Monday, February 8, 2010

Who I be, I be Tea

I know it was popular (like 5 years ago) to list out interesting facts about yourself.

Well, I'm not one for fads. So, here's mine 5 years late and in no particular order.

1.) I'm not one for fads. (Didn't see that coming did you?)

2.) I can absolutely not resist Lays potato chips....the plain old salty Lays.

3.) My favorite simple pleasure is a cup of tea and a biscotti in front of the fireplace with a book.

4.) I have a dark sarcastic sense of humor, which means that people either think I need to be locked up or that I'm hilarious.

5.) I eat ridiculously well, except for the Lays.

6.) I love the mountains.

7.) I love snowshoeing and hiking.

8.) I love the ocean even more than the mountains.

9.) I love movies that know what they are.

10.) I love reading, especially historical fiction.

11.) I am a music fanatic but I'm not a guru. I couldn't tell you who played guitar or sang vocals for any particular group....except Van Halen but then You'd have to be pretty sorry not to know that.

12.) I love writing and have works of fiction published.....a long long time ago.

13.) Places that I haven't been but would love to go: Turkey and Croatia.

14.) Goal in life: To finish my family tree which requires research in Dublin....not that I have a problem with that.

15.) Countries I've been to: Canada, Jamaica, France, England, Germany, Amsterdam, Japan, China (Xi'an to Beijing and other eastern cities), Hong Kong. I think I'm leaving something out.

16.) Country I've spent the most time (other than US): France.

17.) Favorite of the list: China

18.) Place in the US that I want to visit: New Orleans.

19.) Place I'm least likely to live: Florida

20.) Languages I know: English & French. I learned some basic conversational Catonese. I know how to curse in Hindi and German.

21.) If I were a superhero, my superpower would be flying.

22.) Strange special talent: Imitations.

23.) I own an unusually high number of: sweatshirts.

24.) My first job: McDonald's....which was an odd choice since I was a vegetarian.

25.) My first car: Mustang

26.) I really like snow.

27.) I love being able to get through the snow.

28.) I believe that all women need to know some form of self-defense.

29.) I studied Karate.

30.) I don't now but want to do it again.

31.) I don't believe in marriage.

32.) I believe in committment.

33.) I believe anyone who wants to be married should be allowed to get married.

32.) I think the religious right is freakin' nuts.

33.) I still struggle with "Paper or plastic" when I leave my bags at home.

34.) I think the BEST pizza is NY pizza.

35.) I'm from NY. Born in Queens.

36.) When I get angry or excited, I have a NY accent.

37.) I smile and laugh alot.

38.) I tend to sing aloud in the car....regardless of who is in there with me.

39.) I just loves me some Knish.

40.) I love Indian food, and Mexican and Chinese food. Hmmm, I really just love food.

41.) I don't drink alchohol. Not that I have an issue with it. I just don't. I might again someday. But I do own quite a collection of wines.

42.) I don't smoke, have never and will never.

43.) I love going to summer baseball games.

44.) I love sports.

45.) Yoga, yoga, yoga.

46.) I love tea...hot or cold....unsweetened.

47.) I love thunderstorms.

48.) On the first day of summer every year, I find a park bench in the shade and have a bag of m&ms and a coke and watched people go by.

49.) I sing "Go runner, go runner" when I'm driving by a runner.

50.) I love it when people make fun of themselves.

51.) I don't like it when people make fun of others.

52.) I tend to root for the underdog.

53.) I am not allergic to anything. Nothing. Onions don't make me cry. Dust doesn't make me sneeze. Nothing. I can walk in the middle of a field of weeds and sunflowers and not have a problem.

54.) I think I have really good genes.

55.) I don't like laying in bed once I wake up.

56.) I don't watch much tv. I hate sitting idle.

57.) I have too much energy for my own good and drive my family crazy.


And....I can't think other anything else to say.

Friday, February 5, 2010

goals & expectations

I'm so tired. It was in a state of near hypnotism (during my long swim this morning) that I realized how truly SICK I am. My weekly volumes are increasing (like most of us do when we are training for a race), and I honestly said to myself, "I can't wait for the weekend when I can just do my long runs".

Apparently, relaxation now means running stupid far distances. Which is (apparently) easier than doing 2 or 3 workouts a day.

You following me?

Fridays are particularly difficult. Not only have I had a week of training, but Thursday is a speed workout in the morning followed by a tough ride in the evenings. The next morning is a recovery run followed by a swim.

By Friday nights, I'm tired, physically tired. Knowing that I have only one thing to do each day on the weekends is like a mini-vacation even if the ONE thing is running STUPID FAR.

sigh

Did I mention that Sunday's run will be in the cold, windy, snow? AGAIN?

sigh

By the time my race comes around, I'll be a hardcore runner.

The real reason I'm writing today besides having the opportunity to demonstrate how poorly I think, write, and function on exhaustion is to talk about something I've been thinking about.

It's something that really took me a long time to learn.

I'm not the fastest person when it comes to running, and I've been running a long time. Sometimes people look at me funny....like I'm supposed to be in the olympics by now. This happens alot with people who are new to being athletic. They look at me as though something is wrong with me.

I don't know what got me thinking about this....seriously. I started thinking back in time. With the exception of 94 and 95 when I had the two kids, I was running. I've been running as long as I can remember. In fact, I did races too.

I just never really cared about comparing times. I know it sounds crazy to some people. I guess, running was more of a process for me. It was how I dealt with stress or family issues etc. If I started adding the pressure of being concerned about race times, I don't think I would have liked running....back then.

There was alot going on in my life, and why ruin "running" with more stress? At the time, I couldn't separate goals and expectations. Goals are good; expectations not so much. I didn't really know how to set appropriate goals without then also getting tied into the expectation of hitting goal.

I'm starting to babble.

blah blah blah (speaking of which, have you heard Keisha and 3Oh3's song?)

This year, I'm doing a number of races and bike tours. But I have only 2 goals and 2 races that are special to me. They are races that I have some aggressive goals, but I have no expectations. All I can say is that it won't be for lack of training that I don't hit my goals.

The first is next month. I have a 7k planed (4.34 miles). My goal for this race is to run it in the same time I ran 4 miles in Nov 2009. That's a pretty aggressive goal. It won't be a PR for the race, but it will set up my goals for my half marathon.

The half is really important to me. I'm running one in May, but that's not my A race. Again it will be a pacing race that will allow me to set up my plan for my Oct half.

If I PR in my Oct half, we're heading to Carlsbad for the half in Jan 2011. That's where I got the PR that I'm chasing down.

Of course, I'm not really sure if I can PR this year. But that's why the 7k is important. It's going to tell me how I've been progressing this winter.

That's the lesson that I've learned. I have goals, but I won't assume or expect anything that to have a good time.

The PR will come.