The usual chaos at SNA trying to get through security to board providing a less than perfect ending. The limitations on take-off times create a flood of travelers all coming through at the same time.
Still, we are now ensconced in our seats and ready to go. All in all a great trip, just too short to do or see everyone and everything we wanted to do. Race report to follow soon!
Monday, January 30, 2012
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Tinker Bell Expo
Wow.... This really is a "women's" race. The vast majority of vendors are selling sparkly things... Glitter sleeves, flashing LEDs for shoes, fairy wings, and holographic skirts. Pretty... and pretty funny. It's the first race I've seen with a hairdresser booth...
Bib pickup and shirt pickup were fine and fast, and I got a new race belt (gel loops!)
Added bonus -- seeing Jenny speak!!
Bib pickup and shirt pickup were fine and fast, and I got a new race belt (gel loops!)
Added bonus -- seeing Jenny speak!!
Boot Camp with Patrick
Went to Patrick's Boot Camp on Friday morning... He has a very laid-back style, and spends a lot of time telling us why we are doing the exercises. He also has a lot of experience working with elderly clients, so knows what will happen to bodies that aren't strengthened now!
The morning session only had two people... Which doesn't bode well for it being continued in the next session, unfortunately.
The workout was good -- lots of strength work that had sweat literally dripping off my nose. But I am not gonna lie -- Patrick's workout wasn't nearly as tough as Dillon's. Still, I will definitely feel it -- especially in my shoulders. I just never had an "omg I'm gonna hurl" moment on Friday...
We got to Anaheim last night, spent a little time in the parks, but were pretty happy that they closed early ;). Got some dinner (hooray for Alertos) and were tucked up in bed by 10. Yeah, we're big partiers...
Today we'll pick up our packets, grab a drink with our pal Jenny, and maybe go for a swim...
In other news, I think I chose my shade of "race-day polish" badly. I was going for Tinker Bell pixie green... But seem to have ended up with zombie flesh... Never trust the fluorescent bulbs!!!
The morning session only had two people... Which doesn't bode well for it being continued in the next session, unfortunately.
The workout was good -- lots of strength work that had sweat literally dripping off my nose. But I am not gonna lie -- Patrick's workout wasn't nearly as tough as Dillon's. Still, I will definitely feel it -- especially in my shoulders. I just never had an "omg I'm gonna hurl" moment on Friday...
We got to Anaheim last night, spent a little time in the parks, but were pretty happy that they closed early ;). Got some dinner (hooray for Alertos) and were tucked up in bed by 10. Yeah, we're big partiers...
Today we'll pick up our packets, grab a drink with our pal Jenny, and maybe go for a swim...
In other news, I think I chose my shade of "race-day polish" badly. I was going for Tinker Bell pixie green... But seem to have ended up with zombie flesh... Never trust the fluorescent bulbs!!!
Thursday, January 26, 2012
packed and ready
It took longer than it should have, but we packed on Wednesday! Okay, sure, we packed on Wednesday because we knew we were going to have a late night tonight, but STILL....
We've packed so lightly that I fear I've forgotten something obvious... but, hey, it's not a third world country, and we'll be able to pick up last-minute things if we need them.
Tonight was the annual trip to Teatro Zinzanni for the employees who completed the Brooks Race Series -- 3 races, one of which had to be at least a half marathon, and one volunteer stint at a Brooks event. Awesome! Always a great time.
Body Revolution this morning... Patrick's Boot Camp tomorrow... hope I can walk on to the plane!
We've packed so lightly that I fear I've forgotten something obvious... but, hey, it's not a third world country, and we'll be able to pick up last-minute things if we need them.
Tonight was the annual trip to Teatro Zinzanni for the employees who completed the Brooks Race Series -- 3 races, one of which had to be at least a half marathon, and one volunteer stint at a Brooks event. Awesome! Always a great time.
Body Revolution this morning... Patrick's Boot Camp tomorrow... hope I can walk on to the plane!
Monday, January 23, 2012
Monday Runday
To be honest, I'm not sure I have EVER run on a Monday. I think when we started out, running Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday just made sense. So Monday has always been a rest day.
But since I've been working out with Dillon on Tuesdays (and, since the start of the year, Thursdays), I needed to shift my running to Mondays and Wednesdays -- or possibly Wednesdays and Fridays.
Today was a gorgeous day, if pretty quiet in the office. I got a whole bunch of little tasks done on this meeting-free day -- so I decided to give myself a treat and leave a little early (3:30) so that I could come home and run before meeting Suz tonight. Okay, okay, I didn't leave the house to run... but I did get 5+30+5 in on the treadmill. Slowly but surely... The 3.12 miles brings me up to 23.59 miles -- nearly halfway, and leaving September and October in the dust.
An amusing side note -- Doug went to work out with Patrick at lunchtime... and by the end of the day couldn't raise his arms. I only laugh because I have so been there! And, of course, I'll probably be there on Friday. Ha.
But since I've been working out with Dillon on Tuesdays (and, since the start of the year, Thursdays), I needed to shift my running to Mondays and Wednesdays -- or possibly Wednesdays and Fridays.
Today was a gorgeous day, if pretty quiet in the office. I got a whole bunch of little tasks done on this meeting-free day -- so I decided to give myself a treat and leave a little early (3:30) so that I could come home and run before meeting Suz tonight. Okay, okay, I didn't leave the house to run... but I did get 5+30+5 in on the treadmill. Slowly but surely... The 3.12 miles brings me up to 23.59 miles -- nearly halfway, and leaving September and October in the dust.
An amusing side note -- Doug went to work out with Patrick at lunchtime... and by the end of the day couldn't raise his arms. I only laugh because I have so been there! And, of course, I'll probably be there on Friday. Ha.
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Church of Dillon
Okay, okay, I didn't go to Body Revolution yesterday. I had a lie in, and then went over to Rebecca's to "help" her with a project. (My help consisted mainly of moral support... and drinking champagne and working on my needlepoint....) So TODAY I went to one of Dillon's snow make-up classes.
Nice big crowd today -- 11 people, including a couple of new faces. And Dillon set up a huge 11-station circuit, which we went through twice. We also did a lot of arm work before the circuit even started. As a result, when I was putting makeup on after my shower, my arms were shaking. Ahh, good times.
My legs felt very tired and heavy even during the warm up... despite having a rest day yesterday. A bit worrisome, what with next Sunday's adventure...
Nice big crowd today -- 11 people, including a couple of new faces. And Dillon set up a huge 11-station circuit, which we went through twice. We also did a lot of arm work before the circuit even started. As a result, when I was putting makeup on after my shower, my arms were shaking. Ahh, good times.
My legs felt very tired and heavy even during the warm up... despite having a rest day yesterday. A bit worrisome, what with next Sunday's adventure...
Friday, January 20, 2012
Slush Day
Things still looked a little grim this morning -- and as I knew that 3 of my 5 co-workers would be "working from home", I decided to let my inner child have a snow day as well.
I did get a bunch of housekeeping sort of work done -- checked the descriptions of all of the Spring product -- but I also made it downstairs for a run.
Just 3.27 miles, but still, miles.... and I'm over 20 miles for the month. Yeah, I'm still going to be hard pressed to get 50 miles in this month. But I passed February and May 2011, and with my next run will pass September and October -- leaving only June and the Alaska Marathon Cruise miles in July.
I did manage to leave the house -- IN A CAR -- for a while today; guess that means I'll be able to go to Body Revolution tomorrow. Yay!
Oh, and in one of my brief "creative" daydreams today, I put together a simple graphic for an upcoming event (which didn't have a graphic of its own...)
I did get a bunch of housekeeping sort of work done -- checked the descriptions of all of the Spring product -- but I also made it downstairs for a run.
Just 3.27 miles, but still, miles.... and I'm over 20 miles for the month. Yeah, I'm still going to be hard pressed to get 50 miles in this month. But I passed February and May 2011, and with my next run will pass September and October -- leaving only June and the Alaska Marathon Cruise miles in July.
I did manage to leave the house -- IN A CAR -- for a while today; guess that means I'll be able to go to Body Revolution tomorrow. Yay!
Oh, and in one of my brief "creative" daydreams today, I put together a simple graphic for an upcoming event (which didn't have a graphic of its own...)
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Snow Day
Well, it may have not been a "snowpocalypse", but it was a proper snowstorm. My office was officially shut, and Wil was working from home. Today I needed to get in a run, but this is what it looked like outside:
So I'm super happy to have this downstairs:
4.14 miles ... putting me over 17 miles so far in January. Again, not a huge success ... but almost as much as February 2011, only a couple of miles behind May 2011, and within a run's reach of September.
Also, went to Body Revolution yesterday before work... wasn't sure it was a good idea to commute in the "snow" wearing shorts, but I did have warm clothes in the car. :) The workout seemed extra tough, for some reason. Felt really challenged to do the cardio segments. But I still feel sad that tomorrow's session has been cancelled. That said, not sure I could justify trekking to Fremont if I am deeply deeply hoping for another snow day tomorrow!
Sunday, January 15, 2012
late inspiration
I blogged... I felt restless... I decided to go downstairs and make myself run for 15 minutes. This time, well, I wasn't quite so much of a hero. After a 5-minute warmup walk, I decided to crank it up a little and try to run for 10 minutes. Sure, that was okay, though I did start feeling a little queasy. So then I walked for a minute, and finished up with another 4 minutes of running.
So, okay, I didn't get 3.5 miles in.... but I did get in 2.01 miles, which is better than nothing. And then, maybe I can make myself run again tomorrow to get on a Monday - Wednesday - Friday kind of thing.
So, okay, I didn't get 3.5 miles in.... but I did get in 2.01 miles, which is better than nothing. And then, maybe I can make myself run again tomorrow to get on a Monday - Wednesday - Friday kind of thing.
decent week... except for running....
So this week I went to Body Revolution with Dillon on Saturday, Tuesday, and Thursday -- and lived to tell the tale. Somehow, however, I never made the time to run. I think I have it in my mind that I run on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so I can't get myself set to run on any other weekday. Weird.
I *would* have gone to Body Revolution this Saturday as well, except I had a really good excuse. The US Olympic Marathon Trials were held in Houston on Saturday, and Brooks had two athletes with a really great chance to make the women's team: Desi Davila and Amy Hastings. Unfortunately, NBC Universal decided not to air the race live... nor did they decide to stream it over the internet. So the only way to "watch" it was to follow updates on Twitter. Which, frankly, was unsatisfying.
That said, it was still exciting to "follow along" and cheer for Desi and Amy. In the end, Desi came in second, and Amy came in fourth, with Shalane and Kara coming in first and third, respectively. As soon as the race was over, I posted our "congratulations Desi" billboard on our site -- super exciting! The only hitch was that the promised blog post never came through -- not an hour after the end of the race, not a day after the end of the race. Oh well - the billboard was the key as far as we were concerned. Even if it meant I spent too much of the morning checking my work email to see if the blog had been posted. (Nope.)
I thought I would have time to go to Body Revolution -- but it didn't work out. And, I guess, neither did it.
So kinda mixed results this week. Good gym work, but no mileage. Weird.
I *would* have gone to Body Revolution this Saturday as well, except I had a really good excuse. The US Olympic Marathon Trials were held in Houston on Saturday, and Brooks had two athletes with a really great chance to make the women's team: Desi Davila and Amy Hastings. Unfortunately, NBC Universal decided not to air the race live... nor did they decide to stream it over the internet. So the only way to "watch" it was to follow updates on Twitter. Which, frankly, was unsatisfying.
That said, it was still exciting to "follow along" and cheer for Desi and Amy. In the end, Desi came in second, and Amy came in fourth, with Shalane and Kara coming in first and third, respectively. As soon as the race was over, I posted our "congratulations Desi" billboard on our site -- super exciting! The only hitch was that the promised blog post never came through -- not an hour after the end of the race, not a day after the end of the race. Oh well - the billboard was the key as far as we were concerned. Even if it meant I spent too much of the morning checking my work email to see if the blog had been posted. (Nope.)
I thought I would have time to go to Body Revolution -- but it didn't work out. And, I guess, neither did it.
So kinda mixed results this week. Good gym work, but no mileage. Weird.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
so...tired....
Went to Body Revolution with Dillon this morning -- that woman sure makes me work hard! Small class this morning -- only four women -- which surprised me since it's JANUARY! But I think most people go in the evening or at weekends. I'm thrilled to be able to go in the morning.
Every workout with Dillon is an exercise in humility. Suddenly I have lost my balance and am unable to do lunges with dumbbells. Why is this? I don't know. Squats? Yeah, I'm not super good at those, either. And as for remembering what I'm supposed to do at each station? Well, let's just say I've gotten very good at just asking for a reminder.
Each class is different, but they all follow a similar structure. We warm up on the cardio machines for 5 minutes or so before class begins. (I tend to use the elliptical trainer, out of sheer habit, but have been known to jump on a treadmill or a bike.) Then we go in and warm up together -- squats, lunges, sometimes core work, sometimes shoulder work. Then we take a little water break while Dillon sets up the circuit.
We have between 6 and 9 stations going at once, and they range from "wall ball" (throwing a padded medicine ball at the wall and catching it) to squats to bench presses to triceps presses to jumping jacks to pushups... etc. etc. We complete one circuit, take a short break, and then dive back in for a second, and then a third round. Then sometimes we do some additional exercises as a group or in pairs, or sometimes we just stretch and cool down a bit.
There's always a point in round one when I regret being there. Then there's the point in round two when I think I won't make it. Then there's the point at the end of round two when I'm really, really relieved. And then I just sorta float through round 3, giving it my all. And sometimes there's a point where I feel woozy or queasy. But not every time.
Today was good -- I was neither woozy nor queasy. And I have that familiar "heaviness" that comes after a butt kicking. And a slightly achy back.
Every workout with Dillon is an exercise in humility. Suddenly I have lost my balance and am unable to do lunges with dumbbells. Why is this? I don't know. Squats? Yeah, I'm not super good at those, either. And as for remembering what I'm supposed to do at each station? Well, let's just say I've gotten very good at just asking for a reminder.
Each class is different, but they all follow a similar structure. We warm up on the cardio machines for 5 minutes or so before class begins. (I tend to use the elliptical trainer, out of sheer habit, but have been known to jump on a treadmill or a bike.) Then we go in and warm up together -- squats, lunges, sometimes core work, sometimes shoulder work. Then we take a little water break while Dillon sets up the circuit.
We have between 6 and 9 stations going at once, and they range from "wall ball" (throwing a padded medicine ball at the wall and catching it) to squats to bench presses to triceps presses to jumping jacks to pushups... etc. etc. We complete one circuit, take a short break, and then dive back in for a second, and then a third round. Then sometimes we do some additional exercises as a group or in pairs, or sometimes we just stretch and cool down a bit.
There's always a point in round one when I regret being there. Then there's the point in round two when I think I won't make it. Then there's the point at the end of round two when I'm really, really relieved. And then I just sorta float through round 3, giving it my all. And sometimes there's a point where I feel woozy or queasy. But not every time.
Today was good -- I was neither woozy nor queasy. And I have that familiar "heaviness" that comes after a butt kicking. And a slightly achy back.
Sunday, January 8, 2012
another little run
I've still got a banging headache... and Wil is still suffering from a cold, so we didn't make it out for our "long" run this morning. But after we ran our errands and settled in, I decided to try and run on the treadmill for just 15 minutes. If I made myself run for 15, I reasoned, I might run longer, or I might not... but at least I would get a tiny run in.
Of course, I walked for 5 to warm up, and then just started running 3:1s. And running. And running. Okay, it's not like I ran a long long way... but I did run 3.42 miles pretty easily, which brings me up to 10.95 miles, which is more than last August.
Tomorrow is a rest day. Which I'm really really looking forward to!
Of course, I walked for 5 to warm up, and then just started running 3:1s. And running. And running. Okay, it's not like I ran a long long way... but I did run 3.42 miles pretty easily, which brings me up to 10.95 miles, which is more than last August.
Tomorrow is a rest day. Which I'm really really looking forward to!
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Body Revolution!!!
Went to my first Saturday BR class, which was pretty full (as expected). Kim taught the class, which means I'll be extra sore tomorrow ;)
Somehow managed to miss a run this week (boo), but I did make it to BR twice and I think I survived.
Wil, however, ran home from work twice because he's a superstar!!!
Tomorrow I plan on running at least to the lookout again. If I can walk after today, that is...
In other news, I finally signed Wil up for the Half Fanatics! Not sure if he'll have his shirt before the Tinker Bell Half, but maybe.
Somehow managed to miss a run this week (boo), but I did make it to BR twice and I think I survived.
Wil, however, ran home from work twice because he's a superstar!!!
Tomorrow I plan on running at least to the lookout again. If I can walk after today, that is...
In other news, I finally signed Wil up for the Half Fanatics! Not sure if he'll have his shirt before the Tinker Bell Half, but maybe.
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
more running!
Wil is awesome. He ran home from work today, through the drizzle, dark, and construction detours. I think he's brave, but he just thinks it's normal.
Meanwhile, when he arrived home, I was struggling to figure out just which model T5 treadmill is in our basement so I could do a bit of troubleshooting. Why wouldn't it turn on? I searched online for the manual, but couldn't find one for my particular LifeFitness treadmill. When Wil came home, triumphant, I was just starting to go through out giant file of manuals (man, we own a lot of stuff...) in the hopes of finding the treadmill manual.
Wil, meanwhile, went downstairs and told me he "fixed" it. Sure enough, he had.... but sticking the magnetic "dead man's brake" back on to the console. Oops. Possibly the funniest thing was that as I kept staring at the console, wondering why it wouldn't start, I kept thinking that I had never noticed the yellow ring around the unmarked button. Which was, of course, the spot where the magnet attaches...
Anyway, Wil got in a good 5.5 miles, and I had a slow but steady 3.39 miles. January's total so far: 7.53 miles. More than January, March, and November, and .01 miles more than April. Now, I'm not saying that 7.53 is a good result, or anything like that, but I feel happy that at least I've gotten two runs in so far!
In other news, I went in for my "10 week fitness challenge" assessment this morning with Dillon at the Fitness Lab. Is there anything more awkward than having a small, fierce, fit woman take your measurements first thing in the morning? I stood there thinking that I bet I'm the chubbiest lady she works with. But at least she said, "Wow, you've got strong legs." So I've got that going for me. Dillon took lots and lots of measurements with a tape measure, scale w/body fat percentage thingy, and (everyone's favorite) -- calipers. And at the end she took a set of "before" pictures. I'm almost afraid to see them. But maybe one day I'll treasure them. Or something.
Sunday, January 1, 2012
2012 -- off and running
Started off the new year right -- got up and (after some winging and waffling on my part...) went out for a run to the lookout. It was cold but sunny, and my chest hurt from the air. But we trotted along, slowly but for the most part surely. Wil essentially had to drag me up the last "big" hill. But a run is a run, right?
4.14 miles -- why, that's more than I ran in December! :)
Of course, then I came home and had a coughing and sneezing fit, which seems to have turned into a full-blown cold. Icky. But I've been drinking lots of water today and I'm hoping that this will pass relatively quickly.
4.14 miles -- why, that's more than I ran in December! :)
Of course, then I came home and had a coughing and sneezing fit, which seems to have turned into a full-blown cold. Icky. But I've been drinking lots of water today and I'm hoping that this will pass relatively quickly.