Festivities

The first weekend in December I headed to Vegas with my great friends Liz and Erin to have a girls' weekend and celebrate some birthdays. I just discovered these pictures on my camera of the gorgeous Bellagio - one of our favorite places.







For Christmas, my parents were nice enough to come visit us here in San Francisco. Here we are enjoying dinner at our little apartment. Dad worked so long he's still in uniform.



On Sunday we went on a wine tasting tour of Sonoma with my family and Karen's in laws. Matt and I had never been to wine country before, and I enjoyed the trip. It was great to spend time with family and the scenery was beautiful even though it was raining. Also, unlike in Temecula, none of the people at the wineries yelled at me for preferring white wines.

Today we headed up to Santa Rosa to check out the Schulz museum before returning to the real world. Matt is thrilled, as always.



Matt and I were spoiled for Christmas as always. This year Matt received lots of kitchen items including a canner and a dehydrator (apparently one must be prepared for the apocalypse). I received several books, many treats, a cute sweater and necklace, and of course running-related items. Karen got me a very cute running jacket to replace last year's Christmas present that I mysteriously lost, as well as a couple running books. Matt got me a very cute running charm bracelet and some sleeves.

As today was the first day of my marathon training, I have decided to actually keep track of my training this time around. We'll see how long it lasts, but for now I am doing so here.

Angry City

I've been very angry lately for ridiculous reasons. In an effort to help myself understand how stupid they are, I'm going to put them down in writing here:

• Dear dog walkers/runners. You and your dog do not have a right to the entire path, whether or not your dog is on a leash. Either way, when your crazy dog causes a tear in my ACL, I will sue you (for, if nothing else, being a bitch).
• It's called a sideWALK. Not a sidesmoke, a sidehangout, or a sidestandinthemiddle. Please get out of my way.
• If I wanted to get high, I would probably go out and buy some weed myself. I don't want to inhale yours because you must smoke out in public.
• Smokers are jokers.
• If you are in your car and you can't see the intersection, don't honk. This is San Francisco. I would wager that 90% of the time a car isn't moving when the light is green, there is probably a pedestrian in the crosswalk. And they would prefer to be alive.
  
• My neighborhood is not your personal raceway. There is no need to go 50mph up a hill in a very people-dense part of the city.
• If there is an empty row on BART, it is considered a social norm to sit there - not with me. I don't want to smell your perfume.
• If you have a dog in the city, you have an extra special obligation to pick up that dog's poop. Who the heck is going to remove it when you leave it in the middle of the damn sidewalk. Also, would it kill you to walk your dog far enough way so that it doesn't have to pee on the concrete hill and I have to watch it flow all the way down. And know that I will be stepping in it tomorrow.
• Dear employers. Making a backhanded comment in the company meeting about how you are looking for leaders, not people who sit around and wait for things to do, is not a good way to boost employee morale or productivity. Especially when 60% of the people in the company are leaders with initiative - who you would rather sit down, shut up, and blindly do what you say.
• Dear managers. As a manger, part of your job should be to understand who needs to be micro-managed and who doesn't. I am well past the point of needing every step of a process explained to me. This isn't rocket science - I do these things in my sleep.

Okay I'm done for now. I have no idea what my problem is, but I am hoping my weekend with family and my big trip to Hawaii for my birthday will make everything better! I realize that in reality I have nothing to complain about! Here's to a great new year for everyone!

Hark the Herald Angels 12K

Today I completed the same race a 2nd time for the 1st time - in other words, I am apparently starting running traditions. Does that make me a runner? (I'm still trying to avoid the moniker.)

I loved this race last year for so many reasons, not the least of which was that it was pouring rain. It is put on by a company called Enviro Sports and is very low key. This particular race involves everyone meeting at the ferry docks in Tiburon and taking the 10am ferry over to Angel Island. There is no particular race start time; it just happens whenever everyone gets off the ferry, goes to the restroom, and puts all their extra gear in a plastic bag to leave at the picnic area. The founder of Enviro Sports makes all the announcements by standing on tables and yelling really loudly, and supposedly the winners receive rubber chickens. The trail is marked with orange tape, and there are no aid stations. At the end, they do provide a nice assortment of water, gatorade, and snacks. And of course, there is a t-shirt - which happens to be the same as last year's.

The trail heads up hill through pretty forest, but unfortunately the gorgeous views from the open parts of the fire road haven't happened either year owing to fog. The racers tend to be friendly and everyone seems to have a good time, although I feel like that held true more so in the pouring rain. How can you not smile when you are covered in mud and sprinting down a mountain? (Although I don't think my mom was smiling while waiting for me...)

I managed to cut about 6 minutes off last year's time - does that mean I'll be able to knock 12 minutes off Kaiser in February? (If only.) However, the ~500 foot elevation gain seemed tough to me, so I have a long way to go before Big Sur!

I should point out that although I enjoy the low-key nature of this affair, I do still like my half marathons to be loud and full of bands and cheering spectators! Sometimes running has to be a party.

All Sorts of Events

In case you're wondering what I've been up to, here are a few things:

1) The Warrior Dash on October 30th

This 3.5 mile run involved numerous obstacles and was lots of fun. Here's a great picture of me jumping over fire, but I'm unwilling to pay for a full-size version.



And here's the rest of the photos featuring some TNT running buddies dressed as zombies:

WarriorDash2010

2) Making Strides Against Breast Cancer November 6th

Honoring my amazing mother:



With the support of numerous phenomenal friends!


3) Women's Half Marathon November 7th

Enjoying 13.1 miles with my amazing friend Candice who has an 8 month old and doesn't look it!



More pictures from the AZ events here:

November Visit to AZ

I had a fabulous time! Thanks so much everyone!

4) Marin Turkey Trot



Matt and I's first "race" together since the Golden Gate Park Turkey Trot last Thanksgiving. And he beat me!

Lifestyles of the Quasi-Rich and Not-So-Famous

While I was home this past week, I had the pleasure of visiting my sister's gym with her. Oh. My. Gosh.

Here is my gym.

Here is Karen's gym.

If I lived in Tempe and had no job, I would spend all my time at her gym. There is a spa. A restaurant. Several lounges, including one in the super plush locker room (with marble. and showers with curtains.). An indoor pool. An outdoor pool for laps. An outdoor pool for relaxing. Water slides. A poolside cantina. A gym. Fitness classes. And on and on and on.

Seriously a whole day: morning workout, snack, haircut, lunch, lounge at the pool, afternoon workout, drink at the pool.

At $50 a month, I think that's actually quite a good deal. My gym isn't THAT much cheaper. Oh for a life of leisure!

On the Payroll

What do Sarah Palin, Mike Huckabee, Newt Gingrich, and Rick Santorum have in common? (Well, I'm sure a lot of other things but...) They're all paid contributors to Fox News and they are all likely 2012 Republican Presidential candidates.

As Politico asks, how can the news outlet cover these candidates in an unbiased manner when they work for Fox News? And how can other news outlets cover the candidates if they have exclusive contracts only to appear on Fox News? Fox News says these politicians will have to end their contracts when they officially declare themselves. But why would you bother declaring yourself if you can get all sorts of great publicity on Fox News?

As Paul Krugman points out, Fox News has abandoned all "pretense of being nonpartisan."

Nobody who was paying attention has ever doubted that Fox is, in reality, a part of the Republican political machine; but the network — with its Orwellian slogan, “fair and balanced” — has always denied the obvious. Officially, it still does. But by hiring those G.O.P. candidates, while at the same time making million-dollar contributions to the Republican Governors Association and the rabidly anti-Obama United States Chamber of Commerce, Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation, which owns Fox, is signaling that it no longer feels the need to make any effort to keep up appearances.

I am not surprised, but nevertheless dismayed at how our political system continues to be purchased by corporations, and how the majority of the country is apparently okay with this! I am of course particularly embarrassed considering, as you may know, my company provides the polling services for Fox News. And yet we consider ourselves to be an objective research company. I think all these pretenses are continuing to slip away.

P.S. I just read an article that posting about politics and religion is one of the top ways to become unfriended on Facebook. So unfriend at will :)

Running in the Rain

Now that the triathlon is over, the Regatta is over, and my injury is over (crossing my fingers!), I finally have time to focus on my running. And I remembered that I enjoy it! I especially enjoy running in new locations. During my limited build-up this season, I have run a beautiful 6 miles in Tennessee Valley in the Marin Headlands (in the rain); 8 miles through Golden Gate Park including my favorite part around Stow Lake and Strawberry Hill; and 9 miles from my house to the Presidio, over the bridge, and into Sausalito (in the rain). I had to get to Sausalito for the Regatta, after all! I tend to get bored on my weekday runs, generally always around Lake Merritt, so it's nice to be able to run different places on the weekends.



(Tennessee Valley)

I also really enjoy running while traveling. In the last year that I can think of, my favorite runs have been a 10 miler along the gorgeous beach in Ventura; a 12 miler through the fabulous Balboa Park in San Diego after a massive rain; and early morning runs on the Mendocino Headlands and at Asilomar (Pacific Grove/Monterey). I went on a gorgeous run through a park by Nic's house in Baltimore, but unfortunately my injury was bothering me too much to enjoy it as much as I should have. I have also enjoyed runs in the Tucson foothills (and I still have a scar from an agave to prove it - it was night); along the Cherry Creek path in Denver; past empty fields owned by the City of Los Angeles in Bishop, California (think Chinatown); flatlands in Fresno, California; and of course familiar neighborhoods of Tempe and Mesa. I see things I would never see and explore places I would never go if I didn't get up early to run.


(Stream fording in Balboa Park)


(Baltimore)


(Denver)

And let's not forget my races! Avenue of the Giants was gorgeous through the redwood forest, and Rock N Roll San Diego was new scenery at least. I really enjoyed the Nike course here in San Francisco - it covers some of the most gorgeous scenery, and there's always something new to look at. (Also, I sadistically love hills.) In addition, the 12k on Angel Island last December (in pouring rain) was absolutely phenomenal, and the Across the Bay 12k this March was sunny and stellar, despite the fact I couldn't run.

So because I love scenery and running in new places, I am thinking about training for my first marathon to be Big Sur next May. Who's in?

I know it is challenging, but I kind of think I will love it. My goal before ramping up for that is to put in massive time strength training. I have pretty poor running form that hopefully can be cured with some serious core exercises. Boot camp here I come!

(These are all pictures taken with my phone during my runs!)