I'm in vacation mode and am especially interested in fiction. I don't like romance novels, though I do enjoy relationship and coming of age stories. I like adventures, especially fond on solo voyages and the like. I haven't been able to stay interested in anything lately and I really miss getting lost in a good read.
Any recommendations?
Saturday, July 22, 2006
Friday, July 21, 2006
Some Workouts Just Suck!
No way around it, sometimes they just do! This mornings run got off to another late start and 10 minutes into it I knew it was gonna be sucky. Hot and bothered I pressed on the BART TRAIL... half way out I pulled off my shirt running in my sports bras ( I wear two) I usually reserve this lack of modestty for the remote trail runs but it was too freakin hot! Got back home in time to grab my gym bag and M then off to camp.
I wanted to swim as well, so I headed over to the pool near my job. It was hotter and later by this time in and as usual I short changed my warm-up and after a few short laps I switched over to the longer lane for a few more. I wanted to get to work by 11:00 so I only swam for 30 plus minutes. I felt rushed and didn't have a handle on my breathing and well the swim sucked too! Unless I don't have to take M to camp and get to the pool near my job really early, I always feel rushed. With the weather warming up there is every reason in the world to drag my tail out of bed earlier.
Oh well, sucky or not at least I made an effort. I did REST yesterday, which was why I chose to run and swim today. Thinking about it now I should've just kept to one or the other instead of rushing both. Live and learn.
I wanted to swim as well, so I headed over to the pool near my job. It was hotter and later by this time in and as usual I short changed my warm-up and after a few short laps I switched over to the longer lane for a few more. I wanted to get to work by 11:00 so I only swam for 30 plus minutes. I felt rushed and didn't have a handle on my breathing and well the swim sucked too! Unless I don't have to take M to camp and get to the pool near my job really early, I always feel rushed. With the weather warming up there is every reason in the world to drag my tail out of bed earlier.
Oh well, sucky or not at least I made an effort. I did REST yesterday, which was why I chose to run and swim today. Thinking about it now I should've just kept to one or the other instead of rushing both. Live and learn.
Wednesday, July 19, 2006
Exploring Redwood
I stayed up waaaay too late lastnight watching this really weird movie "Birth" w/Nicole Kiddman....I was both riveted and creeped out and didn't get to bed until nearly 1:00 am!!
Not so conducive to the long trail run I had planned.
With my expectations lowered I went about getting M ready for camp, dropped her off a little past 9:00 am and "snaked" (the street is really named Snake Rd.) my way up towards Redwood Reg. Park
I hit the Westridge trail for a change of pace. It had been awhile since I went this way and quite alot of it looked unfamiliar. I veered right past the staging area and before long my wide fire trail became a weeded single track that meandered through more tall grass. I noticed brilliant red poison oak tangled in blackberry bushes and was careful to avoid it. I turned around and got back on the main trail then on to Redwood Grove and discovered a swimming pool, huh! who knew? Today was not only hot but humid and I looked longingly at the pool before heading back. I kept well hydrated and added a banana GU to my Mango/Fruit Punch Gatorade concoction. It sounds gross but was actually pretty good. I ran for 60 plus minutes and then hiked around the park for another 45 minutes.
It's funny that when I first started my walk/run program I was really consistent and was careful not to do too much too soon. I think I've been a little reckless lately jumping around so much distance wise. So far, no major aches or pains or set-backs of any kind...but thinking it through, seems like my running needs to get a revamp. I just figure I need 2 short and one long (ideally) often resulting in one of each because the swimming and biking need time too.
I have noticed the benefits of cross-training though. I'm sure the fact that I've managed to stay relatively injury free is a main point here.
Anyways, I was remembering how I started to build endurance through a walk/run program and thought why wouldn't that continue to work as I move towards longer distances. During the hike portion of todays workout I sprinted up a little hill- mostly to get in the shade and just that little bit of effort assured me that I'd be walking back the rest of the way! Jello legs, just like the bike to run transition...Still, it's always kinda cool to me when my body reaches it's limits, when true fatigue kicks in. More evidence that I'm getting out of my comfort zone.
So far this week
7/16 -7/22
Sun-3 hr./25 plus mile group bike ride.
Mon-Rest
Tues-Brisk 30 minute BART TRAIL run
Wed- 60 minute trail run, 45 min hike
(tentative)
Thur-REST or swim
Fri-30 min run
Sat-? /Bike
I should be swimming on most REST days now. I'm pretty sure I'll get another run in on Sunday. Not really sure but a tentative plan is better than no plan I suppose.
Not so conducive to the long trail run I had planned.
With my expectations lowered I went about getting M ready for camp, dropped her off a little past 9:00 am and "snaked" (the street is really named Snake Rd.) my way up towards Redwood Reg. Park
I hit the Westridge trail for a change of pace. It had been awhile since I went this way and quite alot of it looked unfamiliar. I veered right past the staging area and before long my wide fire trail became a weeded single track that meandered through more tall grass. I noticed brilliant red poison oak tangled in blackberry bushes and was careful to avoid it. I turned around and got back on the main trail then on to Redwood Grove and discovered a swimming pool, huh! who knew? Today was not only hot but humid and I looked longingly at the pool before heading back. I kept well hydrated and added a banana GU to my Mango/Fruit Punch Gatorade concoction. It sounds gross but was actually pretty good. I ran for 60 plus minutes and then hiked around the park for another 45 minutes.
It's funny that when I first started my walk/run program I was really consistent and was careful not to do too much too soon. I think I've been a little reckless lately jumping around so much distance wise. So far, no major aches or pains or set-backs of any kind...but thinking it through, seems like my running needs to get a revamp. I just figure I need 2 short and one long (ideally) often resulting in one of each because the swimming and biking need time too.
I have noticed the benefits of cross-training though. I'm sure the fact that I've managed to stay relatively injury free is a main point here.
Anyways, I was remembering how I started to build endurance through a walk/run program and thought why wouldn't that continue to work as I move towards longer distances. During the hike portion of todays workout I sprinted up a little hill- mostly to get in the shade and just that little bit of effort assured me that I'd be walking back the rest of the way! Jello legs, just like the bike to run transition...Still, it's always kinda cool to me when my body reaches it's limits, when true fatigue kicks in. More evidence that I'm getting out of my comfort zone.
So far this week
7/16 -7/22
Sun-3 hr./25 plus mile group bike ride.
Mon-Rest
Tues-Brisk 30 minute BART TRAIL run
Wed- 60 minute trail run, 45 min hike
(tentative)
Thur-REST or swim
Fri-30 min run
Sat-? /Bike
I should be swimming on most REST days now. I'm pretty sure I'll get another run in on Sunday. Not really sure but a tentative plan is better than no plan I suppose.
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
Up Early
Up early today and all things pointed to an early run. With the coffee buzz in place and Brandy reporting for duty at 07:00 We hit the BART trail for a slightly faster run. Amazing how my pace picks up in the cooler weather. I do love me some cooler temps. The 20 k in late August does remind me though, that I need to get out of my comfort zone...Man, I'm looking forward to vacation in just one more week!!!
Sunday, July 16, 2006
Good Times
M and I swam yesterday, it was such a nice day and very few people occupied the 3 swim lanes . I was able to swim for an hour with a lane all to myself! Later the 3 of us rode our mountain bikes to Cold Stone Creamery about an hour after chowing down on BBQ...delish!!!
I organized a group bike ride for today too! Deb, Emily and Arthur from triclub responded to my suggestion to hook-up for a ride. We met at 8am in front of the Y and we headed over to Redwood, the ride I had done a couple weeks back....it was a first for the rest of the group and everyone seem to be enjoying themselves. We met a rather large riding group, The Velo Raptors and they were super friendly and we all sort've merged and interacted. We gave the leader our individual e-mails and now will get the 411 on their riding schedule.
We parted ways at Grizzly Peak, our little group continued onto Redwood, then Arthur took over and led us down Pinehurst. The decent was steep and we all rode our breaks, eventually it leveled out and we found ourselves in a beautiful canopied canyon that wound it's way towards Moraga. The place felt familiar and as we rode past the Post Office....Yes, a post office in the middle of seemingly nowhere.....I remembered riding here a looooong time ago back in my early 20's from the Moraga direction when I lived in Concord.
We continued onto Moraga where signs of life became more abundant and kept going to Orinda. By this time we had already covered 20 or so miles at a leisurely pace with a few stops. After a quick water break, we headed onward towards Tilden via San Pablo Dam Rd. This was to be the toughest leg of the trip. If you've ever entered Tilden from the Orinda side, you know it's one steep ass climb and by 10:45 am it was HOT. Taking it slow we worked our way up the backside of Tilden, Deb sprinted ahead, Emily and I stayed close with me drafting off her first. I then switched to give her chance to draft, I turned around to say something and she was out of sight. Shortly afterwards, Arthur was at my side and said Emily pulled over for a break and then he was passing me, hot on Deb's tail. I held my pace and focused on riding straight vs fast. I was in the right gears and with exception of few not-so-smooth gear shifts I was having a decent no really decent ride.
We all met up at Inspiration Point and reveled in a victory lap around the parking lot! LOL!! Deb apperared to be suffering from a bit of heat exhaustion. Emily offered fluids, Arthur dumped more water on her head and I gave her a neck rub. She need abit of time to recover, poor thing she's a kick ass rider....but has no granny gear which forces her to maintain a faster speed or she falls over on the hills! Once Deb was good, Emily had to leave, so the remaining 3 of us lingered a little longer until Debs lightheadedness went away. From IP it was pretty much all downhill except for a little hill just before you get to the Brazilian Room. Arthur had us pull over there to get more water, he said it's his favorite place to crash weddings!
As we were leaving a man with what appeared to be a comatose toddler on the back of his bike, needed a tire pump....Once again Arthur to the rescue . I took Deb over to a shady spot and we waited while Arthur assisted the dad & tyke. BTW the little kid did perk up after awhile and looked ok. From this point on it was either flat or down hill, a nice reward after the hard climb.
So, I didn't get a long run in this weekend but I spent time with family and friends doing active stuff . That's major progress folks! Hmmm, maybe I have a future in event planning!
I organized a group bike ride for today too! Deb, Emily and Arthur from triclub responded to my suggestion to hook-up for a ride. We met at 8am in front of the Y and we headed over to Redwood, the ride I had done a couple weeks back....it was a first for the rest of the group and everyone seem to be enjoying themselves. We met a rather large riding group, The Velo Raptors and they were super friendly and we all sort've merged and interacted. We gave the leader our individual e-mails and now will get the 411 on their riding schedule.
We parted ways at Grizzly Peak, our little group continued onto Redwood, then Arthur took over and led us down Pinehurst. The decent was steep and we all rode our breaks, eventually it leveled out and we found ourselves in a beautiful canopied canyon that wound it's way towards Moraga. The place felt familiar and as we rode past the Post Office....Yes, a post office in the middle of seemingly nowhere.....I remembered riding here a looooong time ago back in my early 20's from the Moraga direction when I lived in Concord.
We continued onto Moraga where signs of life became more abundant and kept going to Orinda. By this time we had already covered 20 or so miles at a leisurely pace with a few stops. After a quick water break, we headed onward towards Tilden via San Pablo Dam Rd. This was to be the toughest leg of the trip. If you've ever entered Tilden from the Orinda side, you know it's one steep ass climb and by 10:45 am it was HOT. Taking it slow we worked our way up the backside of Tilden, Deb sprinted ahead, Emily and I stayed close with me drafting off her first. I then switched to give her chance to draft, I turned around to say something and she was out of sight. Shortly afterwards, Arthur was at my side and said Emily pulled over for a break and then he was passing me, hot on Deb's tail. I held my pace and focused on riding straight vs fast. I was in the right gears and with exception of few not-so-smooth gear shifts I was having a decent no really decent ride.
We all met up at Inspiration Point and reveled in a victory lap around the parking lot! LOL!! Deb apperared to be suffering from a bit of heat exhaustion. Emily offered fluids, Arthur dumped more water on her head and I gave her a neck rub. She need abit of time to recover, poor thing she's a kick ass rider....but has no granny gear which forces her to maintain a faster speed or she falls over on the hills! Once Deb was good, Emily had to leave, so the remaining 3 of us lingered a little longer until Debs lightheadedness went away. From IP it was pretty much all downhill except for a little hill just before you get to the Brazilian Room. Arthur had us pull over there to get more water, he said it's his favorite place to crash weddings!
As we were leaving a man with what appeared to be a comatose toddler on the back of his bike, needed a tire pump....Once again Arthur to the rescue . I took Deb over to a shady spot and we waited while Arthur assisted the dad & tyke. BTW the little kid did perk up after awhile and looked ok. From this point on it was either flat or down hill, a nice reward after the hard climb.
So, I didn't get a long run in this weekend but I spent time with family and friends doing active stuff . That's major progress folks! Hmmm, maybe I have a future in event planning!
Friday, July 14, 2006
What a Dog!
Brandy and I finally got going early this week. After the long run a couple weeks back, I realized that she's a bit deconditioned since not having gone on many runs with me due to my crazy pack-the -gym-bag and see where I end up approach to training as of late. This morning at 7:45 we headed over to the BART trail. The cool air felt good on my legs and face.
If I don't take the leash and harness off her immediately after a run she will inevitably begin to naw at ....We've gone through quite few! So, with her new purple leash and harness, we set off at an easy pace for a 40 minute run. Along the way, we met up with Joel, I've been passing and chatting with him on the BART trail ever since I started to run almost 2 years ago. He's a musician and he was telling me about a recent gig in Reno, where he was accosted by a rather robust biker chick fan who planted a big wet one on him and insisted that he share his gum while forcing her tongue into his mouth.eeeeeeww!!! He's probably 50ish, boyishly handsome tall and lean and always comments on my weight loss and say's I'm sexy...gotta love that right?
I always smile when I see the mommies out there with their jog strollers, I know it takes a whole other kind of discipline to get your groove on with a kid in tow.....One I never seem to develop when M was little......Today I saw an athletic looking grandma cruising with a little tike..Awesome!
Brandy was on her best behavior too! No veering off, no tugging or getting tangled in my path. She's in need of more short runs before we hit the trails for longer ones. Plus it will get me out the door earlier!!
I recently got in touch with a couple of Tri4fun clubmates and am trying to hookup for abit of group training, I still struggle with this and it seems I can't get past the occasional get together. I really need to find a steady partner and Tracy (she's a total stud, talks while running 8 minute miles guh!) seems motivated and willing, just a matter of our schedules jibing. I need to be more flexible and give evening workouts a serious consideration at least for biking and swimming, we'll see what happens.
I'm only working half day today and tonight M will be mc'ing the talent show at dance camp....she sprained her knee a week ago and has been laying low on the dancing. With the weekend around the bend, I am looking forward to getting a good ride and run in.
If I don't take the leash and harness off her immediately after a run she will inevitably begin to naw at ....We've gone through quite few! So, with her new purple leash and harness, we set off at an easy pace for a 40 minute run. Along the way, we met up with Joel, I've been passing and chatting with him on the BART trail ever since I started to run almost 2 years ago. He's a musician and he was telling me about a recent gig in Reno, where he was accosted by a rather robust biker chick fan who planted a big wet one on him and insisted that he share his gum while forcing her tongue into his mouth.eeeeeeww!!! He's probably 50ish, boyishly handsome tall and lean and always comments on my weight loss and say's I'm sexy...gotta love that right?
I always smile when I see the mommies out there with their jog strollers, I know it takes a whole other kind of discipline to get your groove on with a kid in tow.....One I never seem to develop when M was little......Today I saw an athletic looking grandma cruising with a little tike..Awesome!
Brandy was on her best behavior too! No veering off, no tugging or getting tangled in my path. She's in need of more short runs before we hit the trails for longer ones. Plus it will get me out the door earlier!!
I recently got in touch with a couple of Tri4fun clubmates and am trying to hookup for abit of group training, I still struggle with this and it seems I can't get past the occasional get together. I really need to find a steady partner and Tracy (she's a total stud, talks while running 8 minute miles guh!) seems motivated and willing, just a matter of our schedules jibing. I need to be more flexible and give evening workouts a serious consideration at least for biking and swimming, we'll see what happens.
I'm only working half day today and tonight M will be mc'ing the talent show at dance camp....she sprained her knee a week ago and has been laying low on the dancing. With the weekend around the bend, I am looking forward to getting a good ride and run in.
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
Trying this training life!
It appears my new get-up-and-go time is close to 10 am these days, just can't seem to get my arse ass the door .....oh well, I'm itchin to ride today as it's been awhile so off I go. Hey btw, were heading south for vacation this month San Diego (my first visit) We're gonna do the SeaWorld, The Zoo, Legoland and maybe checkout TJ....any lodging or travel or running route suggestions from locals or other visitors would be most appreciated!
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