and running and work. And, I’m back on my healthy and sane eating plan. It’s all good around here!

Most weeks, I shuffle along, get my work done, and feel pretty good about the whole thing. This week, however, I can’t believe it’s only Wednesday. It honestly feels like I’ve done about two weeks worth of work in the past three days, and I’m wiped.
When this happens, I have a surefire solution: sappy movies [...]

Why am I so bad at math?
Yeah… I don’t know either…
On a better note, there’s a Super Fun Halloween Dance Party approaching and I hope to see you all there!

Joe and I at Starbucks on Saturday.

I think that’s Joe in the famous yellow singlet in the middle of the pack – start of race.

Me, start of race.

Jessica and Rob

Jessica and I, about 10K in.

Me, Margaret and Jessica, not sure where.

Abi and Rick

Jessica and Rob

Jessica, me, Margaret, about mile 21? Not really sure about that.

I rested Monday and Tuesday, then ran Wednesday morning, Thursday morning and night and today, using the marathon to boost my mileage for the week to 50.5. Gotta take advantage of the long run when I can.
Oh, I forgot to tell you about the worst moment of the marathon. Does anyone remember my porta-potty story from a couple years ago? Where I dropped my gloves in the suspicious puddle on the floor? Well, this one is worse. I went in to what had to be the single most disgusting porta-potty on the course. The kind I would normally turn around and walk right out of. But there was no line…and I hate waiting in line mid-race. So I stayed in it, setting my water bottle on top of the toilet paper dispenser, where it promptly slid off and hit the floor, spout first. I was totally grossed out and all I could think about was having to carry the nasty thing for 20 more miles. I decided I’d try to clean it by squirting the hand sanitizer all over it and rubbing it down. Once we were back on the street, I couldn’t force myself to drink from it. I squeezed some water out into my cupped palm and tried to wash it some more. Still couldn’t bring myself to drink from it. At the next water station, I grabbed a cup and poured it all over the lid. This whole time, I’m fretting about it and Jessica is laughing at me. Finally I decided I had to take the plunge – I took a big swig. I continued to drink from it for the rest of the day, warning everyone that I was likely to become deathly ill soon. So far, it’s been an entire week and I’m still healthy. Guess I’ve got a pretty sturdy immune system after all!

Finally, be sure to check out Joe’s blog for some more great pictures.

As the sun is rising on my Saturday morning, I am remembering to thank Monsieur Marc Jacobs for being the silver lining in my week. You see, when you are as the young ones say “on your grind”, you are given little opportunity to fantasize. Well, a fantasy is more like your imagination unrestricted by [...]

Portland Marathon 2006 was my first marathon, making last Sunday’s race my third anniversary of marathoning. Portland Marathon 2009 was marathon #37, and #47 if you add in ultras. I’m counting down to #50, and thinking about trying to hit 52 by my 52nd birthday on January 2nd. That goal flexes on a daily basis depending on how energetic I feel.

I had a fantastic marathon weekend – coffee with the running club Saturday morning, the drive down with Eric right after, visiting with friends at the expo, stopping by Bob Dolphin’s 80th birthday party (where he also celebrated the running of his 452nd marathon!) and a wonderful visit and coffee with Joe at Starbucks. We followed that busy afternoon with a quiet evening with Margaret at her Portland condo, a great home-cooked meal and a good night’s sleep.

After some debate, we decided to have Eric drive us down to the start. The bummer was we got there just after security guards were posted and Eric wasn’t allowed to enter the start corral area with us. Jenny and Sonya got there just before that happened, so they got to wait with us. Margaret and I met up with Rick, Abi, Jessica, Rob and his wife, also Jessica, plus another local friend. We chatted with several Maniacs and huddled together to stay warm.

The marathon went very well for me – cool weather and solid pacing really helps. Jessica, Margaret and I stuck together for the entire race. My only slight issue was with fueling. I didn’t manage it quite as well as I could have and started feeling the lack of energy at mile 23. I kept plugging away though and stepped across the finish at 5:37, my best time so far for 2009. I had a major drop in energy immediately following the race, but that was fixed up with a black bean burger and fries shortly after. Altogether a wonderful weekend!

On a sad note, Eric and I had to take our sweet cat, Charlotte, in for the final good-bye last Friday afternoon. She was 14 years old, a major part of our family and our boy’s childhood. Charlotte spent many a homeschooling day in special castles, nests and tents built for her by the boys, or curled up beside them while they studied, occasionally listening to read-alouds, or listening to all the secrets little boys have to tell. It was hard for us to let go, hard to say good-bye, but her kidneys were shutting down and there was no other option. It is simply the price we pay to share our lives with beloved pets. We will miss her.

Now, to end on a much happier note, I absolutely love everything about my new work with the college and Eric is just as happy with his new job. It is exciting to go into work each morning, to watch the growth and development of both my little and big students. The beginning of the quarter rush has settled down and we are all finding our rhythm. Life is really, really good!

why I come here so early. Oh yeah, so I can see ERIN (I’m sure you all know her) and Math. MATH MATH MATH! Somebody stop me…
Yesterday, I was matched with 3 out of 4 of the tutors I need… Good news good news.
BAD NEWS! The Louis Vuitton s/s2010 show is tomorrow=WHAT AM I DOING [...]

The Marcom graphics team is in the middle of a great adjustment. We’ve lost Teri, our awesome publication manager and have absorbed her position.  The added unknowns and stress has started to wear on my creativity. I find my “creativity tank” to be running on empty while I’m tasked with one of the most exciting [...]