On The Road Again....

Mixed marriage time: Broncos vs. Giants in Denver

Well, gosh. It has been awhile. I mean, really. Much has happened. Since the last post, I took a job at a healthcare technology company called Change Healthcare, and have been on the road quite a bit. It is not an exaggeration between work and personal travel to say that I have travelled 150,000+ miles in the past year alone (mostly for work, but a couple of trips to Europe interspersed in there). Pro tip: Once you hit 40,000 miles on Alaska Airlines, they give you free chocolate. Who knew? 

So what else is new? Well I am anxiously awaiting Game 7 of the ALCS tonight where my Yankees are taking on the Astros. Really hoping CC Sabathia brings it along with the offense. We went to Denver last weekend to see Marc's Broncos take on my Giants, and the completely opposite outcome happened that we were expecting (Giants won). Speaking of Marc, I'm doing my best to make him a Yanks fan for this fall.

Yanks visit Seattle Let's Go Yankees!

I said farewell to Facebook on Thanksgiving, 2016 as I felt it was way too toxic for me from a political perspective. I felt all sides were too vitriolic for me and the time spent on the platform just left me feeling negative and pissed off. You can find me on Instagram though where I get to look at pictures of beautiful places, funny people doing great things and whatever else my peeps like posting - although anything political gets an unfollow. 

The business travel has been a lot. I know, many of you know me from when I used to do that a lot, but I was much younger. Plus I really like being home, spending time with Marc and keeping to a routine. It is really hard to eat well and keep working out at a regular cadence when on the road. I put some pretty hard rules in place for my business trips when I started the role around exercise in to mitigate the impact of eating out all of the time. Yay for being a runner and for doing CrossFit! Lots of #viewfrommyrun pics posted on Instagram.

On top of Mt. Si. with Rainier in background

Last summer was fairly insane with travel from Seattle to Augusta, Maine every other week, so this summer, I decided to wrestle some control back. This has led to Marc and I getting in some hikes in a number of gorgeous places. Some were pretty technical and on one of them, I was just dreading going down because of how treacherous the trail was [spoiler alert: I survived but it took longer to get down than to go up].

In other news, I continue to brush up on skills around R, Python and SQL because it falls into that whole 'trying to suck less and challenge myself more' thing? While I have no intention of becoming a software engineer, I find taking the time to focus on this kind of thing helps me as both a Product Manager and a Program Manager. I'm reading a book on Submarine Design because someone told me it would be a great way to understand multivariate design as a whole. I'll let you know how that works out but this might fall into 'you can't make this stuff up'.

Top of Lone Cone in Tofino, BC

Marc and I decided to dust off our golf clubs, and the best thing about that from my perspective is that I didn't kill anyone at the range.... yet. 

We will see how long it will be before I post again, but in the meantime, thanks for tuning in and GO YANKEES!

'Schmuckitude'!

[NOTE: Given that this is mostly a political post, it should be noted that this only represents the thoughts of Jill. Marc's thoughts will remain his, unless he chooses to share.]

I don't think it is an actual word according to the Oxford University Press, but if 'physicality' can somehow become a word and be overused by every sports analyst, then 'schmuckitude' certainly has its place.

I would argue that basically any elected official, particularly the ones who spend at least part of their year residing in "the other Washington" deserve an "overachieve" in their 'schmuckitude', with a couple of notable exceptions. BTW since I live in Washington State folks, DC is "the other Washington". And it certainly seems appropriate given that I assign failing grades to both the executive (yes, Obama gets an 'F' for his bullying and temper tantrums) and the legislative branches for their lack of leadership and understanding of the woes of the average citizen. 

But Senator John McCain had a great quote today. He said, "Leadership, I must fully admit, was provided primarily by women in the Senate." And of course, Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine) deflected the compliments with saying it was "truly collaborative effort," adding that all in the group deserved "kudos" for working on the deal. McCain joked that he had won "a small side wager" from Collins in the course of their negotiations. Hmmm. Maybe more women are needed in positions of power. 

I was sad when Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) had decided not to run for re-election as she had been another common sense member of the Senate, but she had enough of the extreme partisanship that has taken over both parties in Congress. The good news is that she has been active on Twitter and on other social media trying to hammer home that Congress should use common sense for the good of the American people. I hope she is effective.

So goody. The Democrats say they won and the Republicans will bring up many of these issues in 3-4 months (sans Obamacare, which does nothing to solve the real problems with our healthcare system). We'll get to go through this again! Yeah, President Obama and Congress! Continue to embody 'schmuckitude'! Oh by the way, you all suck.

Speaking of women in positions of power, I enjoyed reading this interview with Condi Rice about her recently announced role with the selection committee of the new College Football Playoff System. Regardless of her politics, she seems just as qualified as anyone to be sitting at that table given her background, yet it is still sad about the sexism that exists regarding her selection.

Switching gears ever so slightly, this Q&A with Roger Federer cracked me up. Between this and this interaction with a fan a couple of months ago, he is my all-time favorite male tennis player.

Had a great time with friends over the past weekend. My awful golf game showed up (my good one never does), but I got to be outside, and laugh with Marc and friends. Life is good.

And finally, Mr. Rosen -- I also love David Burke Townhouse. Thanks for sharing your story and your humor with a wide audience. It brought a huge smile to my face reading about you.

Interesting Reads, Cooking Adventures, Etc.

It's been a busy month, thus far. Running, cooking, CrossFit, friends, quick trip to Whistler, getting ready for the JDRF dinner and helping Harvalicious with his "Barbells for Boobs" fundraiser. 

I never get around to reading as much as I would like, but found a few articles over the past 3-4 weeks that have been interesting:

I had NO IDEA that if you declare bankruptcy that pretty much every debt will be forgiven, except for student loan debt. I am not sure which "genius" decided on that, but it has the potential to stifle innovation and risk taking in America. I am all for paying your debts but this is absurd. You try and get a new start, and your student loans will always be with you (but not your credit card debt). Not good.

Fascinating read on the sequence of events that took place after President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963. Good job, Esquire.

What a cool story about a "sommelier on wheels". Shows that you can always pursue your dream if you really are passionate about it. It would be interesting to understand what was involved in the service portion of the Master Sommelier exam. 

I am convinced that Gianni Agnelli was "The Most Interesting Man In The World" before Dos Equis came up with the moniker for their very hilarious ad campaign.

It's not looking good for the Yanks to make the playoffs. I am pretty much "anyone but Boston" at this stage, but I think it would be pretty cool if the Indians and Pirates made it to the Fall Classic. The Giants are off to a horrific start. No O-Line and a leaky defense. Not sure how Kevin Gilbride still has a job and how much more of a pounding Eli Manning can take.

Running is going well mostly. Some aches and pains, but getting through the workouts and improving efficiency.... hopefully.

Spent the long Labor Day weekend in Whistler, BC. Hung out with a good friend, golfed for the 1st time since getting the broken hand fixed and cooked some lasagne. Good times.

On the home cooking front, Marc picked up for me "Modernist Cuisine At Home" as a gift and I have been busy trying things out like "Sous Vide Pork Belly" for an upcoming dinner party challenge, omelettes, pressure cooked vegetable soup, amongst other things. It's definitely educational and I look forward to seeing how I can "up my game". Other recipes I have worked on include an heirloom tomato salad from "Down Home: Downtown", which was great, and Chocolate Pudding Souffles with Almond Butter Ganache, which was adapted from "Michael Mina: The Cookbook". Yes, you read that right - Jill baked.

We are still fundraising for JDRF (will be through mid-November) and have our big dinner on Saturday. The dinner is sold out, which is awesome. Hovering around $18,000. Thanks to all who have donated to date! Harvalicious (aka Dad) is also fundraising to provide mammograms for those who can't afford them. You can donate here! Harv is going to do a special CrossFit workout with his "box" on October 5th for the cause! More to come on this.

Phil the Thrill.

I wouldn't say I am a huge golf fan, compared to say baseball or football (US), but after taking up the game once I moved to Seattle, I definitely started to appreciate it more. I never was a fan of Tiger Woods. He just always seemed to be arrogant and a poor sport, especially given how much success he had playing golf and how much money he made as a result. The events in late 2009 only cemented my disdain for him. His conduct on the course has finally become a topic for discussion, which was well overdue since it seemed like sportscasters just kissed his rear for fear of angering Tiger. Oooh.

My beloved grandmother, Mollie, was a Phil Mickelson fan. I remember watching the US Open with her in 2002 on Father's Day when it was played just down the road from us at Bethpage Black. I somehow became a Phil fan on that Sunday afternoon even though he lost to Tiger. He just always seemed like he knew that he had it really good and knew his role was to golf and entertain the fans. And he played to win, and not just collect a paycheck.

Phil can be maddeningly frustrating to watch. Winged Foot. Merion. But when he pulls something out of nowhere, you get just as rewarded. His win yesterday at the Open Championship was a shock and thoroughly enjoyable. And he has done something Tiger hasn't - Phil knows how to win majors from behind. 

I have no idea what Phil is like in private, but I know that he realizes his job is to be with the fans and thank them for supporting the game, in addition to golfing. I like that. I LOVE that he doesn't slam his club down when he hits a poor shot, swear incessantly after a mishit, and doesn't treat interviewers like garbage when he has a bad round.  So congrats, Phil, and I know Mollie had a celebratory G&T "upstairs" in your honor.

Of course we have the other side of the spectrum in bad behavior in Ryan Braun, who finally admitted to taking PEDs. I hope the sample collector who Braun demonized and caused to lose his job sues the pants off of him. Braun was so adamant about the collection process being flawed and blaming this person that one can hope that karma comes back to Braun's checkbook. Speaking of reformed cheaters, I always wonder if Lance Armstrong ever apologized to Emma O'Reilly after making her life miserable?  

Moving back to being positive, I had a good week on the running front. I actually hit my assigned paces/HR zones on my runs this past week, so I am incredibly pleased. The work is paying off, but we have so much more work to do to get me where I need to be for my race. My stretching program is helping and more routine, so that is good. I definitely got inspired watching my former coach race and place 2nd in her age group in yesterday's Lake Stevens 70.3 Ironman.

Moving on to food, we were able to hit Crush for dinner -- one of Marc's faves. We chatted with Jason (chef and owner) about his new restaurant, our visit to Quay in Sydney and the awesomeness of the Big Green Egg. Really great restaurant with the food and service, plus we opted to sit at the bar so we saw some of the interesting prep they do in the kitchen.

I signed us up for a Gluten-Free Doughs class (focused on pasta) at the Pantry at Delancey. It wasn't Paleo-oriented but it was good to learn a few more tricks when working with non-traditional flours when making pasta/dumplings from scratch. We only wished that the class started at 5:30pm instead of 6:30pm because we didn't eat until 9:15pm, which is a tad late for us. I don't think we're at the "early bird special" stage yet, but still... we're not in NYC either. That said, I am somewhat inspired to experiment some more on this front with Paleo "doughs". Stay tuned for more in this space after last year's sweet potato gnocchi (success after FIVE attempts!)

I also attempted some other dishes in the kitchen last week. Two of them are Paleo versions of existing recipes from 'Avec Eric' by Eric Ripert and 'Simply Ming One Pot Recipes' by Ming Tsai. A third night consisted of a meal from 'Practical Paleo' by Diane Sanfilippo so obviously no versioning required to make it Paleo.

24 Feb: Sydney

The forecast was for rain, so +Jill and I booked an opera house tour that was planned to take place on just such a day. It turned out to not be that bad (the weather) in the end.

We got some nice tidbits of info during the tour and to see the inside was simply fantastic. Now if they would just show something I'd be willing to sit through...

Since it wasn't raining, we strolled over to our lunch destination - Spice I Am. This is really good Thai food that we thoroughly enjoyed. Jill's dish was "hotter" than she typically eats, but she powered through nicely and ate lots of rice.

We had been looking for somewhere to get my haircut on a Sunday on the walk over to lunch. Jill went into a backpackers place after lunch to ask and they gave us the street with the best chance. We found one open quickly with no wait and, $14 later, I had a fairly good chopping to last a few weeks. So glad it is short again.

We packed up in prep for a trip to Ayers Rock and I went to use the hotel gym. I'm losing that Crossfit fitness level and I'm not too happy with what awaits me on my return. Oh boy.

For dinner, we walked to Billy Kwong in Surrey Hills for a nice Chinese meal. The food was delicious and a good way to celebrate the end of the Chinese New Year celebrations.

22 Feb : Perth and "The Cut" (Golf on the Indian Ocean)

+Jill Beck and I got up and departed on an hour drive south to play one more round of golf on the trip. I wanted to play somewhere on the Indian Ocean given that there's a chance that may never happen again to us.

"The Cut" says 13 holes have a view of the ocean but that seems generous - perhaps 9 or 10 to be more realistic. Nonetheless, it was a decent links/dunes layout particularly the back nine which had no houses - unlike the front nine.

Since the restaurant wasn't open for brekky, we just started early and played through one foursome for a 95 minute front nine. On the back nine, we caught someone around the 12th hole but just slowed things down a bit to soak it all in. There was a group in front of them anyway, so we just enjoyed the views.

The entire round AND lunch was just over 4 hours so we got back far earlier than expected. This allowed us time to do more laundry, pack, and prepare to return briefly to Sydney. Flights to Ayers Rock / Uluru only originate in Sydney and that must be part of our tour.

 
We took this final night in Perth as a chance to take Andrew, Fiona, and Dylan out to a Japanese "tapas" type of place called Kuza. It was tasty and worthwhile for all of us.

14 Feb : Launceston Area - North Tassie

+Jill and I got up early (this is a common theme) to drive over an hour north to the Bass Strait so we could golf. I found this place called Barnbougle Dunes while searching online when looking for courses to potentially play in Australia. I had no idea that Mike Kaiser - creator of Bandon Dunes - is the one who helped make this place happen. He came over and convinced the farm land owner to turn his unused sand dune land into a golf course (two courses now). The place feels like Bandon circa 2002, although even then Bandon was definitely better overall. But it's rustic here like it was back then.

We had a great round just enjoying the course, views, and first golf experience in Australia. On the way back to town we stopped at our last Tassie winery - Josef Chromy. There was nothing super memorable other than the dessert white which had some character.

We headed back to pack, shower, and have our last meal in Tassie on Valentine's Day. Fortunately for me Jill doesn't treat this holiday any different than any other day. Since we don't go crazy for this Hallmark Holiday, we both just kind of laugh at some of the craziness surrounding the holiday. The "Black Cow" restaurant was full - including people 'dressed up' and celebrating - but in general it is definitely far more toned down over here. We had a good meal and a decent dessert involving rhubarb.

On to WA on the 15th... Western Australia...

JDRF, Golf and Catching Up with Friends/Cousins

Cousin Claire, who is very active in the Bay Area JDRF chapter, has been inviting Marc and I to the annual JDRF golf tournament at Wente Vineyards for a number of years now. Given our schedules, we were finally able to take her up on her offer and fly down for a weekend of sun, laughs and excellent food. BTW if you're interested in donating, please click here.

Marc and I were in a foursome with Cousin Bobby, who visited just a few weeks earlier on his own, and close family friend, Jim D. Jim knows Bandon, OR well as he used to own property there, so we were able to talk about how much the place has evolved over the years. Plus we had fun golfing even though we had no chance of winning the tournament. 

JDRF and Active Charity sponsored a tremendous auction and dinner after the round, which was a lot of fun, and allowed us to connect with Cousins Rebecca Anne and Annie. Some hijinks ensued, which involved another close family friend climbing up on a chair to claim an auction item because she was concerned about being too vertically challenged, or "short" as we say in our family!

After our time in the East Bay, Marc and I made our way into San Francisco. We were fortunate to be able to connect with friends from my days in the Bay Area, Anne-Cecile and Dan. Many laughs were had in the time we were able to have a cocktail or two before we headed off to dinner. We ate at SPQR and at Michael Mina (of course, lobster pot pie) over the next couple of nights and enjoyed both of those.

In between the dinners, we decided to rent a couple of bikes to go from the Ferry Building in SF over the Golden Gate Bridge through Sausalito, Mill Valley and Tiburon. Marc has never done the ride before so we thought it would be nice to do while getting some exercise. It started out pretty foggy and then cleared up nicely, as per usual summer weather in the area. 

The only thing I didn't think about was wearing jeans while cycling 21+ of miles. Trust me when I tell you that this wasn't one of my brighter fashion choices. Still it was nice to get to Tiburon, have a quick lunch and catch the ferry back to the city while the sun was shining. A great weekend!

Miami -- Sure, Why Not?

We had to fly through Miami airport to get to/from Barbados, so we figured we would make a weekend out of it. It worked out that Lisa and Jarrett were going to be in South Florida at the same time, so it was great to spend some unexpected time with them.

We also got to see a former teacher of both Lisa and mine from Massapequa - Mrs. Ross, who now orders us to call her "Sue". :-) We also got to meet her husband over drinks, which was a ton of fun.

I'll have to say that the restaurant scene in Miami is pretty underwhelming. I used Eater Miami and the concierge at our hotel to figure out where to go, but most of the recos were very generic "steaks & non-local seafood", unseasonal cuisine or just really unhealthy options. We were advised to check out Pubbelly, which was excellent. The restaurant at the hotel, Edge, actually exceeded my expectations and Marc actually ate some scallop tartare! Hakkasan at the Fountainbleu wasn't very distinctive and Joe's Stone Crab was ok.

[NOTE: Links in above paragraph were inserted after the entry, but very relevant.]

Miami was nice and relaxing, and once again, we were able to find a local Crossfit (Crossfit Vida Brickell), and I was able to get my run in.  The 6+ miles I ran in Miami were even more picturesque than I was expecting! I left from our hotel in downtown Miami and ran along the causeway towards Key Biscayne. 

I guess you can say Crossfit is also pretty similar to running in the sense that you can make up a workout on the fly that requires no gym equipment, which will still leave you gasping for air.  

The palm trees, sunshine, light blue water and skyline made it a really picturesque run.  And normally I don't like headwinds, but I'll take 20mph of those vs. the typical south Florida humidity!  It was totally worth bringing cab fare for my return back to the hotel so I could see more of the area and not do an "out and back" (which essentially means seeing the same scenery twice).

Taking in Barbados.

So after we made it to Barbados without getting arrested or having our bag confiscated, we were able to focus on fun and relaxation. Greg, Kate, Conor and Ryan were really tremendous hosts between loaning us a car with GPS (very necessary), recommended sights to see and great perspective on their lives abroad.


We checked out beaches all over the island and got to see Bathsheba and have a lovely lunch at a quiet resort away from much of the hustle and bustle taking place on the rest of the island. Given it's location, you would think Barbados would have an overabundance of fresh produce. Not so much actually. It's been so overdeveloped, the only crop that is really grown here is sugarcane, which is used for making rum.  We actually were able to take a tour of a rum factory while we were here and Marc's love of fine rum was rekindled.

Greg and Kate took us to fun and casual restaurants. One was a shack literally on a secluded beach where I was able to sample some local seafood and Marc had jerk chicken, so we just took in the atmosphere and enjoyed it all. I managed to squeeze in a run on one of the morning's we were there and may have discovered new sweat glands. It was so humid that I was asked when I was done if I was rained on because I was so drenched. Go figure. I also made up a Crossfit WOD with jump rope and a few other things just to keep active since walking around the island wasn't as much of an option as we were hoping. The roads aren't conducive to pedestrians.

On one of the days, we golfed at the famous Sandy Lane resort. We didn't golf on the world renowned 'Green Monkey' course because a round of golf cost $12000 USD (no, that isn't a typo). Marc and I are all into having a great experience but that was a bit steep for us. We golfed the more reasonably priced 'Country Club' course on the property and had lunch afterwards, where it proceeded to DUMP rain down in buckets! Wow, we got lucky on our round. The course was ok, but Marc and I couldn't fathom what would be so great about the 'Green Monkey' that would make someone pay that kind of cash for a round of golf. Maybe to golf with someone on the PGA Tour? Anyway...

One of the other days had us going on a snorkeling and whale watching tour. The weather was a bit iffy in terms of rain/clouds, but it was sure hot and humid. We spent the morning walking around Bridgeport and then getting on the boat. We enjoyed seeing some fish and an ancient shipwreck up close. The 2nd half of the trip got very interesting in a hurry as a couple of whales were out and about, plus the wind was picking up. It was a fun roller coaster ride and we definitely saw plenty of whale action! Wow. We weren't sure if this was the season for them to be around, but who cares... we got lucky and had a really great time!

Marc and I really enjoyed our time with Greg, Kate and their sons. We learned a lot about some of the regional challenges facing the Caribbean from political, sociological and economic perspectives, which we appreciated. Plus we talked about some of the challenges and sacrifices that they make for Greg's career. Many things that we take for granted. Heck, Kate was beyond ecstatic that we brought in stuff from Trader Joe's when we arrived! And she misses Costco.... a lot! 

I think Marc and I have seen everything there is to see on Barbados, so we are thankful that we had the opportunity to see and learn about a part of the world that probably wouldn't have happened had we not known Greg.

The Wheels On The Bus Go Round and Round... Until They Don't

So where are we now, huh?

Most of you are on Facebook, so you’ve probably heard about me pulling out of the Victoria Marathon on Sunday afternoon. It was a tough call, but it was the right one, and I can still say that 4+ days later, which should tell you something.

Two main culprits contributed to my 21-mile outing, as opposed to what should have been around 26 ½ mile outing – 1) going out too fast, and 2) nutrition.

You can never have too much body glide on. Yep, there I said it.

That said, I woke up on Sunday morning feeling pretty positive and fresh. There was no rain in sight and the temps were in a good place. All of the things that I didn’t have under my control were going in the right direction and I was excited about that. I didn’t know how my foot was going to hold up, but I made my peace with that by Friday when I finished up my pre-race blog entry. If the foot was in too much pain, I was going to stop and I was ok with that along with everyone else I had been discussing this with in detail.

Mile 1 (9:05) – The course is a bit annoying in that there are lots of narrow streets and turns in the 1^st half of the 1^st mile. Obviously it is more crowded at the start. But I had myself targeted for a 9 minute pace, so 9:05 didn’t concern me. I saw Marc and felt good.

Mile 2 (8:53) – The uphill here didn’t really phase me, and I was really trying hard to keep the pace for the first 5 miles.

Miles 3 & 4 (8:46) – Rolling makes it hard to keep an accurate pace and get into a groove, I am finding. A bit fast, but hey – if I can get a few seconds here and there without going crazy, that’s ok. Finished one CarboPro bottle and was taking some water at each water station to throw on my back and take in. Foot started to hurt – about a 4 of 10.5 miles between 8:50-9:00. So obviously – good here.

Mile 5 (8:28) – OK, that wasn’t supposed to happen. Told myself to take it easy. Like I said, the rollers made it hard for me to settle because you were either going uphill or going downhill as you can see from the course profile. Foot continued to hurt, but nothing significant – same as previous mile.

Mile 6 (8:41) – The goal from here until mile 20 was to stay within 8:40 – 8:50 pace. I figured in some places I would make it up on the rollers. Foot was still hurting, but pain wasn’t increased. I honestly felt like if I could stay like this, the day was going to be good.

Mile 7 (8:42) – Foot stopped hurting, but my hip flexors definitely tightened up. Still taking in CarboPro (about 8 oz. every 4 miles – more on this later). Still felt like things would be ok because I felt eventually the hip flexors would loosen up.

Mile 8 (8:45) – Hip flexors still tight, but I am feeling strong. Enjoying the scenery. Finish 2^nd CarboPro bottle. I found myself consuming things a bit quicker than I expected and this is where I should have adjusted (again – more on this later). Still taking in water at water stops.

Miles 9 & 10 (8:27 & 8:36) – A little fast in these two, but I was feeling good. Saw Marc twice. I knew I had some work ahead of me, but when I made the turn to head out past the Golf Course for the out and back, I was in a good place.

Miles 11 – 13 (8:39, 8:40 & 8:45) – Got some CarboPro from Marc. Pace was good, but was having some trouble flexing my left foot. It was troubling to me, for sure, but I was happy with the paces. Finished more CarboPro and kept to my loading schedule.

Miles 14 – 17 (8:42, 8:55, 8:55 & 8:55) – Deliberately tried to slow down a bit because I knew I had a long road back, including the slow, gradual climb at 23.5 which you pass on the way out. Yes, I was laboring, but again I felt ok – not awesome, but decent. Decided to get more CarboPro from Marc than I expected. Felt something pop on one of my toes, which I figured was a blood blister (this proved to be correct, along with 7 other bloodied toes).

Miles 18 – 19 (9:07 & 9:09) – And then the wheels came off. I was battling right here and now. “The proverbial wall”, I guess? It all happened so quickly. Tried to take in more fluids, my HR had to be super high. I knew I was going to see Marc relatively early in mile 20, so I wanted to keep on running. The legs were starting to feel like bricks. I was hurting. At this point, I wished that my foot was what I was concerned about (no, it didn’t hurt – go figure). And I thought to myself – really? Another 8+ miles (more on this later). Taking in as much as possible.

Mile 20 (10:49’ish) – Run/walk. Saw Marc. Got extra CarboPro. Tried to stay positive. Felt my HR starting to get really high, so figured that I would try walking it out for 5 minutes and see if that would calm me down. It did.

Mile 21 (9:27) – Pushed up another roller, but was just fading. And then I felt like my legs had absolutely nothing. Nothing. The gait was modified and I couldn’t get it back to “normal”. So I made the decision to stop. It sucked.

After 10 minutes of waiting for the van to get me, I started to get cold so one of the bike medics gave me his fleece. My abs muscles hurt like they have never hurt before. I bent over to stretch and keep loose/warm, and I had a pain that I never experienced. That concerned me, but later found out from the massage therapist at medical tent that if you’re breathing heavy for a long period of time, that is typical. My calves and feet felt fine. My toes hurt. Hips were very achy, as were quads. Took about 35-40 minutes from the time I stopped until when I hit the massage table.

Got a massage and couldn’t bend over. She took off my socks and we noticed my toes were pretty bloodied. Not surprising. That happens with me, although not to this extent. She gently worked my abs and some other lower extremities. I was too pissed off about the Giants losing to the Seachickens to notice, although I probably did tell her that my quads and hip flexors hurt so I imagine she worked on those. I was able to bend over again without my abs hurting too much so that was $20 well spent. The sheet on the table was soaking wet.

Went back to the room and didn’t really want to eat. Just started drinking some water a bit, and then Marc got the ice bath ready. Getting clothes on and off hurt like hell because of the sports bra issues and where my fuel belt was on my waist. Then the ice bath hurt – more from the chafing than the shock of cold water. Shower was worse, but needed to get warm. Packed up and walked to Clipper. Opted not to eat because if the ride back was bumpy, that would have made me nauseous, and that would not have been a good outcome on a boat. To be honest, I wasn’t hungry and was just sipping some G2. Tried to walk around and stretch on ride home but things were stiff.

Lessons Learned/Questions:

· I think the adrenaline of racing expended more energy than a training run. I am used to handling it in a half marathon, but obviously not in a full. My normal ratio of 8 oz. of CarboPro/G2/Water for every 4 miles wasn’t enough. I think it needs to be every 3 miles. I need to load up more in the beginning, so I have more in the tank to be able to climb that “wall”.

· I have to figure out the electrolytes issue. My clothes and Garmin were covered in salt. Fortunately got some recos for the same product from 4 different people. It’s been ordered and will be tested out between now and early November but I was definitely in an early stage of severe dehydration.

· I didn’t really start paying attention to everything I was eating until Thursday morning. I clearly needed to start on Monday for a Sunday race. But I felt like I ate well from that point on, and was alcohol-free from the previous Sunday morning.

· The good news is that I will be up probably 4 hours before my start in my “target full” because of the bus schedules out to the start. That means I will have plenty of time to eat solid food before the race. But I need to be more precise on my calorie intake pre-race.

· A marathon is not really a doubling of a half-marathon with respect to fueling, endurance, etc., because you are going to be more fatigued so it kind of has a multiplier effect.

· I need to stretch my hip flexors and IT bands a lot between now and NYC. Maybe some squats and lunges (no weights)?

· The massages and Dr. Perry totally worked for my foot. Obviously am going to keep the treatments going through NYC and then re-evaluate.

· And of course, you can never have too much body glide on.

I learned a lot on Sunday and am feeling good enough to live to tell the tale, so that’s as good of an outcome as you could hope for when talking about a DNF. I’m disappointed and wish I could have a do-over on the fueling part. But that’s life and you live and learn. And I got in a 21-mile training run, albeit the hard way. :-)

Special thanks to Marc and PNak for being right by my side....

Meeting Miss Mollie, SF, and Go US Women's Soccer!

We recently added a new niece to the already existing crew of nieces/nephews with the arrival of Mollie, daughter of Lisa and JB. Mollie is named after our beloved grandmother, who passed away in late 2004 just shy of her 93rd birthday. She is incredibly cute, if I may say so myself and I was happy that I had a quick window to hit NY for a couple of days to meet her and see my other nieces and nephews.
A few words about Grandma Mollie. She was everything that you would expect a grandmother to be. She spoiled us, gave us lots of ice cream, laughed with us, cheered us on at our soccer and baseball games, and let us have fun sleepovers at her house. I could go on and on, but to have a Mollie namesake is pretty special. Unfortunately my grandfather, Poppy, passed away when I was very young, although the stories about him are pretty legendary.
Anyway it was really great to see the family, even for only a brief period of time, and spend time with Lisa so soon after she had Mollie. She and JB are doing really well, and lil' JB is embracing the big brother role. It was actually kind of cute how much his friends loved looking at Mollie when we came to pick him up at camp. Harrison, Blake and Ariella, who are Glenn and Gwen's kids, are also doing really well and keeping their parents VERY busy. And of course, Puff Daddy and Sunny D are very happy to have another grandkid to fuss over.
My flight back to Seattle was delayed a bit, which made things challenging as I was flying with Marc the next day to San Francisco for the weekend. After unpacking and repacking, plus an 8 mile run and Crossfit workout, we boarded our flight to SF to spend some time with the California Cousins.
My cousins, Chris and RS, snagged a table at Benu and we did the 18-course menu. Yes, you read that right. 18 courses. And we did the beverage pairings too. They ranged from beer to dry sherry to sake to Burgundy. The portions were actually very small so you didn't feel full nearly as much as you think you would. Some of the beverage pairings were hit and miss, but overall, it was a fun evening with the cousins. Marc and I tried dishes that we wouldn't normally try so that is always a bonus.
The next day, we played nine holes of golf with Cousins Claire and Arnie on their home course, and the only thing I will say is that I did get better as the round progressed. Guess I need a couple of holes to warm up, eh? The weather was looking great, which I was excited about, because Marc & I invited the cousins to the SF Giants game at AT&T Park. I had never been to a game there before, and it's really a ballpark that looks so majestic on TV, especially when the sun is shining.
Marc & I decided to do a late lunch at a place called 'The Slanted Door'. I have been there a few times but it had been awhile since I had been there and Marc has never been. Let's just say that it was even better than I remembered. It was probably the best tailgating meal I have ever had, and the bottle of Chateauneuf-du-Pape probably didn't hurt either. Our table overlooked the water and we just started seeing the hoards of Giants fans getting off ferries and heading to the ballpark.
We got to the park a couple of hours before gametime and scored some wacky black and orange socks as a gameday promotion. The opponent was the NY Mets and given the amount of NY'ers who live in SF, I expected to see a decent amount of royal blue and orange. I was surprised that more Mets fans weren't in the crowd but that's a testament to the loyal fans of the Giants. The stadium was sold out and it was absolutely awesome baseball atmosphere. I was loving it.
I didn't really have a team that I was rooting for. I know Tim Lincecum is a dominating pitcher so I was hoping to see him at his best. It was really a pitching duel because after the 1st inning, no one gave up a run until the 7th inning. The score ended up being 3-1 with the Giants coming out on top. Most fans stayed until the end, and I left thinking that I was glad we made the trip to check out a game at AT&T Park. It should be on your list of stadiums to check out, unlike the Oakland Mausoleum (oops, I meant Coliseum).
We headed back to Seattle today, which normally wouldn't be noteworthy except for the fact that the US Women's Soccer team was playing Brazil in the quarterfinals of the World Cup. Both teams were considered favorites to win the tourney, so this was a very big test for the US gals.
This game had everything - US losing a player due to a questionable red card, Brazil scoring a goal against themselves, inconsistent rules enforcement, play acting by the Brazilians to gain sympathy from the refs, etc. The game went into overtime at 1-1, and Brazil scored again early on. Somehow the US kept their composure (keep in mind, they were playing with one person less than Brazil for around 60 MINUTES!) and got a goal to tie it up again in the last minute of overtime.
I was so bummed that I couldn't watch this live as we were going to the airport at the time. Then it went to PKs (penalty kicks). I monitored the game on Twitter once we got in the car and just as I got to the TSA checkpoint, the game was won by the Stars and Stripes! Wow! I told Marc that I would stay up to watch the replay, which I never do. Watching sports when you know the outcome can be boring, but this was an exception.
It brought back memories of a day exactly 12 years ago with my sister when we watched the US beat China in the Women's World Cup final. We both played soccer growing up and she came in to watch the game with me at a sports bar. It was definitely a special afternoon watching that game together, and today's game and epic finish just made me smile as I thought back to that day with Lisa. The texts between us back and forth are illustrative of what a fantastic day that was for us.

Crazy week for sure, but all for good things. I am one lucky gal.

Next on the horizon...

Well as I talked about in the last post, Rock ‘n Roll didn’t go as scheduled due to a stomach ailment. Things are a little better and I would say that I am about 70% of full strength (with meds – need to get off of those soon). But it was definitely the right call not to race as for the 3-4 days after what would have been the race, I wasn’t consuming anything but smoothies. As a result, dropped 4 lbs. in that timeframe, which is a decent amount for someone of my height. I had worked out later in the week at Crossfit and did a couple of easy runs around Green Lake just to keep things moving, and the pain was tolerable.

Fortunately I was able to get back into gear by the time one of our close friends came to town for a visit for July 4^th weekend. Nat arrived on Saturday morning on an absolutely gorgeous day in Seattle, and we immediately did what any proper host does – whisked him up to Woodinville, where many of the best wineries in Washington state have tasting rooms. OK, we did have an amazing brunch at Barking Frog first. Gotta get some food in the system, right?

Unfortunately the one winery that Marc wanted to check out was by appointment only, so we couldn’t visit those folks. We did, however, stop by Pepperbridge, DeLille and Page and properly introduced Nat to some of our favorite wines. He enjoyed all of the places we showed him, but seemed particularly enamored with DeLille. After some wine tasting in the sunshine, we headed back to the house to watch some baseball and get ready to have some friends over for dinner.

We decided to do our tried and true rib-eye recipe on the Big Green Egg. I wasn’t sure if there was going to be much difference from when we grilled it on the regular BBQ, and let’s just say that I was wrong. Big time. Our friends each brought some great dishes over like kale salad, sautéed Swiss chard, meringues and “chocolate peanut-butter goodness”. It was a very fun time and some amusing discussions took place amongst the group that really didn’t know each other beforehand. The entire group works out regularly and I received word on Sunday morning that one of the more “hard core” folks had such a good time on Saturday that they needed to “get some grease” at McDonald’s the next morning prior to starting their training bike ride. Guess we did a good job as hosts! J

On Sunday, the Mariners were in town and Nat is a huge baseball fan. Actually, he is a Red Sox fan. But we have known that since the start of our friendship and have embraced the rivalry and what that brings. We ended up having nice weather for the game and I showed Nat some of the really cool features of Safeco Field, where the Mariners play. Then we ended up meeting another friend of ours, Erik, for dinner at the newly opened and much raved about RN74. It’s named after one of the main roads in the Burgundy wine region in France. The owner, Michael Mina, has a restaurant in San Francisco with the same name, which Marc and I have been to.

For a place that was opened 3 weeks ago, the quality of the food and service was really top notch. I have been to a number of places when they were just getting their feet wet, and they definitely had kinks to work out. We really couldn’t find anything to criticize. The team took great care of us and ended what was a really fun day. Oh yeah, we actually got to start the day with a run and then a visit to Elliott Bay Books in their new Capitol Hill location. So yep – outstanding day with Marc and close friends. Nat had to leave early on Monday unfortunately, but we hope he comes back soon (and not alone)!

My next 2 races are pretty close to each other, but they are not typical “races” as in a 5k, 10k, half-marathon. Both are relays, which encompass a completely different line of thinking and training. And the running is going to be at the hottest part of the day in both relays. So I asked Kim of TN Multisports to get me back on track, and she assigned me a pretty tough track workout yesterday. Since it was a pretty warm day by Seattle standards (high 70s and complete sunshine), I decided to hit a different track that had no shade and waited until about 2:30pm to do my workout.

My stomach was a bit upset, but my legs felt good and my cardio seemed strong, so I was happy with the effort. I am hoping that my stomach will continue to trend in the right direction in getting better, and then hopefully getting off of the meds that I am currently on. In preparation for the relays, I am also going to have to start doing something I have never done before since I started running – double running sessions. It’s more of a mental thing, but it needs to be done. Stay tuned as I try and tackle that challenge.

This Weekend….

What I disliked about this weekend:

• Seahawks winning. Ironically my hatred of the Seahawks and their fans was increased exponentially by a bandwagon Seahawks fan, who tried to convince me that "Seattle plays by the rules. They don't skirt them. In the recent past, they seem to have followed the highest ethics and tried to do things the right way." Yeah, ok. Pete Carroll is a shining example of playing by the rules (see Bush, Reggie – I am sure Pete didn't know a thing and I love how he left USC, including the players he recruited, with a bunch of penalties without any real punishment for himself) and holding his players accountable with this quote:
  • "I'm not disappointed in a guy being in a donut when they've got maple bars like Top Pot has," coach Pete Carroll said. "However, under the circumstances I think they were closed or they were trying to closed or something like that. "So that's definitely one we talked about it, and he's most remorseful about it and all that. I do understand the allure of the maple bars."
  • I wouldn't even care about what Pete did, except for the sanctimonious claim by my friend about the perceived purity and goodness of the Seahawks organization. For the record, I think all professional sports teams cheat on some level. Sad, but true.
• KC being outmatched by the Ravens. Snooze fest in the 2^nd half. Was KC's offense so anemic because of the Charlie Weis media frenzy about going to be the offensive coordinator of the Florida Gators?
• Most importantly, what happened in Arizona and the aftermath.
  • The shooting itself and the deaths of people who wanted to peacefully participate in the political process.
  • "Reputable" news organizations on both sides of the political spectrum prematurely reporting events that had to be horrifying to the families involved. Yes, the news is breaking minute-by-minute, but evaluate your sources and their credibility. The focus to be first to report has trumped being responsible.
  • The pundits on both sides trying to score points whether it is on hateful speech, gun rights, etc. without knowing anything about the suspect. How about taking a leadership role in bringing down the rhetoric instead of increasing it, huh?

What I liked about this weekend:

• Our government leaders (again: credit to BOTH sides) actually acting in a constructive way to not over-react, thinking through their responses to the public and praying for the families of those involved. I hope that line of thinking continues. Gotta hope, right?
  • I also happen to think that the vitriol in politics is too much now. It turns me off as it discourages helpful discussion around the real issues facing the country and how to work together to solve them.
• First proper stairs workout in my life (325 steps up * 4 rounds – wow!) and then a quick visit to Crossfit after. Thanks, TN Multisports!
• Saturday's football games. Both close until the end. Rex and the Jets putting their money where their mouths are. I'm probably in the minority amongst Giants fans about liking Rex. And what the heck was Jim Caldwell thinking with that timeout call in the last minute of the game?! Peyton Manning's face when that happened said it all in terms of what he thought of the call.
• Marshawn Lynch's run – absolute determination. Buffalo Bills fans are crying in their beer.

UPDATE: Friend from Buffalo responded by saying, ""Bills fans are crying in their beer?" Nah...Fabulous run, Marshawn, but you're still a thug! Seattle fans, you can keep him!!"

• A guarantee of a QB controversy in Seattle now that Matt Hasselbeck realizes he actually has to work to keep his job. Hasn't played consistently well for a long time, although he was excellent yesterday afternoon. Will the Seahawks go for the local boy in the draft, Jake Locker, who has been coached for the past 2 years by a Carroll disciple – Steve Sarkisian?
• Most importantly, awesome food and wine with great friends.

We'll see how the GB-PHI game turns out to assess whether it goes into the like or dislike column for the weekend.

Does Everyone Automatically Default To Cheering For The Underdog?*

Question: Do you always cheer for the underdog if "your team" is out of contention (that is where the asterisk comes in)? If you don't have time to read the whole blog post, just skip to the comments and answer the question if you don't mind.

Most of you know that I grew up in NY, which means that I am a Yankees fan and a Giants (football) fan. Some people out here have tried to get me to switch those primary allegiances to Seattle teams, but most people know better. That also means that I actively cheer against division rivals such as the Cowboys, Red Sox, Rays, and the Eagles.

I have been having a debate with a friend (I'll call him "Tony") about cheering for the underdog, which started out of my pronouncement that there was no way in hell that I would be cheering for the Seahawks this weekend. Let me clear, "Tony" is not one of the people who has said "cheer for the Mariners because they are nice guys". He has his primary allegiances, too – one of which is one of the above mentioned rivals, no less! We have debated about our shared division, etc., and have agreed when both of our respective teams have sucked or performed well (or if the other person's team sucked or performed well).

Even though I have happily resided in Seattle for the past 8 years, the only local team that I have been remotely interested in cheering for has been the Seattle Sounders. The fan base for that team is consistently engaged and very knowledgeable about the sport. I have made my dislike for the Mariners organization and their fans well known here and here. I haven't talked too much about the Seahawks, and my disdain for the team and their fans. Let's leave the Sonics out of the equation for now.

We are in football playoff season so now we're in crunch time. I am more disappointed in the Giants choking than anything and I don't think they deserved a playoff spot. Let's make that clear. But something happened for the 1^st time ever. A team with a losing record made the playoffs by winning their division – and yes, that would be the Seattle Seahawks. While I think it is lame that the Seahawks made the playoffs with a losing record, I understand why every division needs to have a seat at the table.

What I think is a disgrace is that a team that has won 4 more games, the New Orleans Saints, has to travel across the country to a team that has a losing record. Yes, it is the current system but that doesn't mean it shouldn't be changed to reward teams that win more games (you can add in strength of schedule, etc., but at least it is more of a meritocracy). Furthermore the Saints managed to win 11 games in a division that also holds the #1 seed for the NFC, and the 3^rd place team won 10 games! Clearly the talent was in the NFC South this season! I can only hope that the competition committee changes things in the offseason to seed the 4 division winners and 2 wildcards that rewards talent and consistency as opposed to mediocrity. Sorry – winning your division with a 7-9 record is mediocrity and even that's a stretch when you have a losing record.

Anyway Tony and I have been having a debate this week about me not cheering for the Seahawks. I am going to do my best to not exclude context to be fair to him, but I am not going to include all of the text because it's a lot. LOL.

["Tony" – if you're reading this, and you feel I misrepresented you, I apologize. That is not my intent.]

Some statements from "Tony":

• "Finally, most people root for the underdogs in games like these. i can't imagine why anyone not from New Orleans could possibly want the Super Bowl Champs from last year to win. What a great story ... if the Hawks could win!!!"
  
• "What I don't get is why you would actively root against your current home town? It is so exciting to be in a town with the buzz of a winner, especially if your team is out. That is why I cannot fathom how you could root for the Saints."
  
• "Oh come on. You are saying you don't want a positive buzz in your home city because the fans are fair weather? Talk about cutting off your nose to spite your face..."
  
• "And [sic] i still don't understand why the prospect of excitement...in this city...the city you live in...regardless of how fair weather you believe the fans to be...would want you to be actively against this team."
  
• "I think you are completely wrong. Most people root for the underdog and will root for the Seahawks. They ALWAYS root for the underdog."
  

To add some additional context and I am hoping that this makes it more fair to "Tony", I have made it clear that Seattle fans are fairweather – see above. And to be fair, I think "Tony" meant to say "home city" as opposed to "home town" since he knows where I am from. So please disregard that distinction. And my disdain for Seahawks fans started when the Giants played here a few years ago and lost by 3 points, and the Seahawks fans went around saying they crushed the Giants. Whether it is bitterness or not, the reality is that the arrogance of the fan base turned me off to the Seahawks for the forseeable future.

So now we are having this debate on Facebook and now I am asking you – do you always cheer for the underdog if "your team" is out of contention?

I happen to disagree with "Tony" that most people will tend to root for the underdog and in this weekend's case, will root for the Seahawks (BTW, this excludes Seahawks fans from the conversation since that is "your team"). Here is why:

• Pre-scandal, Tiger Woods had tons of fans cheering for him to break Jack Nicklaus' Grand Slam record. Ironically, I was not one of those people because even before he became a regular on the NY Post front page, I thought he acted like a petulant brat. But there is no denying his endorsement abilities and the fan base that enjoyed watching his talents on the golf course. Tiger may be an underdog now, but he had plenty of people in his corner wanting to watch greatness happen and to say that "they were there".
  
• I do not know many people who were cheering for Virginia Tech (the lower ranked team) in the Orange Bowl when they played Stanford. There was so much authentic buzz around Harbaugh and Luck's next move that people wanted to see them dominate. I also think that people think that athletes actually go to class and are held accountable at Stanford as opposed to most D-1A schools.
  
• I do not think people are going to be cheering for Green Bay because they are the lower seed against Philadelphia. My thoughts on Michael Vick aside – there are many people who have some very strong feelings about his past actions (and rightfully so), and wish him nothing but failure. The positive thoughts for GB outside of Wisconsin are probably more about hoping the Eagles lose than GB winning.
  
• People want compelling match-ups as they move forward in the playoffs. They want higher caliber play. Do they always get it? No. But that's what the fans want. And the NFL doesn't want blow-outs as the advertising rates increase throughout the playoffs. As another friend of mine said, who ironically is a fan of a baseball rival of mine, "they [Seahawks] played like crap all year and are being rewarded for being only slightly less crappy than the Rams." We'll call him "Dustin". LOL.
  
• I managed to get home in the 6^th inning of Roy Halladay's no hitter in the playoffs this year. I am no Phillies fan, but I have a lot of respect for Halladay and how he dominated the AL East – probably the strongest offensive division in baseball. I was cheering for Halladay and pacing while I watched him achieve this feat. Sometimes you cheer for a specific player. Halladay happens to be one of those players for me. And I am happy he gets to compete for the post-season (realistically it wasn't going to happen for him with the Blue Jays) because he is one of the best over the past decade.
  
• Has anyone met the marketing arms of the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Manchester United, Liverpool, Los Angeles Lakers or the Dallas Cowboys? Yeah, those are some dumb people how they somehow have converted millions to cheer for those teams all over the world (and aren't hometown fans).
  

Now these are examples and I can cite many more. "Tony" can make legitimate arguments countering the above bullets, but my point is that who you cheer for is not always an exact science. Sometimes it is about the underdog (like Oregon vs. Auburn). Sometimes it is about a perceived injustice (like Arkansas vs. Ohio State). I became a Drew Brees fan on March 14, 2006 when he signed with the New Orleans Saints after being with the San Diego Chargers. I was actually at the game in SD when he dislocated his shoulder against the Broncos. That's when AJ Smith decided to go with arrogant and obnoxious Philip Rivers and cut ties with Brees. What Brees has done since on and off the field has been nothing short of incredible.

So based on the lameness of Seattle fans – not just mine, but many other Seattle transplants who have experienced crazy fandom, I am not cheering for the Seahawks. They don't deserve my passion. Maybe they don't need it. I don't care. As "Dustin" said:

"I like "authentic buzz" which you don't get around here (except with the Sounders). I was turned off for good when I realized that the only cheering you ever get in Safeco is that which is prompted by the scoreboard or the hydro races on the centerfield screen. For all the enthusiasm of some fans here, the sports IQ is terrible (even this morning one radio host talking about how it would be great to have "a couple of more home games" if the Seahawks win this one on Saturday!). I have a different tack on the fans here though - I think they are not demanding enough. Ownership of these teams has been lame for years and the fans do not make them accountable enough. Fans are getting hosed but they don't seem to notice or care."

There you go. If you're still with me, just answer if you always default to cheering for the underdog if you have no skin in the game (i.e., your team is out of contention).

Wrapping Up The Holiday Food Insanity (Hopefully)

Tonight I made Duck Wellington with Mole Sauce (aka "A Madman's Wellington with Mole") from the Paley's Place cookbook. It's an incredibly complex recipe for me with the amount of ingredients involved and the timing of everything coming together at roughly the same time. The most challenging thing to time is the defrosting of the puff pastry, which comes frozen but needs to be thawed out when you wrap up the wellingtons before putting them in the oven.

It was the 4^th time I made it to kick off 2011. Marc picked a 2004 Shafer Relentless, which was a superb pairing. This is a pretty hard core dish and it needs a wine that will stand up to it. I'm not saying you wouldn't enjoy a Pinot with this but the Poblanos and mole sauce might overpower a more lighter-bodied wine. That said, you should drink whatever the heck you like regardless of the dish, and make any adjustments that you see fit.

We ate some other great meals along the way, like the New Year's Eve dinner at Tilth last night, and my mother-in-law's "peppermint goodness" over Christmas weekend. Then there was the "Duck the Halls" insanity that I blogged about in our last entry. Good thing I am slated to have a track workout with the new coaching team (TN Multisports) on Tuesday as I need to get into gear for ½ marathon season. In my initial discussions with them, I am really excited how they asked a boatload of questions about me before I start my 1^st workout with them. They have good consistency with respect to the coaches and their tenure, which is important as you need to develop relationships with those folks. I think it will pay dividends as I map out my fitness goals for 2011.

Seattle has a reputation for rain, but the last few days have been absolutely stunning in terms of sunshine and mountain views. Don't get me wrong – it has been in the 30s for this stretch, but when you can clearly see the mountains in all directions with snow on top in late December/early January – life is really good and you should get outside to run so I have been making an effort to do just that! Today I went out for a run around Queen Anne (which is on a hill for the non-Seattle folks) and Tricia and I caught some amazing views while having some laughs and chatter. Earlier in the week, I went on a pretty tough hill run with Tricia and Patricia in the neighborhood and I was pleasantly surprised that I did the run a minute faster than I did 10 months earlier. Unfortunately I was about 30 seconds slower on the toughest hill mile on the run, which tells me I have some work to do (READ: hill intervals on 70^th – ugh!).

I did manage to get in a track workout on Christmas Day, and it wasn't as horrible as expected in terms of my times. I probably could have gone another round of a tough 800 meter run, but I decided to quit while I was ahead. And I managed to piece together a Crossfit workout the day after Christmas based on what I have learned to date. I think Marc was shocked at what was involved in just a 20-minute workout! My friends who already do Crossfit have been very supportive with answering my many questions as I figure it all out.

I managed to read a supplement guide that went along with the movie "Waiting for Superman", which was informative with respect to the different perspectives it captured as they documented the story they presented in the film. I have also been reading more about some nutrition and fitness, and I am going to hold off a bit on the nutrition stuff until I have a chance to vet it out myself. I don't believe all of it and I think you always have to think about what is going to work for you in terms of your lifestyle and how your body responds, but I like challenging myself to think in areas where I wouldn't normally go.

As I wrap up, it's worth noting that 2010 was as good of a year as it could have been (yes, even taking into account the "unexpected summer vacation"). I am so fortunate to be married to someone who takes such great care of me, makes me laugh, drives me crazy and is so supportive – all at once. The people in my life, who support me, treat me with respect by being truthful and know the right thing to say when I need that "thing to be said" – they remind me day-in and day-out how lucky I am. I can only hope that 2011 is as good, if not better.

Bring it, 2011! Mrs. PTC is ready! I think Mr. PTC is too! J

Food Rehab?

Well the holidays are in full swing in the Beck household. This generally means copious amounts of eating and drinking. OK, I can hear some of you calling immediate BS and saying, "Wait, you guys do that anyway regardless of the supposed 'holiday season'!" OK, you're right generally. But the holidays will generally open up the calendar even more for doing things on "school nights" as opposed to "non-school nights".

It has gotten to the point where I am going through the multi-colored Tums container and taking out the colors I don't like (orange) so I only consume the flavors I want. This must be the adult version of taking out the oats from the Lucky Charms so you only had marshmallows in the cereal box (yes, Lisa – I am talking to you!). It's probably not a good sign when you are sorting out Tums by color. Oh well.

We kicked off things by having almost 2 Thanksgiving dinners at the house over Thanksgiving weekend. Oh, and one of the Thanksgivings had 2 turkeys served for 7 people (yes, that was 7 not 17 people). The 2 turkeys for 7 people was necessitated by a new toy that we purchased that would be used to cook the turkey, and Marc wanted a Plan B – that is where the 2^nd turkey came in. So Marc owned the prep of "Turkey A", which was smoked, and I owned "Turkey B", which was roasted with a bacon-sage infused butter. Copious amounts of food was served on Thanksgiving Day, and then more food was served on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Right – and I wasn't running the Seattle ½ Marathon because……????

We had some parties to attend and then we hosted an open house, aka "Beck the Halls". It was a great deal of fun and we were able to see many folks but it is a long evening because we try and make it easy for our friends to choose to bring their kids or not bring them. This generally results in an early shift, middle shift and a late shift in terms of attendees. The party is easy in terms of prep because everyone brings a dish for others to consume, but it is a complete pain in the neck from a clean-up perspective. That took a few days after the party, but I am sure my body appreciated the extra opportunity to burn some more calories.

In the midst of this, I am in between projects at work, which was expected. So I am taking advantage of the downtime to try something new in my workout routine, which alluded to in my last blog post. In addition to switching running coaches, I am also trying Crossfit based on the recommendation of some friends who run. There is a lot to Crossfit with respect to not only the workouts but philosophies around nutrition, etc., and I'll skip that component for now.

So I took a rookie series at my local Crossfit, which included 6 classes of learning the basics of some of the exercises that they cover in the regular classes. The rookie series (aka fundamentals) is great because it is generally a smaller group of people than a typical class so you really get the attention you need to focus on technique. Crossfit is only as effective as your technique, and trust me, you can get hurt if you don't focus on it. The classes, rookie and regular, probably go from 45 minutes to an hour when you take into account warm-up or working on some weak spots to improve upon – NOTE: I have many weak spots. An hour is definitely on the longer side, so I like that fact that I feel like I worked really hard without spending a couple of hours at the gym.

It's hard to give a full-on evaluation at this stage as I just did my 1^st regular class today, but I will say that I ran a pretty tough run (stomach weirdness the day before meant no food 24 hours before run – NOT SMART, Jill) on Friday with my friend, Tricia, and my leg didn't start hurting until 5 ½ miles into the run. This is a significant improvement, so I was pleased. Is it the start of things to come? I'm not sure, but I'll take whatever positives I can in what has been a long and tedious rehab process.

OK, back to the food and wine component of this entry. On Saturday I had the pleasure of leading Tricia, her family and some friends through a Pinot Noir tasting, which I wrote about on the Purple Teeth Cellars blog. Even though Pinot is not one of the wines that we make, we have spent enough time learning about it and drinking it (LOL) that Marc and I thought we could help in telling folks that they don't need to take wine so seriously in order to enjoy it. We did some food pairing experiments and had more than our fair share of laughs. One of the guests is definitely more microbrewery oriented, so I am wondering if he now has some ideas for tasting some of his favorite brews. Hmmm…..

Then last night, we were invited to another friend's house to be wined and dined at an event he called "Duck the Halls". Yes, lots of duck. Yes, lots of goodness greatness. Yes, lots of wine. Hence the "less than awesome" feeling this morning. But well worth it – thanks, Erik! I should add that another good friend made me some tasty chocolate chip pancakes earlier in the day yesterday, so life is good when you got your friends cooking for you all day! J

Life is good, but tonight is definitely a Progresso soup night with some water. My body needs to detox a bit. Oh wait, Danielle just dropped off some homemade cookies. Oh well. Guess I will have to try them.

Happy Holidays everyone!

It Doesn’t Come Down to One Day

The term, "big day", is a fairly common one. It could be used for the day you graduate from school, take a big exam, get married, have a child, etc. Or it could be used in reference to some other big event in a person's life – particularly something they have been working a long time for and put in a fair amount of blood, sweat and tears to achieve a specific goal.
This past weekend, I had the privilege of going to watch my running buddies compete in one of the toughest races I know – Ironman. For those of who don't know what Ironman is, it consists of a person swimming 2.4 miles, biking 112 miles and then running 26.2 miles (a full marathon). Yes, all in one day. Actually, less than a day – you have 17 hours to complete this insanity should you sign up for it. And I have friends who love this kind of thing. Given that I had 9 of my Coach Lesley teammates competing in the race in Penticton, BC (Canada) and my "unexpected summer vacation", I decided to jump on the opportunity to cheer everyone on when I heard that another mate was heading up for just a very quick trip.
I actually decided to treat this like a business trip. I know it sounds wacky, but I felt like my job was to do whatever I could to cheer on the athletes and make them feel more positive when they saw us on the course, and were probably feeling less than stellar. It wasn't about me taking in some of the very well respected wineries in the area, sleeping in, etc. So Libby and I decided to leave on Saturday morning after she kicked some butt in a local triathlon (1^st in her group) and I did my 10 mile run with Andria.
Libby and I had a good ride up, and maybe told a fib at the Canadian border crossing about a couple of things. We arrived at the spectator house (there were about 20-25 people in town cheering just for Coach Lesley athletes) as they were having dinner, and received some instructions on how we were to help on Sunday. It was a bit hectic at the house to say the least and we had an early start on Sunday morning – 5:15am wake-up so we could walk down to the start for 6am. So we pretty much arrived, had some dinner, drank some wine, and crashed.
The house was going pretty early before our alarm clock went off, and we walked down to the start so we could give our chums a word or two of support before they embarked on their odyssey. They were all pretty much in good spirits – a bit nervous, which was completely understandable. Then we went off to the beach to see the start of the swim. The pros went off 15 minutes earlier than everyone else, and then the fun began. 17 hours of it. I waded into the water to cheer on some of our teammates, and was texting Libby and another teammate, David, on when we saw our swimmers come out of the water.
It was pretty cool to see them all make it out of the water before the cut-off, as it was the weakest event for a couple of people, so then we went off to grab something to eat before heading off to the bike course. We originally thought we would be at around mile 80 on the bike course on one of the tough hills, but by the time Libby and I made it out of town, we saw a boatload of people at mile 93 so we parked there. Great move as some of our gang were at the mile 80 stop so we were able to spread out the cheering sections for the Coach Lesley team. Our friends, Steve and Katie, were at an earlier part of the course at mile 42, so they texted us when our folks passed them with the hope we would have a good idea of when to look for them.
It was pouring for a bit while we were waiting for the cyclists, so obviously we were concerned for their safety. Then the rain let up. Lesley came on through first – she wasn't racing, but she was out there having fun. We chatted with her for a bit and she looked good. After she went off, we saw Tricia and she was psyched to see us. I decided to throw caution to the wind and run up the hill in my sandals (please don't be mad at me, Coach!) as she biked. She was tired (wouldn't you?) but was doing ok. I left her and just as got back down the hill where Libby was, Diego was coming. What was good for one, was good for another. So I ran up with him. Of course as "luck" would have it – I got to the bottom of the hill and Patricia (aka PNak) showed up. Up I went again. Whew!
We had a break in the action before we saw the next group of teammates, Paul, Ann and Dana. I was able to run alongside of Ann, and then Dana, and I think Ann might have been mad that I didn't have a Molson Canadian with me to hand her (not sure). And yes, as I got back to the bottom of the hill after running with Ann, Dana showed up, so I was getting quite the workout. Libby then suggested that I change into sneakers so I don't trash my body before my race next week. Smart move.
Finally at around 3:15pm, we saw Eileen come through and I ran with her (we had a tradition to keep). I came down the hill, and saw Sjohn so I ran with her as she was able to catch Eileen. I don't know if Sjohn ever stopped smiling the entire day. Seriously. What a way to go! Finally I got a break (or I thought) because I only got about halfway down the hill when I saw Mimi come through, but since she was the last cyclist in our group, I ran with her past the top of the hill. All of a sudden I found myself running a bit faster, which of course made sense because she was now on flat ground and I was trying to keep up with her since I knew she could catch Sjohn and Eileen. Jeez. My legs were tired.
Libby and I then headed back to town for the marathon part of the course. The weather was all over the place – stormy, sunny, rainy, etc. I found PNak and she was looking so consistent in her pace (consistent is a very positive thing). Her attitude was great. Awesome. I found Diego next and he was looking good as well.
Then I found Tricia. The "big day" stopped going the way she wanted it to go. And this is why I get so frustrated with the term, "big day". The fact that Tricia wasn't going to have the day she wanted wasn't going to change one iota about how I felt about her with respect to her being a good friend and great person. It doesn't take away from all of the training she did over the past year and the discipline she showed in doing workouts in good times and in bad. Same with our friend, Ann, who just had a knee that was being a bit problematic.
I walked with Tricia for a few miles along the marathon course (almost managed to get her disqualified – that would have been bad). Dana actually saw me getting a lecture from the race marshal and started yelling at me, which was pretty freaking hilarious. So I hitched a ride back to town and found Libby, and we were able to get Tricia and Lesley's stuff in the gear tents. I really needed to eat at this stage. By the time we sat down to eat and have a much needed beer, it was probably close to 8:30pm. We were able to see PNak pass us at mile 24 of the marathon, which was awesome. She had a great day! Unfortunately we missed Dana and Diego, but they were moving along. Then we caught up with Lesley to see if we could find some of our other mates.
We saw Sjohn and Mimi at mile 23 at around 10:45pm, and they were all smiles. Every time we saw them, they were in such great spirits. They were easily going to finish before the cut-off, which was their goal. We didn't know where Eileen was, so we decided to go to the finish to see Sjohn and Mimi cross the finish line, which we did. It was a great moment to see.
And then there was Eileen. Eileen has done 2 Ironmans previously, but not made the cut-off even though she did complete the course. It was 11:15pm when Sjohn and Mimi crossed, and Lesley, Diego, Libby, Gina and I were getting worried. Libby and I walked up to around mile 24 ½ hoping to see Eileen and sure enough 15 minutes later, we saw her walking and both thought, "uh oh, this is going to be close". Eileen found a little extra gear and crossed the finish line with about 6 or 7 minutes to spare. What a great achievement.
By the time we found some of our other crew and went back to the house, it was past 12:30am. We were beat from running around and crashed. In looking back on the day, I was glad to have made a positive impact on my friends and to bring smiles to their faces when they saw me. The messages they have sent me thanking me have really been heartwarming since they were the ones who did the hard work. I was pumped for the folks who had a great day, and I was sad for the folks who didn't have the day that they were hoping to have. No middle ground.
As expected, it was an emotional and long day. Thanks to Libby for being a good partner-in-crime for the 60 or so hours of this roadtrip. It was appreciated, especially when it seemed like the wheels were falling off on some of the plans that were laid out.
Pictures here.

Switching Roles for “Team Surf & Turf”

Yesterday I had the privilege of supporting Marc for a change in a sporting event, "Swim for Life", which benefits the Puget Sound Blood Center. It is a swim across Lake Washington people form their own teams based on how fast their pace is. Given the inherent danger of swimming in the lake, which is fairly large, it is required that all teams had to have a kayaker alongside of them as they swam. This is where I came in. The way I saw it, my job was to:

• Ensure my swimmers, Marc, Tricia (who has been mentioned in a number of my running entries on this blog) and Lauren, were not in distress as they swam.
• Not hit any swimmers in the head with the paddle or my kayak, for that matter.
• Not inadvertently flip the kayak, which would have meant all of our gear would have been in the water in protective bags – and oh yeah, I would have been in the water, too.

Pretty simple, right? I had been kayaking a number of times before, but definitely did not consider myself an expert. I actually flipped a boat once, which gave a few of my friends who were present for that event to call me "Captain Nemo". But sometimes mistakes as are when you learn the most, and I definitely was aware of the careless move I made that made me flip. OK, but I was ready. One of my Coach Lesley teammates, Jan, was kind enough to pick up the kayak rental for me and bring it back, so no stress there.

We made arrangements with our friend, Mike, to carpool to the start in Medina, home of super-duper mega-mansions and the highest police-to-resident ratio ever recorded (ok, that was made up – kind of). When Marc and I woke up that morning at 5:30am, he noticed it was cloudy and windy. Great – now I may have to make a costume change as it could be cold being on the water, as opposed to being in the water in a wetsuit. As we were crossing the 520 bridge over Lake Washington, the 3 of us kind of let out a sigh when we saw some whitecaps bouncing on the water. We park and get to the beach, and then Marc and I find our boat, so we start the usual pre-race stuff (bathroom, waiver signing, etc.) and I see some of my fellow Coach Lesley chums racing in different waves.

But it is cold and windy on the beach. The air temperature may have been in the low 60s but it felt about 10 degrees cooler. The water looks very choppy. I was regretting not wearing one of my turtlenecks at that stage. I didn't panic, but I'll admit that I was nervous. I knew this was important to Tricia in terms of her prep for Ironman in just over a week, and didn't want to let down her, Marc or Lauren. It was the first time I ever paid attention in the safety briefing of a race. Due to the awesome swimmers I had under my watch on "Team Surf & Turf" (READ: VERY FAST), we were in the first wave of teams to go out.

We were given the ok to start with others in the initial wave, and the 1^st ½ mile didn't exactly reassure me. The kayakers and swimmers went off from a very small beach, so it was chaotic and there was a very strong current in addition to bouncing everywhere because of the chop from the whitecaps. I almost hit a couple of swimmers, but my "gang" was doing great and managed to create some separation plus they stayed together. I was trying to get out of the way of some folks so I got ahead of them (not good) but then we all eventually settled into a rhythm. In order to counteract the current, I had to revert back to my coxswain days so the boat didn't keep spinning around (just what I would have needed in a bouncy kayak). Leveraged some of the oar skills and just paddled along.

My swimmers looked great, although I think Lauren wanted to show off her youth by doing some "extra credit" swimming and taking a slightly longer route across the lake. J We were basically going with 2 other teams and the swimmers were all mixed in together. So the other 2 kayakers and I worked together just to ensure that everyone was ok, whether the swimmers were on our team or not. It was great. The choppiness didn't go away and I definitely felt like I was bouncing around quite a bit. I tried getting some pictures but they are either lopsided or a tad blurry. But overall, I was enjoying things once I got past that initial ½ mile. I wished it was sunnier because it is such a unique perspective to take in the very diverse landscape from the surface of Lake Washington.

I only met Lauren that morning (she is Tricia's niece) so I didn't have a benchmark on how she was doing, but based on what I observed of Marc, he looked like he was having fun chatting with the kayaker upfront from another team and other swimmers. Given the conditions, it is amazing how easy he made it all look although try getting him to admit that….. I train with Tricia on land a fair amount during her runs, and she looked like she was just cruising at a really easy and consistent pace. I am very excited for her in her upcoming Ironman, and am so proud of her efforts given some adversity she has had over the past 18 months.

The last ¼ mile pretty much just pushed us all in to Madison Park beach. Success! No injuries or kayak flipping in our group! Woo woo! The other 2 Coach Lesley teams did a great job, too. We later heard a decent amount of people had asked to be pulled out of the water, so we considered ourselves fortunate that nothing went wrong. It was really great to kayak next to Marc and provide support for a change, since he always does it for me in my running races. We were driving home and my arms/shoulders started to feel a tad sore, and I had a session planned at the range later on with another friend to work on my golf game. I guess Ibuprofen was my BFF yesterday.

Overall it was a great day in the midst of some very good days over the past 6 weeks. I got to support Marc and a good friend in an endeavor that was important to them, had a solid workout to test out an injury I am battling, and was able to see Marisa to catch up on a variety of topics (we'll leave the state of how I am hitting my long irons out of this and stick with the positive – like some of the advice she was giving me on a specific topic). Much to be thankful for.

Until next time and I have some overdue entries, so stay tuned.

Oh and more pics here.

Moms and Dads – Need some help for a friend!

Happy Mother's Day to all of the Moms out there. My hope is that you feel appreciated every day and not just on a couple of days throughout the year.

I received an e-mail late last week which is kind of timely given the Mother's Day holiday, but I think it applies to Moms and Dads. Here is where I can use some input from the parents out there:

A friend of mine, who is married with 3 young kids (under the age of 10), had started running about a year ago and slowly built up to running her 1^st 10K earlier this year. She has a job outside of the home in addition to the job she has as "Mom extraordinaire". But with stuff going on at work (outside of the home), shuttling the kids to different activities and her stuff at home, her runs have come to a halt. I'll add that the hubby is a very cool guy, who also works outside of the home in addition to the parenting responsibilities.

I can tell this is frustrating to her because she worked hard to get to the 10K point and she is struggling with how to stay motivated. So she asked me how I stayed motivated and how I continue to get my workouts in. I gave her my thoughts but they were lacking a certain perspective.

The problem with being asked this question is that I do not have kids. There are certain things I can relate to, but the big issue – the kids – is something that I cannot relate to. I am fortunate that if I ask Marc to give me some space for an hour so I can get my workout in that he will give it to me. But kids do not really understand that concept.

So if you have kids, how do you balance getting regular workouts in and staying motivated for the long-term in addition to your other responsibilities in and out of the house? For example:

• Does your partner/spouse watch the kids for an hour or so while you get out?
  
• Do you integrate it into a workday if you work outside of the home (some workplaces have gyms onsite)?
  
• Do you just warn people to stay away unless you get your workout in?
  
• Do you workout with your partner/spouse and use a babysitting service at a gym?
  
• Do you hire a babysitter to allow you to workout?
  
• Are you motivated to workout because of family health history or how you feel after a workout? Maybe motivated to set an example for your kids?
  

These are just some thoughts so feel free to add anything that helps you. Hopefully it helps my friend, or anyone else, who is struggling. Thanks!