Ha! Ha!

Jack Quinns

It was good to get down to Jack Quinn's last night after a couple of weeks absence. Great to see the hashers. I ran pretty hard with DH and I timed myself for the first time on this run. Quite pleased with my 26:02. Only got passed by 3 girls (much younger then me!!). Unfortunately my GPS didn't pick up a signal in time so I didn't clock the distance. I think it was a little less then a full 5k. I'm a bit peeved with my GPS as it takes for ever to get a signal. Maybe that's the disadvantage of buying the cheapest model (Garmin 101). Does anyone who has a better model have the same problem?

So what day of the week is it?

I sometimes differ from others about how to refer to days of the week.

To put in context, I refer to the week we are currently in as "this week", the week to follow as "next week" and the week just past as "last week". With me so far?

So, for example, if I wanted to refer to Friday of this week (i.e. 3/2/07) I would say "this Friday", Friday of next week would be "next Friday" and Friday of last week would be "last Friday". Still following?

Now that seems perfectly logical to me. However, others will refer to Friday of this week as "next Friday" because chronologically it is the next Friday in the calendar. I can't really fault that logic either.

You can see how this may cause a problem. I say to my friend "let's do lunch next Friday" and we turn up on different days.

So I was just curious to know what YOU would say. Is my logic totally out of kilter with the way everyone else thinks or is this a common difference in approach?

So it is a beautiful sunny day, 50f - perfect conditions for a run you might think. Well that's what I thought too until I got outside and a gale force wind nearly knocked me off my feet. But I persevered and still did my run although I cut it shorter then normal, about 3.5 miles (I say about as I forgot to replace the batteries in my Garmin). It was hard work on the way out - uphill (slightly) and into the wind. But on the way back I was cruisin' !!

The anticipated elation at having a warm shower was short lived. It was barely warm at best. Actually I seem to recall that pre-broken boiler days the water wasn't particularly warm either. Heaven forbid they should provide us with hot water so that someone may scald themselves and sue the City. Sheesh!

Halleluhah!!!

I just went to the bathroom at work and washed my hands with warm water. Yipeeeeee!!!!

What's the big deal, I hear you say?

Well, we have been without hot water at work since mid December. The boiler broke down and they had to order a new one (from Peru!). The boiler arrived sometime at the end of January but it was the wrong one! Anywho, on Friday I saw the new boiler had arrived as there was quite a debacle as they tried to get it into the elevator to take it down to the basement.

The reason for my ecstasy is that now when I go for my lunchtime run I will be able to have a warm shower, not a freezing cold one as has been the case for the past couple of months.

A kid or a dog?

Dh & I have often talked about having a kid. Apart from the fact I think I am too old, I'm not sure I would cope well with the lifestyle change. The alternative maybe is to get a dog but I am not really a dog lover so I don't think that is the answer either.

So I am looking for some help in making my decision. Maybe some photos of the endearing creatures would help....




Aghhhh!! Is that what I would have to deal with? Now I'm scared, really scared. I am such a tidy freak (typical virgo). I need your help. Please vote in my poll.

Should I have a kid or get a dog?
	Kid
	Dog
pollcode.com free polls

Running in circles?

Just ran 5 miles in 46:27, which is 9:17 min miles. I felt like I ran really hard but I am disappointed that I can't seem to consistently break the 9 min mark. Last May I did the Garden of the Gods 5 mile run in 44:58 and won the athena class. That was a tough run as there were a few big hills but I guess they were compensated for by the long downhills which I hit hard. But with all the running I have been doing I should be getting better, not worse!! That's what turning 40 does for you!!

Back from CA.

Great weekend in CA. Temps in the 80s. Fortunately trip to Disneyworld was cancelled. Did a couple of long runs which counter-acted some of the alcohol/food excesses. Hung out by the pool and got a bit of color back in my cheeks. Almost felt like a real vacation. Went to a party at UCI which made me feel really old. Oh to be 21 again (NOT!!!).

California here I come.....

Well tomorrow morning we are heading out to Newport Beach for a long weekend. It is DH niece's 21st birthday. I am particularly looking forward to the warmer weather. The forecast is mid 70s but with the possibility of some rain. I plan to get in a long run around the bay and enjoy the sea level air. There is also a track near their house so I may try some speed work.

Typically, SIL has an itinerary which much to my horror includes a trip to Disneyworld. I told DH that I absolutely do NOT want to go. But of course he hasn't bothered to mention this to his sister so I will have to deal with that when i get there. Disneyworld is my idea of a living hell screaming kids, junk food, tacky gimmicks, people wearing stupid costumes, screaming kids, rides (I don't do rides as I am happy to admit they absolutely terrify me), crowds of people, lines for everything, oh, and did I mention the screaming kids. I'm not really sure why Disneyworld is even on the itinerary - of the 9 people in the family party, there is one child of 12 who has probably been a million times.

The rest of the weekend should be fun. I get on pretty well with his family. the party is likely to be a blast because all of Laura's college friends will be there. Plus Garret, the rather cute 25 yr old nephew, will take us to the fun party places.

So, it's Valentines Day.....

The things that have annoyed me thus far:

1. If one more person wishes me "Happy Valentines Day" I will scream. I am not YOUR Valentine. The only person who is entitled to say Happy Valentines Day to me is DH (which he did in the nicest possible way!). Agh!

2. It is not a holiday so don't ask me "so how's your Valentines Day going". Aghhh!!!!

3. Yet again Americans find an excuse to eat, eat, eat. Our office has cake, donuts, bagels, chocolates - all heart-shaped of course. Aghhhhhh!!

4. My friend ( a particularly flaky example of a female), after she had wished me Happy Valentines Day (agh!), asked me what we are doing tonight. I replied dusting off the vinyl bustier, crotchless panties, cat-o-nine-tails and handcuffs (I couldn't find a policewomans outfit) and taking DH to heaven and back! After she had finished blushing, she said that she and her BF were going to see a movie. I recommended Notes on a Scandal, but she said she wanted somthing more romantic, not a film about lesbians. So she said she was going to see the new Hugh Grant film (yuuuukkkkk!!) where he plays a rock star. Now she and her BF are very good musicians/singers and she said she was hoping the film would inspire them to write new songs. My reply: "If Hugh Grant is your inspiration for writing new songs, I'd hang up your guitar for good, right now"!

5. Same friend gives me a pair of size 6 jeans that don't fit her anymore to see if I want them. Kind gesture and I am very pleased that they fit very comfortably as I am a size 8. However, said friend is 5'3". I am 5'7". So needless to say they were too short, plus they were high-waisted "granny pants".

6. Same friend has JUST come in to tell me she went to Victoria's Secret and bought some "sexy" lingerie with hearts on it. I had heard about VS "sexy lingerie" reputation before I moved here and just had to laugh when I saw what they had to offer. It's nearly all plain molded cup stuff, of the same boring design and with hardly any lace (or other sexy materials) in sight. Stuff you can get in the mall in the UK you have to go "adult" shops for here.

Sheesh, I'm grouchy today.

I am going for a long run which will hopefully improve my mood.

I AM looking forward to tonight though!!!!

It's official....

I am well and truly sick of this crapola Colorado weather. This is my 3rd winter here and by far the worse. Previously there has been the odd cold day and the odd snow blizzard, interspersed with glorious 50/60f sunny days. But not his year. It's just been cold, cold, cold and snow, snow, snow.

I just walked back from my spin class at the gym and it was freezing. I thought my ears were going to drop off and now I have ear ache. It is 18f but "feels like" 6f with the wind chill. It is steadily snowing also. DH just called me and it was a unanimous decision to boycott JQs run tonight. I have run in worse conditions so I am not a wus, just really getting tried of this cold miserable weather.

Come back UK, all is forgiven. I'd trade your drizzly, foggy, not so cold climate for this any day!

I'll drink for whining when I get home.

Oh, the pain...

This was me at the end of the race. You can see the pain in my face!! Why do I do this to myself?

I'm hanging up my running shoes!

I was really disappointed with my performance at my race on Saturday. The weather was great but the ground conditions sucked. There was between 6-12 inches of soft snow for about 70% of the trail and it was very difficult to run on. I am always very hesitant over uneven terrain as I have weak ankles and sprain them very easily. My legs felt like lead from the outset and my recurring sciatica reared itself so that for the first 3 miles my left leg was completely numb. The one saving grace is that they cut the run short as they couldn't get any further down the trail due to the snow. So my 10 mile run turned into 7 miles, much to my relief, as I contemplated turning around more than once. Fortunately, on the return leg I started to feel better, possibly because it was slightly downhill. I spotted ahead of me a girl who had past me earlier who I had "weighed up" as an Athena competitor. I made it my goal to pass her, which I did on one of the few unsnowy stretches of trail and finished 38 seconds ahead. That gave me second place in the Athena category, although a good 7 mins behind the winner! My final time was 1:15. A slow pace but I was just pleased to finish. I have resigned myself to a life of short road races!!

And yes, I have already drunk considerably for whining. Saturday night at the Famous drowning my misery with copious amounts of red wine.

The highlight of the weekend was a good long bike ride yesterday on a glorious Colorado winter day at 51f.

My first big race...

I have what I consider to be my first big race tomorrow. I have done a bunch of 5 and 10ks and even a 7+mile cross country run. But the race tomorrow is 10 miles and that's the furthest I have ever run (other than hashes but they con't count). It is an out and back along a quality trail, gradual uphill on the way out and downhill back. My goal is to complete it in an hour and a half which will be 9 min miles. Now I have my garmin I should be able to keep better track of my pace. I actually aim to stay under 9 min miles on the way out, so that on the way back I may be able to up my pace as its downhill.

My other goal is to win the Athena class. This is for women who weigh over 150lbs, which much to my annoyance I still do, and I affectionately call it the Fat Lass Class. I actually think it should be based on your BMI, as 150lbs at 5'2 is way different to 150lbs at 5'10. Being an average 5'7 I usually fair pretty well. I won this class a couple of times last year and came second twice as well. The problem is I spend half my time on the run literally "weighing" up my opposition!!!

As I have the day off work, I was going to go and check the trail conditions to see if I need my Yaktrax. Anyway, I decided not only is that a bit anal, but I have better things to do, like shopping!! The weather forecast for tomorrow is cloudy, 38f (feels like 33f). Fortunately the snow is likely to hold off until later in the evneing. For me that is perfect conditions because I like running when its cooler.

So wish me luck!!

Garmin has arrived

Yipee!! I just checked my Amazon account and my Garmin Forerunner has arrived. So now have no excuse not to improve my running time and I am all set for my 10 mile race on Saturday.

I forgot to mention that I played 2 hours of baskeball last night. It is the first time I have played in a long time and I was very rusty. It's just a recreational thing with a few guys from work. I made 3 outside shots and 1 lay-up (I fluffed 2 lay-ups but they resulted in points as one of my team mates followed me up the court and tipped it in). Not spectacular scoring but this needs to be put in the context of (a) I'm the shortest player so could only really shoot from way outside which is not my strongest point (fast breaks and lay-ups were my strong point in the day but clearly I need to work on that!) (b) I was only one of 2 girls, the other girl being a 6' former college player so, yes, I felt a bit intimidated and (c) I'm British - we don't DO basketball!!

It's a great work out though and lots of fun and should be good for improving my speed.

Fartlek

Early today I was reading Late Nite Drive Thru's blog and she was talking about fartlekking. This is a form of training where you do short sprints during your normal run and then recover at your normal running speed. So I thought I would try this during my lunchtime run. I didn't begin until I was down on the trail, which comprises about 3 out of the 4 miles of my run. For ease I will refer to the sprint as the fart (as I have visions of farting and then being jet propelled to run faster) and the recovery the lek. On the outward leg of my run I was farting for 30 seconds with a 2 min lek. On the return leg, as I was getting a bit tired, I extended the lek to 3 mins. However, my last fart I managed to squeeze out for a whole minute and then I just continued my recovery run back to the office. All in all, I think I did about 8 farts. Doing this actually made my "normal" running pace seem easy. I don't know what pace Ii was actually running but I think around 8:45 for the lek and under 7:30 for the fart ( I base this on the fastest mile I have run recently which was 7:30). So my aim is to do this once a week and hopefully my running speed will improve.

I hope when I get home that my Garmin forerunner will have arrived (ordered from Amazon monday) so I will know for sure what pace I am running.

"The fog on the Tyne is all mine, all mine, the fog on the Tyne is all mine..

It is foggy this morning in Colorado Springs, which bought back happy memories of the UK. I haven't been back since I moved here in May '04. Our plan is to make a trip this summer, assuming DH gets reassigned to DC, then we can take a month or so off as I will be finishing my job anyway.

The fog here of course is nothing like we would get in the UK. I remember several occasions driving somewhere and not being able to see the road signs, car lights or even the curb. It was an adventure, although it would take forever to get anywhere. The term "pea soup fog" is not exaggerated.

It also reminds me of one particular hash trail. Every year at the end of January Yorkshire H3 would have its AGPU (Annual General Piss Up). We would book a hotel out in the sticks where the running terrain was excellent. The trail on Saturday was traditionally long, about 10 miles. One year (1996 I think) I volunteered to lay that trail together with Burglar Bill. We started at a trail head and finished at a village rugby club, going over hill and vale in between. When we lay the trail in the morning it was just cold & a little icy. When the pack came to run the trail however, the fog had set in and there was one point where the trail went randomly across a field and it was impossible to find the trail because the fog was so thick. Eventually we had to lead the hashers to safety (at YH3 the hares lay the trail and then go around the trail at the back of the pack to make sure no-one gets lost). (The other thing we used to do on these weekends was bus people to the start and back to the hotel, which meant you could get into some really good terrain. I'm always surprised that they don't do that here!).

I just went out for coffee and it seemed like it was trying to snow. That wasn't in the forecast. Please, no more snow!!

You spin right round baby right round...

Well despite the beautiful weather here today, I decided not to run at lunchtime as I will be running tonight at Jack Quinn's, and when I've done a double before I suffer the next day. So instead I decided to do a spin class at the gym. It was not my first spin class. I did one once before when I had sprained my ankle (hashing) and couldn't run. Needless to say, the spinning wasn't too easy with a sprained ankle either so it wasn't the best experience. Anyway the class today rocked. I can't remember the last time I have sweated so much and my heart rate was way up there. At one point my legs felt like jelly but I just kept pushing myself harder. I will definitely be doing that again. Probably on Tuesdays when I don't have City Council meetings and maybe on Sunday mornings as there is a 90 min class at my local gym.

I also saw Broken Rubber working his ass on the elliptical.

Mud, mud, glorious mud...

So I went for a 4 mile run at lunchtime, thinking I would take it easy after my 8 miler yesterday. On the return leg I hooked up with Steve from City Engineering and ran back with him. Well this guy recently did an iron man triathlon so needless to say he kicked my butt. I was puffing and panting when I finished. The trail is a bit wet & muddy now the snow is starting to melt, so everyone on the trail (including Steve) was pussy footing around to avoid getting dirty. I, of course, just ran through the middle splashing myself and everyone in my vicinity. Steve asked if I am a masochist I said "no, I'm a hasher"!!

Weekend activities

I had a kick-ass double work out at the gym on Saturday. A few of us did the double session and I was the only one still full of energy at the end of the second. Put the younger chicks to shame!

Yesterday I decided that I must do a long run if I had any chance of completing my 10 mile race next Saturday. So DH & I headed out on the Santa Fe trail from Woodmen Road towards the airforce academy. After checking the map we figured that the air force academy north entrance was a little over 4 miles, so an out and back would be 8 + miles. The weather was good, sunny, about 40f and no wind. The trail looked in good shape so I decided not to wear my yaktrax. That was a big mistake. A few yards into the trail revealed that it was still very snow and ice packed with some areas of deep snow and some lethal icy areas. Anyway, I persevered, leaving DH behind along the way. I made it to the north entrance, turned around and eventually caught up with DH who had turned around early. We ran together for a while but then I went passed him and finished a couple of minutes ahead. My total time was approx 1hr 12mins which is pretty good going given the conditions and the fact that was the furthest I have run ever!

Finished the weekend by going to a superbowl party at my friend Mike's house. Much fun, booze and food had by all.

Well I was going to go to my friend Cherry Picker's birthday celebrations last night at the Bristol Brewing Co. But I had a few things to do after work and by the time I was done it was 7pm and the weather was crappy so we just went out for dinner at Marigolds, our superb local restaurant. I drank lots of wine!

I did run yesterday and felt pretty good. I will give it a miss today because it is very cold, -4f right now. I am going to the gym instead to my turbo kick class which is so much fun. I have a couple of classes in the morning - hour of power & cardio express. Then sometime over the weekend I intend to do a longish run, about 8 miles. I need to do this in preparation for the 10 mile winter series run the following weekend. My aim for that is sub 9 minute miles which should be very doable as it is not really cross-country (which slows me down considerably), just up and down the Santa Fe trail.

Tonight I think we are going to the movies to see Notes on a Scandal.

Have a great weekend.....

Happy February!

So my blog has entered the land of sucksville as I haven't updated it for a week.

My ski weekend was fun. I did take a lesson which will hopefully help me improve. I was totally exhausted at the end of each day because I did a full day of hard skiing (mainly moguls) . Drank lots of beer and wine and vodka. Good times.

The rest of my week has been a bit of a blur. I went in for a colonoscopy on Wednesday. Monday was spent dreading it. Tuesday was spent preparing for it (which involves fasting and taking stuff to flush out the intestines - nice!!). The actual procedure itself was straight forward and as I was under general anaesthetic I don't remember a thing. It's the first time I have had any type of operation and the first time I have been under general anesthetic. It was all very uneventful. The nurse warned me that I would be sleeping all afternoon, have amnesia, feel groggy, etc. but I felt fine and just laid on the couch watching TV all afternoon. The only negative effect was feeling a bit weak from the absence of food and a bit depressed from the absence of alcohol (2 whole days). The results were negative so it was worth the hassle. And I lost 2lbs!!

As a result of the above I have done little running this week. I managed a quick 5k on Monday and hope to get out this afternoon for another. I think I have my strength back. It snowed yet again today and more is expected tonight. It's pretty soft snow this time and is melting quickly so the trail should be OK.

And tonight I am going to have a drink or several!!