The Athena Diaries

Dear Diary,

13. Thinking ahead to 2011, I think I want to do mostly 50k runs.  I've done a marathon or longer in AL, AZ, CA, ID, KY, MS, NM, NV, TX, and UT.  I'd like to add 3 or 4 more to that this year.

12. At the race I did Sunday, a woman I know, Tove, smoked me.  She's a cat-something cyclist, but has gotten much faster as a runner lately.  She started the 5k about 5 minutes after I started the 10K, and about mile 2.5 blew by me like I was standing still, running a 7:22 pace.  She's 60.  Sixty. SIXTY.  So just in case you have a friend who's all, I'm too old to do anything like that, well, there you go. 

11. I guess my season has come to an end.  Next year, my fantasy would be to run a marathon in about 5 hours. To do that, I would have to be able to bring my half marathon down closer to 2 hours.

GAWD that's so pathetic.  How sad am I, that my wildest (well, maybe not my wildest but certainly one of my wilder ones) fantasy includes running 26 miles in 5 hours?  Shouldn't one have more interesting fantasies than that?

9.  I am a bit nervous about my ankle.  It is huge, bruised and swollen even though it doesn't hurt and I've had several perfectly good runs on. But now as a result of it being that way, I'm nervous about trails again.

8.  I'm not training for anything above 50 miles for 2011.  I'll be too busy. Internship stuff.

7.  Earlier this week I was assessing a kid who has impulse control issues.  While walking him and his family to my office, the father said, "hey, do you ride a horse?" and then proceeded to insist that I was bowlegged even after his wife AND his son told him to shut up.
Are impulse control issues inherited?  I'll leave it to you to decide.
Meanwhile, I just said, calmly, "I had no idea I was bowlegged."  He kept on it, saying to his wife, "See?  See?  Look at her.  She walks on the outside of her feet and everything."

Am I now a bit self-conscious about this, despite his obvious frontal lobe deficits?  Oh, hell yes.

6.  Okay.  Men in tutus.  What is the fascination in wearing a tutu during a run if you're a guy?  I don't usually see women wearing ties, or cups, or loin clothes.  But I do see many more men dress up as women when it's time to dress up in costumes, than women seem to dress up as men.  Why is that?  Is it just me noticing it?  Penis envy, my ass.  I think something else is being envied here.

5.  This week I start my new training cycle.  I'm starting with week 5 of the 50-mile training plan from the Santa Clarita runners club.  What am I training for?  Well, nothing.  I just like the training plan.  NO, I'm not OCD.  It made me a better runner, I think, and helps keep my weight down.

4.  I found out I can eat lunch at work for $1.75 a day.  I'm not saying it's health food.   Just sayin' it's food.  For $1.75 I can pick out what I want and ask for seconds on the healthy stuff, while skipping the unhealthy stuff.  It's not fancy. It's not Whole Foods. It's edible.

3.  About a month ago Sweet Baboo and I were surprised when our gasoline card was declined while on a trip.  I tell you it is a joy to be utterly humiliated this way. 
Anyway. We found out someone had gotten my card number (I still had my card) and used it to charge exactly $100 worth of gas at two local gas stations in the worst part of town.  About six times.  And yes, we shred everything.  No idea how my number got out.  2010 has been the year of being victimized.

2.  I had a horrible run Wednesday, the first run of my new training cycle.  My legs were tired.  My lungs were asthmatic.  But it was beautiful out, and I'd rather be dragging my wheezing, tired ass through that fall day than just about anything else on earth.

1.  Sunday I dressed up for Halloween as a door that doesn't open, on a house with lights that are turned off.  I know, I know, I'm a terrible person.  But I just forgot, believe it or not, to get candy, and remember, I. Am Lazy.  So I turned out the lights and hid.

...