Training Proof

This morning I did the equivalent of my upcoming tri. Here I am ready to brave the lake:


(Wow, look at that ankle tan line...)

Look at me go!



This wasn't today, but a previous weekend when Matt and I biked up Cull Canyon:



And getting ready to sail. That will be tomorrow. I'd rather be tri training, sadly.

Asilomar

I just returned home last night from a conference at beautiful Asilomar. Both mornings I went running on dirt paths by the beach with these views:





Also met some fabulous people and heard a lot of great ideas. I love not going to work!

Honoring my Mom

Last week my Mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. It's sounding like the prognosis is good, but she still has to go through all the emotional and physical trauma of having the dreaded c-word. From finding all the right doctors to digesting and understanding the information and then on to the treatment - likely surgery and chemo - I can't even imagine what it's like. Especially for someone who so much likes to be in control :).

My mom (like most mothers I'm sure) has always been the one in the family taking care of us, worrying about us, and dealing with all our problems. Even now that she has two 30 year old or nearly 30 year old daughters. She's really good at self-sacrifice. It's always hard when she's the one who's sick; she likes to take care of herself but once at least she let Matt and me take her to urgent care. Where she wouldn't let us come inside with her so we wouldn't get sick too.

So in the spirit of feeling helpless because our mom has a nasty disease, Karen and I decided to make at least ourselves feel better by starting a team for Making Strides Against Breast Cancer - a 3 mile walk in Phoenix on November 6th. We are walking in honor of our mom and to raise awareness - it has of course hit closer to home that self breast exams and regular screenings are super important. If you're in the area, please consider joining our team. Just come walk with us to support our Mom and all the other breast cancer patients - no registration fee or fundraising necessary.

Visit: http://main.acsevents.org/goto/joansjuggernaut


And now for some evidence of what an awesome mom I have. (And also an attempt to make my photostream less ghetto...)

Here she is (along with my dad) visiting us in beautiful Socorro, New Mexico:


Walking me down the aisle:


And with me and my sister - now self-labeled as Joan's Juggernaut:


And much thanks to my dad who has been supporting mom through all the doctor's appointments so far.

The Oakland "Riots"

I just realized I had these pictures on my phone, so I thought I'd share them.

A few weeks ago a court convicted a BART police officer of 1st degree manslaughter for the point blank shooting death of an unarmed black man. While the locals came together for a peaceful gathering (unlike the riots that occurred when the shooting actually happened), some out-of-towners and even out-of-staters decided to run around town breaking windows and looting.

This is the aftermath of that fun event - some of the damage on my 2 block walk from BART to my office. The Sears store still hasn't repaired their windows.

Sailing on a Dreary Day

What a great day for sail! The sun is shining, the wind is strong but calm, it's warm enough to just wear a t-shirt...

Oh, wait - this is San Francisco Bay! About two minutes of sun all day and so much wind we had to eventually take down our main sail and sail with just the jib. Here's Matt working the jib sheet:



Day 2 of sailing lessons was much better than Day 1. Only 4 students and an instructor who remained calm and didn't scream at us! Good times.

Score One for Gay Marriage!

There is a rocking party going on outside my house right now! Why? Because a fabulous judge just overturned Prop 8 - California's voter-enacted gay marriage ban. This issue is very near and dear to my heart - why would you want to prevent a certain group of people from declaring their love and marrying each other? Not only is equality of marriage morally right, but the marriage/wedding industry I'm sure also generates a lot of cash. Who wants to miss out on that?

Marriages can't happen yet as the judge is deciding whether or not his decision should be stayed during the appeals process. I'm hoping that starting Friday marriages can continue!

A couple facebook friends posted these quotes from MLK, which I think are lovely:

"Let us realize the arc of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice." - MLK Jr.

I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear. - Martin Luther King, Jr.

And in honor of the occasion, a fun video:



And that reminds me of the other fun video I posted way back here. CELEBRATE good times, come on! (Sorry that's the current music playing on the streets.)

Tri Preview

This morning I went out to Shadow Cliffs in Pleasanton with my TNT tri buddies to preview the tri course we will be completing at the end of September - in 63 days I hear. This little adventure included my first open water swim and my first non-biking tri-outfit adventure. And I actually had fun!

We swam about 750 meters in the lake which was fabulously temperate - no wet suit needed. Then off to a super slow transition followed by about 8 or 9 miles of the tri bike course. Although the scenery wasn't super fabulous, I really enjoyed riding somewhere with little traffic, views, actual bike paths, and no need to stop for stop signs and lights every block or so. So much better than riding in the City! T2 was significantly faster. That was followed up by about a 2 mile run on dirt paths near trees - also super exciting and more fun than concrete.

Also did I mention that it's actually summer in Pleasanton? Highs well above 60 and brilliant sunshine! Oh how I miss summer...

Alas, no pictures of me in all my spandex glory - maybe next time! I'm pretty excited about the race now - I feel as though I could complete it tomorrow. Two more months to get better! (And hopefully not hurt). Come join me!