2010: A Year in Books

WARNING: This post will NOT be about running. I repeat, it will NOT be about running! Are you wondering now if someone hacked this blog? haha.

 

So a few days ago I finished reading a book about the Ironman Championship and went to my Shelfari account to mark the book as read. As I did so I clicked on my bookshelf to take a peek at the books I've read this year. I was impressed to see that I've read 10 books this year! I deserve a cookie! jk I usually only read when I travel since I'm normally bombarded with a TON of magazines. The magazines I subscribe to are:

• Runner's World
• Running Times
• Shape
• Time
• Pharmaceutical Executive
• MM&M (Medical Marketing & Media)

In addition to this I also get the following magazines at work:

• Healthy Aging
• New Beauty
• MedEsthetics
• And I few others I barely flip through before tossing

Its really quite overwhelming. I read a lot of news online, try to keep up with my subscriptions at home, and try to breeze through some journals at work to stay on top of things. Usually when I travel I have a stack of magazines with me, but also have a book or two that I'd like to read. I think I've read a nice mix of books for the year and my brief summaries are below.

Book #1: Born to Run

Subject: Running, specifically ultra-running

D'oh! I said I wasn't blogging about running! Okay I'm sorry, this is the only running book I read. A colleague of mine sent me this book as a gift and I'm so glad she did.

Review: GREAT book if you're a runner. You will read this and want to put the book down several times to head out to run. Probably barefoot or in minimalist shoes.

Book #2: What the Dog Saw

Subject: Variety of topics that Malcolm Gladwell has written about

Review: LOVED this book. Then again, I'm a MG fan. Loved the short story aspect of things. Totally a book you can pick up, enjoy, put down, forget about for a while, and pick up and continue to enjoy. The book is through provoking and you'll definitely want to discuss some of the topics with others after finishing the book.

 

Book #3: Do Something

Subject: Making your life 'count' by living in faith

Review: Bought this book because the pastor of my church wrote it. I enjoyed the book but didn't think the writing very good (sooo sorry Pastor Miles), but though the stories and subjects were easily digestible, the overall message was good, and its a good read for someone who wants to make more of their life through God.

Book #4: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

Subject: Insightful book about attaining goals

Review: LOVED this book! Every few pages I was folding a page down with the intention of sharing what I read with someone. Someone must have given me this book years ago because I've had it on my shelf for ages, the pages are yellow, and I cant remember where I got it. Upon finally reading it and blogging about it, (read my blog about Becoming Highly Effective) I had soo much feedback from others who loved the book. This book is a total must read. If you want to make more of your life, read this book. Period.

Book #5: A Sense of Urgency

Subject: Finding or creating "urgency" in your job

Review: Meh. Parts of this book were okay, but I really struggled through it. I felt that this book was very situational. You had to be in a certain professional situation to get something out of it. I love my job, boss and company. I got very little out of this book.

Book #6: Predictably Irrational

Subject: Behavioral economics - why we make the choices that we do

Review: Really liked this book. Did you like Blink or Tipping Point from Malcom Gladwell? Then you'll like this book. Ever wonder why people make the decisions that they do? Wonder why YOU do? Read this book. I enjoyed this book personally and also as someone in Marketing. Professionally in Marketing I'm trying to affect a consumers behavior. Why have I been successful and why haven't I? This book provides some insights.

Book #7: Peaks and Valleys

Subject: Working through Ups and Downs

Review: I borrowed this book from a friend and totally had to force myself to turn the pages. This elementary fable (Similar to me as Who Moved My Cheese) was trivial and uninsightful in my opinion. I didn't get much out of this book. There are good times and bad. Your own perception of things affects this. I get it. Next.

Book #8: Touched by a Vampire

Subject: A biblical analysis of the Twilight series of books/movies

Review: Looking for a reason to hate Twilight? You've come to the right place! jk. I was curious as to how a "biblical" critique of Twlight would play out. Let me confess ... I LOVE the Twilight series!! I was curious to see if this book played the series as good or bad. I think the author wanted to present her view as a neutral analysis, but I took it as a total bashing of the book. At the end of the day I still love the book, it was interesting to read her analysis and to think about the questions she posed, but .. its just a book, its entertainment, and the book didn't change my values. (Which I think the author of this book is fearful of.)

Book #9: Super Freakonomics

Subject: Using theories of economics to show that people work through a variety of crazy issues for a given reward.

Review: Loved it. I also loved their first book Freaknomics. I liked the topics, the though provoking arguments, and the easily digestible chapters. Want to read about prostitutes, global warming, and crack dealing all in one 'economics' book? You've come to the right place! I've never heard anyone I know say that they didn't like the book Freakonomics. For that very same reason, everyone should love this super-sequel too.

Book #10: 25 Years of the Ironman World Championship

Subject: Kona Ironman Chamipionship

Review: If you are an endurance athlete you will love this coffee table book! I got this book at San Diego Tri Club meeting when Macca and Bob Babbit were speaking. I bought the book at a discount and got Macca to sign it. SCORE! This is an incredible coffee table book. There are stories of each year of the Ironman Championship from 1979 to 20003 with incredible photos and articles about each race. AS I read the book all I wanted to do was go workout and get ready to compete for a triathlon! I'm new to the triathlon sport and found this book remarkably amazing. Personally I'd never want to do a full Ironman, but really enjoyed reading about the struggles and triumphs of all of these amazing athletes.

Well wow, that was my year in books! 10 books, 6 of 10 are "business" books, 2 of 10 are about endurance sports, and 2 of 10 are about spirituality. I wonder if that makes up ME? 60% business, 20% sports, 20% religion? Hm .. not sure. It will be interesting to see what I reading 2011. For now, happy reading everyone!

14 More Girls on the Run

This weekend marked the end of the Fall 2010 season of Girls on the Run San Diego. It has all gone by so fast! A year ago I wrapped up coaching my first season, and now this marks the end of my third season as head coach for Carmel Valley! In addition to coaching I also joined the Board of Directors earlier this year and the Marketing Committee. I'm GOTR'd out!

Wrapping up the Season

At the end of the 12 week program we had a season end celebration with the girls. Over the course of the season the girls collected beads for each lap that they ran. By the end of our season the girls in my group had a total of 1284 beads which equaled 321 miles! Quite an accomplishment for a group of 8-12 year olds! At our season end party the girls had time to take their beads and make keychains or necklaces.

The girls also had a chance during the party to make their own custom decorated visors. (Thanks Michel's craft store for your dollar bins!) The girls rotated through making things with their beads, decorating a visor, and making  a healthy snack at the yogurt sundae bar.

I had given the girls a few updates during the season regarding how many laps they had run total, but the absolute total for the season was a surprise for  the girls and each girl had a chance to guess at the total to win one of three prizes. First place won my home-made Domo box, and 2nd and 3rd place won a bag of beads. One of my girls Grace had her heart set on the Domo box and furtively committed each bead total update to memory. Guess who won? Grace did! Her efforts paid off. :o)

 

After we had craft time and snack time, it was now time for the Molly awards. The Molly awards are named after the founder of Girls on the Run Molly Barker. These awards celebrate the individual spirits of each of the girls. These awards were things like : "Ready to Run", "Always Energetic", "Silly Spirit", "Smiles for Miles", etc. Each girl was presented with her award and as she came up she received her printed award along with some fun toy treats from Coach Karin. Our girls are so spoiled! :o)

 

5K Prep
The season end party was last Thursday, and a few days later on Sunday the girls would be running their 5K. This past season there were 14 sites around San Diego County. Our chapter has had an explosion over the past year! When I first coached in Fall of 2009 there were only 6 sites. We now have 14 sites and 177 girls! When all of the sites come together for the 5K each site shows off a group cheer. Our site put together the following cheer modeled after the 'famous' banana cheer.

 

Day of the 5K

The morning of the 5K was a furry of activities! This was the biggest 5K that GOTRSD had ever put on! In previous seasons we had alternated between putting on our own race and joining an already established race. For this season we'd be putting on our own race through the national sponsorship of New Balance. The New Balance Girls on the Run 5K in San Diego was held in De Anza Cove in Mission Bay. Each girl in the race would be paired up with a volunteer Running Buddy who would stay with her during the whole race. The Running Buddies were parents, coaches, and other volunteers.

 

In addition to New Balance as a key sponsor, GOTR also has Goody. You know, the hair accessory company. Goody sponsors something called "Goody Happy Hair" for the GOTR races. This consists of a table with more Goody hair accessories than you could EVER dream of! My dear friend Jodie (my dog's second mom) and her husband were kind enough to come volunteer and be Goody Happy Hair captains and manage the volunteers at this station. The station had hair ties, headbands, barrettes, hair color spray, and hair claws.

 

The 5K Begins

At 8am the race was scheduled to begin! Everyone lined up ... and they were off! My official role during the race was "course cheerleader", something I have quite a bit of experience with. (Cheerleading captain senior year in high school thank you!). I had my sign and cowbell ready, and cheered the girls and others off on the course (out and back) and then on the way back, before rushing back to the finish line with a couple of my other coaches.

 

Watching the race was pretty emotional for me. Running has been a huge part of my life in the past few years, and finishing my first 5K, 10K, half marathon, full marathon, and  triathlon have been life changing. To watch these girls run their firs 5K during their ELEMENTARY SCHOOL years is so moving! *sniff sniff* Many of these girls are repeat GOTR participants and I've seen several of them progress over the years from walkers, to begrudging runners, to real runners. They loved running and always begged for more running time! The girls in my group (and other girls) came by one by one and approached the finish line, and then completed their first 5K. Amazing! These girls are truly amazing.

The Change
Girls on the Run is an incredible program. As head coach I have the luxury of being in direct and regular contact with the parents, so I receive a lot of feedback about their daughters' experiences. I've had so many of the parents reach out to me to share positive ways the program has affected their daughter, and it is so heartwarming. I've heard stories about how the girls have gained self-confidence, found something that is "theirs" that they are good at, found ways to cope in school, how they have become closer to their mom as they've discussed GOTR topics, and many other things. I feel that I'm just a facilitator between the program and the girls and I'm not directly responsible for these changes, but its so rewarding to know that I"m a small part of these life-changing events in the grand scheme of their lives.

Whats Next?

I've now been a Head Coach for three seasons now. While its a bit of a burnout job, its so rewarding that I can't imaging giving it up! Its so hard for me to leave work really early two days a week though, so when talking to our director about starting up a new group at our site I suggested that we start the new group a tad big later. Looks like its going to happen! I've coached Girls on the Run for three seasons now, and this program is meant for 8-12 year old girls in elementary school. The international organization also has  program for middle school girls called Girls on Track. GOTRSD piloted a GOT program at one site this past season, and is looking to expand to more sites going forward. I'm so excited to find out that it will next happen at my site in Carmel Valley!

So for Spring 2011 I will be coaching Girls on Track in Carmel Valley. The program will be similar to GOTR, but will be focused more on issues for older girls. I'm excited for the change, and so happy for the growth of GOTR in the an Diego area. Want to get involved? You can find more info about the program here: http://gotrsd.org/volunteer/

For my recap of the previous season and 5K, click here of the Spring 2010 recap.

For a recap of my first season coaching  and the Fall 2009 season end 5K, click here.

Gladiators on the Run

Last weekend I did something I never thought I'd do ... I willingly ate cheese! No, I'm kidding. But I did do something I always thought was quite as unlikely ... I did a mud run! For someone who hates getting dirty and thinks that sitting on grass is 'roughing it', I'm pretty amazed that I was able to do this race. First an open water swim, then a mud race ... what's next for me?

 

The Backstory

I heard about about the race several months ago when the race organizer happened across my blog post about Being Mistaken for an American Gladiator. Nitro from the original American Gladiators left a comment inviting me to the race. Wow, I felt special! I LOVE American Gladiators and watched both the original and remade series. Hmm... running in the mud and with obstacles? Not quite my cup of tea. But what do you know, a few weeks later I signed up. I was committed!

 

The Race

The race course consisted of 14 obstacles over 3 miles.

1. Stairway to Heaven (Running up and down the stairs at the Verizon amphitheatre)
2. Buddha's Burden (Carrying a bag of rice from one spot to another)
3. Terrible Tires (Climbing through tires)
4. Wrecking Ball (Think wrecking balls! Balls in nets being swung at you)
5. Bonus Tires (Running through tires - so nimble, oh yeah!)
6. Fools Spools (Climbing over huge spools. I tried to jump it and smashed my shin. Took the boost up on the second try!)
7. Rope a Dope (Running/climbing up a muddy hill with a rope for assistance)
8. Skid Marks (Sliding down a muddy/watery tarp)
9. Wall of Fame (Climbing over a wall)
10. Cargo Congo Climb (Climbing up a cargo net to go over a wall)
11. Mad Madness (Crawling on hands and knees through mud. Ewe)
12. Mystery nightmare obstacle. (Ack, can't remember what this was?)
13. Hell's Hills (Running over rolling hills - oh yeah,  I got this!)
14. Mud Pit (MORE mud! Boo hoo.. more crawling on hands and knees in mud)
15. Gladiator Barbecue! (Running through flames on both sides)

My Initial Fears

First and foremost - Mud. Lots of mud. Even a little mud scares me. I hate getting dirty! Next up on my phobia list were the obstacles that require upper body strength. I'm sheepish to admit that I'm a cardio junkie. I run and that's about it. I swim occasionally and also lift my 10lb dogs a few times a day, but overall my upper body strength is lacking. Climbing over obstacles and needing the use of my arms was something I wasn't sure I could do.

 

Raceday

On raceday I met up with Kathryn and Debbie from GOTR to head up for the 10am wave of the race. We were geared up in our special shirts for the race and were ready to be tough Girls on the Run! The race was at Camp James in Irvine and was about an hour or so north of San Diego and right off the freeway. (What a plus! I'm all about accessibility for a race) Parking was plentiful and cost $10. No biggie!

We parked and headed over to registration to get our numbers, timing chip, race shirt, and .... inflatable joust stick! So awesome! The joust was my favorite event in the show! As we walked towards registration people who had completed the race in earlier waves were walking towards us to go back to their cars.

You when you're at an amusement park and you've decided to go on a water ride and you wonder just how wet you're going to get? You see a few people getting off the ride with a little water on their shirt or in their hair and you think  "oh good, you don't get that wet on this ride!" And then you walk farther and see someone who is completely drenched. Well, as we walked towards the race we saw some people who looked a little muddy, and then others who looked like they had been completely submerged in the mud pit. Mud from head to toe and even covering their face. Uh oh.. I didn't want to get THAT muddy!!

We were about an hour early for the race so we spent some time walking the course and watching people in the race. The obstacles didn't look as big as I thought they'd be, but the mud pits (yes pitS plural) looked pretty gross. I was getting pretty nervous. Our 10am wave start time finally rolled around and we got ready to go. Gladiators ready?? Ready!

The Race Begins

The race started out with about a one mile run out to the Verizon amphitheater. Easy! I can run! We then got to the amphitheater and ran up the stairs, across the venue, and down the stairs. Running the stairs was fun and I was thinking about how I should schedule some bleacher work into my training. After the stairs we got to the area where we had to pick up a bag of rice and carry it from one spot over to another. The bags were pretty heavy (25lbs) but we managed.

 Next we ran over some tires (wow I felt so nimble! Knees up!) and then got to the "wrecking balls" where people were swinging bit exercise balls at you. Kathryn managed to miss getting hit by any balls while I got smacked by all three. Hmph.

 

Next we had a big pile of tires we had to climb over before getting to the big spools. Some guys in front of me took a running start and managed to hoist themselves up and over the spools. I tried to do the same .... and smacked right into it. I couldn't get enough height. :o( I took a hoist from one of the course assistants and finally got over. Next we got to a slippery, muddy hill that we had to climb up with the help of a rope. On the other side of the hill was the beginning of the end of being clean. There was a hill with a tarp that people were hosing that you had to slide down. Think of grown up slip-and-slide.

 

After sliding down the hill and crawling through some mud (ewe!!) we then got to our first upper-body challenge - the wall! There was an 8 foot wall that we had to climb over. Luckily there were a few foot slots and I made it over okay! Yay! Next up was the cargo climb. I was worried about this too but this went okay as well.

 

My joy was short lived because right after the cargo climb was the first mud pit you had to crawl through. I tried to get through it by crouching down and lifting the strings to duck under. The two guys on the side watching the course were like "get down! You have to crawl!" And then they both started chucking mud at me. Thanks. I was now officially muddy from head to toe. Ewe. On a good note, we were most of the way through the course!

 

Next up were a set of rolling hills that we had to run over. The last hill wasn't that steep but was so muddy and slippery that it was really hard to get up. I took a running start and when I got towards the top I dug my industrial strength acrylic nails into the mud and made it over.

 

 

Next up? Oh goodie! Another mud pit! :o( This time I crawled through like you're supposed to. At this point there was no point in trying to avoid the mud. We were now in the home stretch!

 

The last part of the race was a quarter mile run from the mud pit, through a row of flames, and off to the finish line! We did it! Our pink turned brown team crossed the finish line at the same time - girl-adiator tough! We looked like a group of chocolate dipped strawberries.

The Aftermath

After the race we lined up to take photos. We were muddy and cold, but accomplished! The line for photos moved pretty slowly and as we stood there the mud started to dry. Yuck. We finally got our photos taken and then headed over to the showers. For the first in the history of the world.. the line for the women was shorter than the line for the men!

The showers were in a tarped off area and about four people could shower at a time. I took a spot in the offspray to try to slowly wash off. The water was a little cold and I wasn't making much progress so I just decided to change and wipe off as much mud as I could. Across from the showers there was a huge pile of muddy, discarded shoes and clothes. I decided that my shoes weren't worth saving either (they were a pair I retired from running about a year ago) and I chucked mine in the garbage as well.

 

After the race we headed back to San Diego, muddy, but accomplished. We were all pretty hungry so we made a pit stop for lunch. While we were seated and waiting to order I ran my hand over my hair and felt mud caked into it. Great, I still had clumps of mud on me! I wonder what the waitress thought? She probably though Debbie and Kathryn (who were both much cleaner) had picked up a homeless person off the street to buy a warm meal. :oP

 

More Mud?

The race was fun and I'm really glad I did it because its something I never thought I would have done. Would I do another mud race? Probably not unless there was a compelling reason. Who knows though, I always said I'd never do a triathlon and two tris later I have dreams of a half Ironman! If you are interested in slopping through mud the way I did - you are in luck! This is the first in a series of Gladiator Rock N Run races that will be held all over the country. For dates and locations click here.

 

Thanks again to Nitro for inviting us to the race! We're officially Gladiator tough now!

GOTR Gives Back

This past week my GOTR group completed their community project. The group chose the same activity that they chose in Fall 2009 and made cards for the military and for sick children. In the Fall of 2009 the girls made cards for the military through the Holiday Mail for Heroes program and for kids through the Make a Child Smile program (For more details check out my post on "GOTR Community Project"). In the Spring of 2010 the girls put on a bake sale with the proceeds benefiting the Helan Woodward Animal Shelter. (For more details check out my post on "Another Season Ends"). This year (Fall 2010) we sent mail through the Holiday Mail for Heroes program again, but for the children's cards we made cards for a more local group, the Los Angeles Children's Hospital.

The GOTR curriculum focuses on three areas: All About Me, All About My Team, and All About Community. Over the past several weeks we have been teaching the girls about community and what it means, what it means to them, and what part they play in different communities. Its really heartwarming to see the girls enjoying an activity that gives back to others.

After we completed the cards I went around the circle and asked the girls to state one way that they would personally work to make the world a better place. Their answers ranged from recycling and picking up trash, to continuing to volunteer and to tell others about God.  It made me smile to hear that they all enjoyed taking part in an activity that gives back to others.

The community project marks the final stretch of the GOTR curriculum. Next weekend we will be running our 5K! The 12 weeks that make up the program have gone by so quickly, and I'm really looking forward to the special day when all of the GOTR San Diego sites get together and run their race. Twelve weeks of preparation and personal growth, and they're ready! I didn't run my first 5K until I was in my early 20's and I'm proud and amazed by these little girls who will do so before they even enter middle school. Girls on the Run is amazing program, and I'm so proud to be part of something that can change a girl's life forever.

Oh Christmas Tree..

oh Christmas tree, with faithful leaves unchanging!

The Holidays

I love the holidays! Well, I love the days up until the holidays. The decorations, the lights, the preparation, the shopping... I love it all! One of my favorite parts of Christmas is getting a Christmas tree and putting up Christmas lights. My parents almost always had a fake tree when I was growing up, and on a couple Christmas' when I was in college and came home for the holidays I went with a friend to bring a real tree home!  Other years when my time home was limited and no one had the energy to pull the fake tree out, I'd decorate something else instead. One year it was a potted plant, another year the TV and stand. (Sad, I know.) My BFF Garley usually did the same, and we both laughed over one year where we both decorated a plant until collapse ... and then sheepishly undecorated said plant. haha!

A Tree of My Own

As soon as I had my own apartment I of course got my own Christmas tree! Both of my parents gave me my childhood ornaments years ago which I happily added to MY very own tree. I loved it! I had a tree every year in Arizona and was so sad when I first moved to SD and realized that my original, tiny apartment couldn't hold a Christmas tree of any size. I was looking for "city living" and liked it, but really - you are sooo limited by a "modern/modular" 500 square foot apartment. This year when I moved into my new 1000 square foot place, I knew I'd have to get a tree!
 

This past Sunday I went to Home Depot to pick out a tree. I selected a lovely 6 foot Douglas Fir, picked it up and brought it to the line to check out, judged the guys with their trees in a cart while I carried mine (booyah - I'm strong!), and then secured it to the top of my car with my string-tying skills and brought it home. A part of me felt bad about furthering an industry that cuts down trees to let them die ... but my only other option was to buy a fake tree which I had no room to store and I'd have to donate after the holidays also contributing to waste. At least there are tree recycling programs in San Diego - I looked!

 

Decorating the tree was a lot of fun. Adding ornaments which I've had since my childhood is really special, and one of my favorite things in the year. My Aunt Elsa used to send me ornaments each year when I was a child, and my favorite ornament of all time is from her .. the Cabbage Patch Kid doll! The ornament of course matches the real Cabbage Patch Kid doll that I had named Jean Georganne. I loved her!
 

Some of my other favorite ornaments are ones that my dad got over the years that I remember adding to our tree for the first time. The gold house and the ship in a ball are two of my favorites! The newest ornament to the collection of those with my name is the sand dollar from Garley from 2005. Wow, how does that seem so long ago?

The most recent ornament that I actually bought was my 26.2 ornament. Marathon time!

This Christmas tree which I have decorated at home isn't just my first tree at home in San Diego, its my first tree at work in San Diego as well! I've had a mini tree that I've put on my desk for the past 10 years, and for the past two years its stayed in a box because my previous company banned any Christmas decorations in the office. Yes, seriously. No comment. This year I'm at a new job with  no such restrictions! The tree came out of the box! And yes, ti has lights! It sits on my desk just to the right of my computer monitor and makes me smile all throughout the day.
 

I love Christmas and all of the decoration, and hope that you were able to set up your own festive decorations as well this week. Let the Christmas season begin!