Vanity and ultrarunning are not mutually exclusive. At least not to me: Thursday 13.

Dear Diary,

13. I truly, truly, truly believe that I may commit some sort of violent crime if I have to watch any more of thise Aflak commercials with the pidgeon in them.  Major medical, Booyyzzzzzz.

12. I have basically been off training since the San Antonio marathon and, oh, by the way, people love telling me about the guy that died during the half marathon. Non runners are almost gleeful about that.

 Which leads me to make the following observation: In any group of more than 20,000 people doing anything, one of them is likely to die. It's statistics  

11. I had my hair done last week. I used a groupon. Meh. Not so thrilled about the results. It's kind of brassy. Jim, oh Jim, (my usual hairdresser) I will never stray again, I promise. Not even for a groupon. i like the cut, though. I pretty much get the same cut now. I have a picture of the cut I want on my ipad, and I just flash it to my hairdresser(s) and say, "that's the cut."  Apparently it's an easy cut, because it turns out the same way each time.

10. Saturday, I got waxed.  Yes, one of those waxes.  It shouldn't be much for an ultrarunner but it was. I had a groupon.

The girl who did it was all chatty, and she would pause in her talking just long enough to rip...  She was all, so what do you do for a living? RRRRIPPP.  Oh, really? I had another customer this week that RRRRIPPP! does the same thing.  RRRRIPPP! hey, you're doin' great!

It was the most painfull one I've done, since I hadn't done it in three years.  But it was also the fastest.  

Waxing is so cruel. At first, you're all, hey, that warm wax feels good, this won't be so bad, I think, and what's that? A muslin strip? So now you'll HEYYYY!  OW! OW OW FUCKING OW!!!

RRRRIPPP


I asked her if she had seen 'that scene' in the movie, 40-year-old Virgin, and she said, Did you know they really did wax him?  

RRRRIPPP.

9. I started a new 50 mile training plan.  I tried to talk mini baboo into doing it.  He had lots of questions about trail running, but so far, is not interestested in running with his mom.  Go figure. 


I'm trying to figure out a way to upload my training plan, in case anyone is interested.  

8. Monday we had a nasty storm here, and I stayed inside all day and burned wood.  I called in lazy.  Actually, I called in snow. I can barely see here,  I said, and then writhed in the guilt of my lie. Luckily, I was saved when the major freeway that takes me to work was closed down.  See? It really was bad out. i relaxed, and read on the couch.

And waited. And then....about two in the morning, Sweet Baboo came home. He has been gone all month. I showed him his Christmas prresent: new components, many of them Apple, set up for streaming movies and listening to his favorite music, whenever he wants.  He was less interested on the gift and more interested in the giver. 

7. As part of my Year of Vanity, I bought a curing lamp and Gelish stuff to do my own gel nails. I'm hard on my nails, and these are fantastic.

6.  Also, the skin experiment hS been successful. i've managed to get rid of a lot of spots through a careful regimen. Yes, yes, I know, it's what's on the inside that counts, blah, blah.

I was asked recently about marathoning (probably because I keep a whole buttload of my medals hanging on the wall in my office) and I told them, truthfully, it all comes down to the math.  I have to eat less, or move more, and I LIKE TO EAT. Vanity trumps laziness, yet again.

5. Meanwhile, along the same "vanity trumps laziness" thread, in my desperate bid to be the world's biggest 'Johnnie come lately' I started doing the Power 90 workout this week. I like it. I can only do five pushups in a row. That's up from last year, when I could do three. Still, I like it. 

I parent my pets like I parent my kids: You
got yourself up there, you can get yourself
back down.  I don't care if you're blind.

4. The other thing I did this week was switch over to a mac. I've had it with Microsoft. I bought a mini mac and a wireless keyboard and trackpad, and it just uses my tv as a display. I also bought a CD/dvd superdrive, and spent considerable time ripping Baboo's favorite CDs to The Cloud.

3. Blind kitteh is doing well. She even climbs up into the Christmas tree. Here's a fun fact for you: blind kitties always climb back down backwards, that is, they descend butt first. She likes to chew on my feet while I'm putting on makeup. From the two teaspoons of kitteh formula she was taking in six weeks ago, she is now eating a full can of cat food a day, plus some dry. 

2. I will begin running on the treadmill during the week. I have always said: i don't mind running in the cold, or the dark, but bitter cold plus dark, well forget it.  And those Holiday edition Hershey's kisses aren't going to burn themselves off.  I'm still at 156, and my butt feels big.

But anyway.  I like running on the treadmill.  The key is to tip it up a little, so that there's some incline. That shortens your stride and makes it a better workout.  

1. My next year is going to be somewhat barren of travel, at least for a while. I have to complete an internship, which will last 8 months, and so that will keep me busy 6 days a week. I will graduate in August, so I'm planning on doing something special for the fall to celebrate.  I might try my hand at another 100K, or I might try to do an Ironman again.  I'm still in the planning stages.

... 

What I think, and what I know.

Dear Diary,

Here is what I think, and what I know.

13. I know it's forcast to be a high A HIGH of 34 this Sunday, the day of a sprint triathlon I signed up for, and a low A LOW the day before and the day of the triathlon of about 20.

12. I think I am not going to swim, bike, and run in that shit.

11. I know that the Gelish basix kit and the light that I bought with it maybe the best investment I ever made. Shiny, shiny nails, I love you. You stand up to scouring a blackened pot.

10. I think that the weekend I spent with Baboo in San Antonio after Thanksgiving maybe a better weekend than most people have in their life.  IN THEIR LIFE. No, don't argue. You won't win.

9. I know that the Panasonic electric epilator I bought is a very iffy proposition.  I know that I will study carefully and procede with caution.

8. I think i maybe am the world's clumsiest woman. I was standing in line at the base exchange this week, and rolled my ankle. i shit you not. Standing there. The soldiers and airmen around me were AMAZED. I got that incredulous, gosh, are you okay ma'm? while i recovered my balance and muttered, yes, thank you.

8. I know that I am seriously behind on my running, owing to the molar I had pulled this week.  and also due to the preparations I have been making for Sweet Baboo's return.

7. I think, that is I am pretty sure, that I swallowed a loose crown this week. 

6. I know I am not going to try to retrive it. bye-bye, loose crown. Hello, kentucky woman.

5. I think that my blind kitten needs a tiny football helmet.  BONK. I also think it must be a necessary part of her development to always be under my left foot as I am putting it down, so that I can hear the frantic SCREEK!! And then almost fall over to avoid stepping on her.  I also think her development somehow involves lying very close to me while I sleep and swatting me on the mouth.

4. I know that Sweet Baboo is coming home, at least by Tuesday. 

3. I think he'll be pleased with some of the changes I made during the month that he's been gone.  I rearranged some things, and got new bedding.  This weekend, I will put up Christmas lights. 

2. I know that this month went better than I thought it would; and yet, I am glad it's over.

1. I think the the Jonster and I need to talk about picking up after onesself.  After all, winter is in full swing, and I could very easily accidentally lock him out of the house. 

13 things to be thankful for

Dear Diary, 

Here are some things I'm thankful for:

13.  I'm thankful that I've got good genes.  I complain about my depressive, anxious, alcoholic genes, but I have some good ones, too: I'm smart, and I have nice, thick, oily skin. I know that last one sounds weird, but trust me: if you live in the desert southwest, thick oily skin is what you want.  It keeps me looking young.  Good vanity genes also includes that I have only a few strands of gray hair at 46.

12.  I'm thankful for Baboo.  Of course.  There was a time when I briefly waffled in my decision to marry him.  I was pretty gun-shy.  But I swallowed hard, took the plunge, and my life has been awesome ever since. 

11.  I'm thankful that my Baboo has an excellent work ethic.  If he didn't, I would have as much fun as I do, and my running shoes would be much lower quality, and I wouldn't get to brag about his accomplishments as much as I do, which of course is the grownup version of my boyfriend can beat up your boyfriend.

Speaking of which: yes, in officer's training this month he did beat out most of the younger guns the fitness tests, which of course, includes running two whole miles.

10.  I'm thankful for Ma and Pa Baboo.  As inlaws, they are The Awesome.

9.  I'm thankful Blogsy for iPad now has WYSIWYG editing. This has been a major hindrance to posting to my blog, so I'll be doing that more often.

8. I'm thankful for all four crazy critters that live in my house: the loud, whiny complaning one; the spazzy wiggly one; the blind one; and the one that hisses at everybody else.

7.  I'm thankful for my job.  In a bad economy having a job is enough to be thankful for, but I have a job where they treat me with respect and provide the tools I need. 

6.  I'm thankful for my brain.  Pretty soon, I'll be testing for my independent license.  I expect to pass. I wish I could say I am grateful for the licensing board in my state, but their glacial pace makes it impossible (I applied for this in August, and it's been pending since then.)

5.   I'm thankful for Rihanna's Disturbia.  And, for car dancing. The two are not mutually exclusive.

4. I am thankful for waking up to a warm kitten tucked under my chin, purring--What? You wish you  had an under-the-chin kitten? Well, there's plenty of poor homeless kittens out there; go getcha one.

of course, I am thankful for the few stolen hours of sleep I manage to get between the several moments that the blind kitteh inexplicably smacks me in the mouth with her tiny, sharp-clawed paw. (WHAT the fuck is up with that, anyway?)

3. I'm thankful that my work computer knows what I mean when I type doe snot.

2. I am thankful for good friends like Herself, the Dreadpirate, who shames me into not skipping out on the Turkey run I signed up for but felt like I was too exhausted to run, given that cats kept me up all night.

And,

1.  I'm thankful all three of my kids are safe, even the one who recently unfriended me on Facebook and is not speaking to me (You know who you are.)

...

San Antonio

Dear Diary,

Well, I guess I am a little burnt out on road marathons. This was not all that exciting. I felt like I wasted a lot of eneergy in the first ten miles dodging around women walking six abreast walking elbow to elbow.  And crap, it was hot. I hoped for a PR. Then I hoped to break five. Then i hoped to break 5:15.

By the time I was at mile 20, and had thrust a bag of ice into my bra top to ward off the 87 degrees heat, I just wanted the damned thing to be over.
And yet...
I continue ti be grateful that I can even run a marathon.

12.  Of course, I'm gonna lose a toenail.  or three.  Lovely.

11. The Army had other plans for our hope-for weekend. They had Baboo work all day Saturday and part of the day Sunday. Immediately after the marathon, I had time to shower and get into a cab. By the time I hit the airport at 3:30, i was ready to chew my own arm off, having not eaten since 4 am.

   I ate three suppers. Of airport food.  I practically had to sell blood to pay for it.  But surprisingly, I made good choices.  I ate at some schmancy place that served little pices of food for a lot of money, hoping for good protein. I grabbed a sandwich to go.   Then, in Dallas, I ate a grilled chicken sandwich at McDonalds DON'T GIVE ME ANY CRAP I was starving.

10. Oh, AND the Garmin Nuvi kept sending me to closed gates on base?  There's no "I can't go this way" button, either.  So, I would just turn back while the Nuvi erupted into a hysterical litany of turn left make a u-turn turn left then turn left make a u-turn...I have to wonder if the Nuvis all talked to eath other, what mine would say about me?  You wouldn't believe the idiot who owns me. She never follows any of my damned directions. Why does she even use me?

I'll tell you why.  Because it always leads me to a Starbucks.

9.  I took the week off from running so that my toe could turn black and stop hurting.

8. You know what? I forgot how much I liked celery. I started taking it to work and eating it,with hummus. Of course, I have to say it in a gutteral, sexy way HHHHHHUMMUS.
But, this seems to be helping my, "it's 9 am an I've eaten my lunch" problem.

7.  This week I had a kid's mother in my office. The kid asked me about my medals and then I told her, Running is my anti-drug. we talked about coping skills. We talked about treatment. I worked my magic, the magic that is required when the state you live in allows anyone over 14 to refuse treatment. . I shit you not.
Anyway. As we leaving my office the kid's mother took me aside on the stairwell to ask me a question, in private: so I bet you know where I can get a good workout bra.
Why, of course I do. It's all about priorities, you know. You can have more kids. But a good fitting bra, well, I mean, c'mon.

6. I have bifocal contacts! I am incredibly excited about this, new piece of artifice and vanity. Why, no, my eyes are not 46 year old simultaneously near sighted and farsighted organs. Not as long as I have these little babies. I am a snowflake, as fresh as the day the cloud made me.

5.  So the eye doc told me how they work: at a near microscopic level, the lens is like a window screen, with the screen part being corrective for reading closely. The rest is corrective for distance vision. Cool, huh? So this week, i have the 'low' version in, during which my brain begins to train itself to fill in the gaps.
If you have ever taken perception or cognitive psychology, this is even cooler. Eventually, my visual cortex and I suspect, my executive functions, will learn to integrate decent vision close and far. If this is too nerdy for you, forgive me. I just love that as i age I can continually prop up my various functions in a way that my parents couldn't have.

That's your science moment for the week.

4.  and yet...as Baboo and I were discussing this week, I am pretty satisfied being the wise woman.  I am older than most of the people I work with.  I work with a lot of twenty-somethings, and I interview a lot of teenagers that utter dramatic statements like, why are they even including that stuff that I did before in my case? That was like, six months ago!  It's history!
Meanwhile, I find that I have lots to say on any number of topics.  I never thought I'd be this satisfied being older, but I am. 
But I'm still vain.
I still want the Retinyl palmitate in my skin cream.

3.  Blind kitty is learning her way around the house now.  She's completely blind, and yet can find her way to and from the little box, at two months' old.  *snif* I'm so proud.  I still can't leave food out for her, because Catso and Hissy Fit will eat it if I do.  They have no shame.  They've been freaking out since I put them on Indoor Cat Weight Control Formula.

2.  Jonster has come home.  This is former Seaman Jon.  He is no longer in the military.  I've had a rough year worrying about this kid, but I think he's going to be okay.

1. My souvenier from San Antonio.  I picked up this little gem at the expo, where I'd gone to get the injinji socks I forgot to pack.  At f

At first, I thought it was related to the gels and electrolytes it was sitting among. Then I looked closer at it.

No, I said to the saleswoman.

Yes, she said. 

Not--

oh yes.  I sell tons of these.

I will tell you that it is pink.

I promise a full report.

...

No, I said

First world problems

Dread pirate turned me onto this "know your meme" website. http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/first-world-problems#.TrvF1Cp5mSM The precipitant.receding? Whatever. Trigger, for this was me jokingly whining about how the remote cotrol mysteriously stopped working on our old dcd player, and no universal will work...leading me to surmise that the IR has gone out. This is. Totally geeky thing to be able to surmise but like most things in life, i am very good at figuring out what the problem is. I leave it to others to fix it. Which is why I am a diagnostician.

Anyway. So, i love this meme and i have been tweeting useless whines this week. i hasten to add that I am grateful that nearly all my complaints are of this ilk. Here are some:

• I still haven't figured out how to utilize my smartphone's Mobile hotspot feature.


• I want to network our stereo components, but I haven't the right modem for it.


• I think my trail shoes have gotten a little worn.


• My friends can't seem to decide on which ironman to do, and I'm on pins and needles, hoping it will be one I can get to and do.


• The director of field experiences at my grad schhol is a giant a.hole who Consistently utters factually inaccurate statements. But i have to kiss his ass until I graduate even though I'm older, smarter, more experienced, and lets face it, prettier.


• Pet care is cutting into my workout time.


• I still haven't developed my own low-calorie carmel sauce.


• I am going to have to run a marathon in 80 degree with incredibly high humidity. Boo

.

And the last one...

I bit the inside of my lip and my crystal lite stings.

Boo.

So, now, very very late post. Thursday 13.

Dear Diary,

13. I PR'd the 10k last Sunday by about 10 seconds. I didn't beat one hour, but I scored third place in my age group. I'd like to thank my coach, who had me do a warmup before the race (it was 45 degrees) as well as thank the fast women in the 40 to 49 growho slept in, went to church, or whatever it is that people do on Sunday mornings.

12. The day before, I hiked up about 3 miles up into the Sandias and ran back down.   Not a whisper from the ankle which, by the way, has no more bruising.

11. Through both of these, I had no ankle pain. So I consider the matter finished. A mystery, but finished. 

10. The drama that is my only daughter has come to a close. She moved to South Dakota, where her father's people are, to go to job corps.   South Dakota is a much safer place to be poor than Albuquerque.  In Albuquerque, you have to live in a section called the "war zone".  years ago, when I first moved here, I looked at a map that was color coded according to types and frequency of crime.  The war zone areas were all bright, bloody red. 

9.  Meanwhile, youngest son returns on the 12th, while I'm in San Antonio. Still not ready to talk about that yet. 

8.  It was 27 degrees this morning.  The San Antonio marathon is expecting a high of 83 that day.  "Run fast," says Coach Baboo.  Ha.  Whatever.

7. Hey, where the hell is my yoga mat? I've got a Groupon for yoga, but you have to bring your own mat.  What on earth could have happened to a yoga mat? 

6.  Considering the following races for 2012: Bander 50k, Grasslands 50 miler.  Also considering the Javalina 100K again for 2012.

5.  Also considering the Grand Columbian Tri v. Redman Tri.  Yes, a TRI.  With cycling and shit.  The Grand Columbian has a special award for couples to complete the triathlon.
4.  The kitten thing is getting old.  My hands are hamburger.  They, along with my feet, are covered in hundreds of tiny holes and scratches.  So is my cleavage.  I've gotten to where I just carry her straight out from me, which of course freaks her out more.

3. I didn't post anything because I've been emotionally preparing myself for Himself's departure.  He is spending November and part of the first week of december in San Antonio at Officer's Basic training.  I hate being alone.  I truly do.  I don't ever want to go to sleep, and I say up way to late, eating too much, watching too much TV. 
This should give you a snapshot into my life if Baboo wasn't in it: I would be huge.  I would still be running, because I have been running...but I would be huge.  And tired.  yes--I'd have dark circles. 

2.  So, but, Himself is flying me out to San Anotnio this weekend.  I'm staying on base.  It's kind of Himself's very own bootie call.  He'll probably cringe when he reads this. But there it is.  Oh, and the marathon on Sunday.  My fantasy goal: sub-4:45.  Hey, he's pretty damned lucky to have me as a wife, right?  I mean, I'm all ready to run, and rhomp, and work out.  And Sunday I'll run a marathon.

1.  Oh, and did I mention that it's 83 degrees this weekend in SA?  AND HUMID?  Hmm.  the hoped-for PR is looking dimmer and dimmer.  But that's okay.  I'll get a break from being clawed by tiny kitten claws. 

Meow.

....ee

New goals

Dear Diary,

MEDIC!!

I need some goals, now that the year is winding down. Here are a few:

13. Lose the ten pounds (I still insist that this is at least partly high sodium water weight)

Yep....any day now...I'll just piss it all away.

Any day now.

12. Get up at five am on weekdays and do some kind of exercise for at least an hour.

11. 26 minute 5k.

10. 59 minute 10k

9. PR at the San Antonio rock and roll marathon.

Thats it for goals right now.

8. Blind kitten update: at first, her eyes seemed to be stuck shut. Now they are opened, although she still seems to be blind and her actual eyes are kind of dead looking. At first, She refused to eat. Now she is lapping up formula and nibbling at kibble. She went from barely moving to doing a few leaps in the yard and exploring. At I write this she is lying next to me, attacking my arm. We will be takng her to the vet to have her checked out some time this week. She has a crate with a soft towel in it, and under the crate is a heating pad. I move the crate around the house. i do stuff so she can hear me.

7. Update 2: she tested negative for kitty diseases, got her first shot, did you know there are veterinary opthamologists? Me neither. She'll be seeing one soon. By Tuesday, she was eating some solid food and was up to three teasoons of formula every four or five hours.
(It is a truth universal that a large vet bill will occur something in the 2 months before Christmas.)
By Friday, she was eating her way into a coma.  I can no longer feel her ribs.  She has that round kitten belly, and she's scampering, somersaulting, leaping around, and acting silly.  Just like a proper kitteh.

Those are not my hairy legs.  

And bumps into things. Poor blind kitteh.

6. Monday morning I got up at five, fed Stevie Wonder (that's what I'm calling her right now, because she just moves her poor, blind little face around, following the sound of me walking, moving, and talking.) then I got dressed, got on the treadmill, and ran like hell for about eleven minites. The rest of the day, I had no pain at all in my ankle. None.

5. Announcing. New Mexico's newst ultra: the Mount Taylor 50K Run.  Y'all come.

4. A big middle finger to the photographer at the Point Defiance 50K who took my picture limping painfully into the the end of the 2nd loop.  And then sent me a notice letting me know, YOUR PICTURES FROM THE DEFIANCE 50K ARE READY!

Take that, ankle.

ps: Sweet Baboo was, like, 18th overall, and 2nd in his age group.  BOOyah.  It's very satisfying, I must say, to live with someone studly and fast.  Since, you know, I"m not.  I can have my daily brush with greatness that way.

3. I went out and did a hilly three mile run. No pain from ankle. None. After, I wrote the alphabet with. My big toe. The next morning, NO PAIN.

2. I am considering another Ironman. The Outlaws peeps are chompin' at the bit to do another race as a team and after all, we are multisport, not just running.

1. So, here is an observation that I have about Seattle. Actually, it's more of a question.  So here it is.

where do you folks keep all your fat people?

Seriously, the whole time I was there I saw maybe four people who I could honestly say were obese. That's a huge change from where I live now. This wasn't just Seattle, I noticed it in Bellingham as well.

Any thoughts?

...