8 Jan: Katoomba (NSW) --> Canberra (ACT).

Marc and Zachary getting into a very intense
car session after Marc assisted in putting
the track together
Well yesterday was a transition day as we left the calm of the Blue Mountains to head to the capital of Australia, Canberra. +Marc and I got in a quick swim and a run respectively. We have friends who live there and are looking forward to spending time with them as we tour the area.

Australia has been experiencing record hot temperatures, and while our friends in the northern hemisphere might be jealous, some extensive brushfires have started up. Lots of damage in Tasmania. We don't head there for another 3-4 weeks, but hope that the fires can be extinguished soon.

The other thing that happened is that when we were hiking in Wentworth Falls on Sunday that we saw a rescue helicopter hovering around the canyon, which made us wonder what was going on. Unfortunately our instincts were correct in that a British national was touring the area with their friends on Saturday, went off of the path, slipped and fell to his death. They were still trying to recover his body on Sunday. No photo op is worth it, but it is just a reminder that the two themes of our trip are 'safe' and 'fun'.

Let's learn more about Aussie wines! Cool!
Anyway we arrived in Canberra and were greeted with open arms by +Christine, Ashley, and their sons - Zach and Jensen. Christine's Mom is also visiting from the States so it is a full house. It was so nice having a home cooked meal and we were introduced to a couple of local wineries in the area that we look forward to trying while we are here. Later in the evening, Ashley was explaining some of the nuances of rugby, AFL (Australian Football League = Aussie Rules) and cricket. 

We got some tips on which places to check out in the area and look around. Should be a fun few days!

7 Jan : Katoomba / Wentworth Falls

Stairs like this were common - STEEP!
After the rest day, we loaded up on a big breakfast and headed over to Wentworth Falls for what was supposed to be (and really was) a 3 hour hike/walk. We did not venture all the way into the valley this time because they had carved out a path halfway down the cliffs in the softer sedimentary rock. So we were often ducking (even +Jill) along the path but even with a few detours to look at stuff we did manage to make it in 3 hours.
At Wentworth Falls in the Blue Mountains
Once completed, we proceeded to have a light lunch and shower. Jill scheduled a full body massage for herself with a mini facial while I had a back treatment along with a foot treatment (first ever)... Wonderful and outstanding! They did several steps that took off calluses and dead skin and softened everything up nicely. I wish I had done this before. My feet feel great after days and days of 5-12 mile treks across all kinds of ridiculous terrain.

 Jill likens taking the backpack (loaded mostly with water among other things) to Crossfit sand bag step ups in "the MOD Lounge" with our friend, CM. Thanks again Crossfit for training us literally for "every day" stuff. Seriously!
Sunny view of the gorge from Wentworth Falls track
We walked around downtown Katoomba for the late afternoon and evening checking out a few things. We ended up at a fresh Thai place with good food that does BYO (like many places here). We grabbed a bottle from a small shop about 2 doors away. The food was delicious, fresh, and hot and a great way to end a day and our stay in the Blue Mountains.
Marc is ready for his "foot treatment" aka pedicure
Tomorrow after breakfast we are off to Canberra - the capital of Australia.

6 Jan : Katoomba

 After yesterday's monster hike, my feet were a little sore. This called for a REST DAY which was good since we had laundry to do anyway. That actually went by pretty fast even while skyping with +Lisa, +Jarrett, Jeffrey and Mollie.

Right before laundry, we stopped at a coffee shop Jill had spotted yesterday. They dabble in waffle of the month and with our incredible luck we scored m&m waffles for January. The owner was funny/cool and loved playing around. He likes my m&m pancakes concept that guests at our house enjoy.
M&M Waffle Pancakes - how do we find these things?

After folding & repacking clothes, we needed a day of "drive up" lookouts. We got some recommendations from the hotel. 2 out of 3 weren't bad with maybe 30 stairs total. But the 3rd one was more than I wanted on a "rest day". The views on that one made up for it but half an hour round trip was more than I was looking for with drive up tourism today.

Fortunately after this we spent a good chunk of the afternoon next to and in the infinity pool at the hotel. Refreshing! I even caught a catnap out there under an umbrella.
Marc enjoying the infinity pool at Echoes

Late in the afternoon, we walked from our hotel (The Echoes) to Echo Point which has fantastic view points. So much of a good thing can be had here that it is one of the few places they charge for street parking all the way to our hotel. It was packed when we drove by there earlier, but not too bad at all at 5pm. We got some panorama pics along with a quick video where I panned our camera. My feet were feeling much better so the day of rest was indeed welcome.
Echo Point and the Three Sisters Panoramic

We ate upstairs at the hotel so that was a simple, easy walk up one flight of stairs. Way easier than the walks on signs that they classify as "easy" yet involve hundreds of stairs.

5 Jan: Katoomba aka Blue Mountaints (NSW).


Got up, had breakfast and ventured out to hike what is known as the "Grand Canyon". +Marc and I knew it was going to be a long hike with a steep descent to kick things off, and then another steep ascent to end things. Awesome. It will be at the hottest part of the day when we climb and of course, that will be when we are the most tired.

The drive to Blackheath was pretty uneventful, and parking wasn't an issue. We had 2 liters of water each, plus sandwiches, snack bars, etc., so we were ready to set off. A number of ways exist to see the Grand Canyon (drive to a lookout/take pictures, do a couple of abbreviated loops, or do the full-on hike). Of course, we chose the latter because why not? 
Initial descent conditions - ugh!

The initial descent down from Govett's Leap was treacherous. I HATE going downhill, especially steep downhills. I have this fear of heights (yes, I have skydived and loved it) and worry more about falling downhill than falling as I move uphill. Marc, of course, cruises on the downhills so we have a deal that he has the daypack on the downhills and I take it on the uphills. On the flats, we kinda split the difference but we haven't seen much of those yet!!!
Sigh of relief on hitting a milestone on walk

It took us almost an hour to get to the base of the falls, called Bridal Veil Falls, and it was just under a mile in terms of distance. It was muddy, which meant slippery, and very steep. But I was happy to have it done. We kept moving downhill, and we knew that meant we were going to have to climb it all back uphill. That said, the views were amazing and we saw interesting things along the way, including some lizards (or 'Lizzies' as Aussies like to call them). We were keeping pace with two guys from the Netherlands, and when we took a wrong turn, fortunately they were there to help out and get us on pace.
Our inaugural "lizzie" sighting on the hike

The lucky thing about this walk is that it was 75% shaded. It was hot. Probably low 90s. We walked through plenty of bush, so I guess the term 'bushwalking' does have its place. We had lunch just past one of the main milestones on the trail, and then pressed on. We were concerned that we wouldn't finish in time for dinner, but I told Marc that we would make time up on the uphill and the relatively flat portion of the hike. At one of the falls, I filled up one of my water bottles with some much needed liquid. I wasn't concerned about contamination because it was moving water and we were upstream.

No lie: This felt AWESOME (caps on purpose!)
Once we got into the actual Grand Canyon part of the canyon, it was really a treat. Yes, it isn't as impressive as the one in the States, but this was pretty darned cool. I started using the walk as a workout as we made our way uphill. Heck, I am a runner and cardio is what runners can do. Yes, I had the backpack. Someone coming the other way told us a nice shower was up ahead, and sure enough, it felt AWESOME! The water was so cold, but I was so hot that I didn't even care. It probably brought down the body temps about 2-3 degrees, which was helpful for the home stretch.

We made it to Evans Lookout, and then had the final Cliff Top walk back to Govett's Leap. It was a tad frustrating because you saw the car park and the elevation, and then all of a sudden you were heading down instead of up. Yep, more steep climbs at the end. It wasn't horrible but you really do want to be done at that stage when you have been hiking up and down for over 10 miles.
Look carefully & you'll see the initial descent we took

We finished, picked up more liters of water to guzzle and headed back to the hotel. A long shower and a well earned dinner awaited. The sunset was really pretty. And our server informed us that it was over 100F when we did the last 1/3 of the hike. Oy!

Sunset from Echoes during dinner after a great and hard hike


Pics posted at:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lifeasawaterclown/

Think Sunday is going to be a rest day, per Marc's request... although laundry will be on the agenda at some point. :-)

4 Jan : Sydney --> Katoomba

My turn to drive on the left for the first time in years. I think we'll get used to it (watch out Seattle) but it is strange and the wipers turn signal. I managed 3 wipers when I meant to signal.
View from Echoes in the Blue Mountains

+Jill and I didn't leave until later in the day. We ran some errands and did our last Crossfit Ignite Sydney before heading out. We arrived at the Blue Mountains in 90+ degree weather. Now it is hot! Fortunately tonight at 9pm it is down to 70 and dropping.

The gorge here is amazing so we had a drink at the bar and also just enjoyed a casual meal while I got up to take some sunset photos. It was a clear day/evening so there weren't any clouds to get pink.

What we will get to explore over next few days
Jill has us planned to alternate city and countryside so we see a lot and get some great walks (hikes) in along the way. Tomorrow, on the 5th it is the Grand Canyon - not quite the same as the US version, but I'm sure there are many natural wonders nonetheless.

3 Jan : Sydney

This qualifies as "Only in Australia"
Today +Jill and I drove about 90 minutes North of Sydney to Bouddi National Park. The walk starts straight down and we knew we were returning the same way. I guess Crossfit box jumps and step ups are good for something. Maybe I should stop complaining about them during a workout.

Great views - reminiscent of Cinque Terre
The walk was 7 miles and beautiful. Parts of it reminded me of Cinque Terre, particularly the stairs. The first beach we came to at Maitland Bay was deserted when we started. Only 6 people including us and we were all hiking the trail. By the time we returned under 3 hours later there were 3-4 boats in the harbour and another 30+ people on the beach.
Halfway through the hike with "Frick" and "Frack"

The walk went up and down several times with looks at the Pacific Ocean along the way. We stopped at Little Beach for a while and just took it all in. Jill had walking sticks and used them the entire hike. This resulted in a sore upper body the following day.

Sunset from dinner at Mosman Spit
We took the Manly ferry to dinner which is such a beautiful ride. We could see where we walked from South Head all the way to Rose Bay. We also saw the netted Shark Beach again along with a start at the opera house which you cannot stop staring at regardless of how many previous photos you've already taken.

For dinner we ate at an Italian place near Beauty Point / The Spit / Mosman. Great table with a superb sunset view.

2 Jan: Sydney (NSW) --> Bondi Beach (NSW) --> Sydney (NSW) --> Woollahra (NSW) --> Sydney (NSW).

We got up pretty early and headed over to Bondi (pronounced Bond-eye), one of the eastern suburbs of Sydney. The plan was for +Marc to swim at a pool that looked very different and for me to get a run in along the coast during that time. Then we were going to meet my friend, +Jamie, and his family after for a tour of Bondi and to just hang out for a bit.

The weather was definitely a bit overcast and breezy. Almost stormy like. My run was good, but it was slow. I didn't have any legs, and it was humid for sure. Also lots of steps along the pathway I chose for my run. The backdrop was great and I got to run by the pool, where Marc swam. If you haven't seen the picture of where Marc swam, go to his FB page or mine to see the latest Australian photos.

We found Jamie at Icebergs (swim club) where his daughter was taking lessons, and then we went over to his house to meet his lovely wife, Mel, and his other daughter, Cora. Really nice folks and Jamie told us about cost of living, real estate and a few other interesting things about life in Sydney and in Bondi. Him and Mel were also super generous with their knowledge of some of the areas we were going to be traveling to, particularly our next destination, the Blue Mountains. Hoping to see them again on one of our future swings into Sydney.

After our day trip to Bondi, we headed over to a new restaurant on the Sydney scene called Chiswick. The restaurant is run by the same folks who own the restaurant we were on New Year's Eve. They have a great garden in the back of Chiswick and the food/concept really reminded me of some of the restaurants in Seattle that focus on really fresh ingredients. We both enjoyed it, and continued to stick to our goal of only ordering Australian wines.

We updated and posted a bunch of photos to Flickr, which you can find below:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lifeasawaterclown/

Jan 1 : Sydney

Double Bay: Locals call this "Double Pay"
So +Jill arranged a great night at Aria Restaurant on New Year's Eve right on Circular Quay. She wrote about this for Dec 31 but I must say that the food was fantastic and our sommelier was great and answered so many questions about Aussie wines. In addition, we were there hanging out until 1:30 on Jan 1. They brought us extra glasses and we had a blast.

 We slept in a bit (8:30) and then ate breakfast and looked at our 500-ish photos. Many were deleted but that was the plan.

Lighthouse at South Head at Watsons Bay


After that, we took a ferry to Watson's Bay & hiked South Head (looking at our destination of North Head from a couple days back). We then walked to Nielsen Park (with Shark Beach for a swim -- netted off) and then onto Rose Bay to eventually get back on a ferry to downtown Sydney. We covered another 10 miles of walking which does not do wonders for my feet.
Marc taking a dip in Shark Bay in a Sydney suburb

A long day but a great way to start 2013...

31 Dec: Sydney (NSW).

Well I am just going to save the suspense and say that the New Year's celebrations here in Sydney were absolutely amazing. More on this later in the entry.

+Marc and I started off the day by making our way back to "Crossfit Ignite Sydney" to get a workout in. It was pretty warm as we were walking there from the train station, so I knew anything we did was going to be tough. Ben and the gang took "great care of us" by putting us through our paces for the workout, and then we went off for brunch.

We were a bit more prepared for the queues but fortunately we only had to wait about 15 minutes to snag a table at a cozy place in Surry Hills that Ben had recommended. And it was yummy. May have to go back there after our next workout at that Crossfit.

After brunch, we headed over to the Sydney Jewish Museum. We lucked out by arriving just as a tour kicked off, and it was really informative. Their main exhibit is about the Holocaust, and it never gets easier reading and hearing about the atrocities of what happened. What made this museum special was that many of the artifacts in the museum were donated by survivors of the ghettos and camps. And a number of these survivors actually volunteer at the museum (we actually met one of them). 

The museum was built in 1992 based on the local Jewish community coming together and saying they wanted to build something to honor Australia's connection to the Jewish people. We learned about Aboriginal protests about the Holocaust supporting the Jewish people, along with how Australia was one of the main places that displaced victims emigrated to after the war. Another powerful exhibit centered around all of the children (1.5 million) who were murdered during the Holocaust. Again very moving and powerful content, and glad we went.

After the museum, we walked back to the hotel to rest up for the New Year's festivities. Generally I am of the mindset that there is an inverse correlation between how much money you spend on NYE and the level of fun you have. Maybe it's due to overpaying for a bunch of parties in my mid-20s in NY, but that's how I felt. But I decided to splurge for us this year given our location.

Sydney does 2 sets of fireworks -- "little brother", as one of the Crossfit coaches called it, which kicks off at 9pm for the kids, and then "big brother", which is at midnight. Both were just epic because the organizers use the buildings around Circular Quay as a backdrop for the fireworks going off in the harbour and off of the bridge. 

As I am typing this, Marc is going through the 400 or 500 photos that we took. We had a regular camera that Marc was snapping shots with and then a "GoPro", which Marc had on a timer going off every couple of seconds. You can imagine how many pics were taken over the course of 20-25 minutes!! 

Circular Quay, one of many places where folks camp out, was packed but in a much more civilized way than in NY. People had picnics going, blankets, etc. Bands were playing outside of the restaurant, so it was actually a great atmosphere.

I should add that the food, wines served and the overall service of where we were at were just top notch. Sometimes places with a view like what we had rest on their laurels. Not this place. The sommelier assigned to our table answered a boatload of questions for us about Australian wines, and immediately adjusted the selections for the evening for Marc once she found out how passionate he was about Rhone styled wines. Our friend, +Erik, would be proud to have this woman in his ranks as she represented everything he talks about what makes a great "somm".

The best moment of the evening came as we were walking home and Marc said that he really enjoyed himself. I was worried he would find it all too formal or not his style, but I was happy to find out that was not the case. After last night's events, we are going to be spoiled going forward. 

Well played, Sydney. Well played.

And here is to a great 2013 for all of you and your families.

Dec 30 : Sydney

Today we got up and ran from Darling Harbour along the water under the Harbour Bridge over to the Opera House. +Jill ran all the way back while I stopped at a good spot on the Circular Quay and walked back through town. I've gotta save the legs for all the walking we keep doing.
Speaking of walking, we hopped on a ferry to Manly to go in the Pacific Ocean AND to walk (a long way)... During the journey over there, I finally learned on day 5 that an Americano espresso is called a Long Black here. FYI to those of you that make your way down under. Also on the way to the beach, we stopped at Max Brenner so I could indulge in something chocolate. And it was good.

The ocean was cold so it took me a while to get in but once I did I enjoyed it. The waves weren't good enough to body surf but I got in and experienced the Pacific Ocean from the other side. Jill took photos.

Then came the walk. Very long walk... We walked 8 miles (10 total today) in a round trip from Manly Beach to North Head (in Sydney Harbour National Park) and back to the ferry. It was gorgeous. Add this to our run today though and my feet are aching. And Jill is the one with the bloody toe (not me) !!!

Jill surprised me for dinner. She found a good Ethiopian restaurant but didn't tell me where we were going until we arrived at the place. We got a bunch of stuff on a shared plate of injera and it was all good. The proprietor was funny but also a good cook so it was a great meal. He also roasted coffee beans right there so I had to have some of that at the end. Best coffee yet in Sydney. Leave it to Jill.

Long & tiring day but also overflowing with memories.

Dec 29 : Sydney

After walking almost 20 miles the past couple of days, +Jill and I wanted to get some down time for the feet. I'm also a bit sun burned right now, so laying out at a beach somewhere seemed out of the question.

We decided to upload all prior photos to Flickr over breakfast. Lots of good sitting there. After that, we ran a few errands & then saw "Wreck It Ralph" which was excellent, particularly for someone who practically grew up in arcades.

After the rest, we saw the ANZAC Memorial which was originally built for Aussies who served in WWI but it was eventually expanded to honor Aussies from all wars that they have participated in. It's a nice memorial building.

After seeing some other sights in Hyde Park, we chilled out before dinner. Then it was off to Momofuku in Sydney where they brought out course after course after course. Lots of small bites with great flavors that ended (after dessert) with carmelized pork shoulder.

28 Dec: Sydney (NSW).

Sometimes you have days that go sort of according to plan, like yesterday's fun, and then sometimes you don't. The 28th was one of those days. Fortunately I am sitting here typing away so obviously nothing too horrible happened.

 I knew +Marc and I were going to Crossfit and I made arrangements with the closest one to our hotel, which was still quite a ways away, to come in and WOD at noon. In the "general vicinity" was the University of Sydney, which had an exhibit showcasing the Colosseum (yes, the one in Rome) in Legos. I thought it would be cool and different to see. 

 After getting a bit lost getting there and then a complete lack of signage, we get to the museum when it said it would be open. I specifically double-checked to see if any special hours were in place for the holiday week. Well, no one showed up to the museum to unlock the doors. So that didn't work out.

We ventured on to Crossfit Ignite Sydney and since they had "open gym" as opposed to classes, getting there early worked out. Hmmm.... maybe the day was turning around for the better. The WOD had lots of running (about 2 miles worth including the warm-up) and it was over 80 degrees. Not exactly what we were used to. But the coaches there were super hospitable and helped us get through what was a very tough WOD, especially if you did overhead squats like Marc did.

Ben, one of the coaches, gave us some lunch recos and we headed off. No Crossfits really exist near the central area of the city, so we knew we were going to have to walk a bit. Fine. But all of the places that Ben gave us had huge queues out the door, and we were definitely hungry. We probably should have stayed and queued but didn't, and low and behold, we probably didn't eat for at least another hour. Oh well. The good news is that we were right near the next destination of the day -- The Sydney Jewish Museum.

They had special holiday hours, which weren't posted when I checked the website, and of course, we showed up just as they closed their doors for the day. It didn't help that it was Friday afternoon (Shabbat), so that kind of killed that plan. Marc and I then decided to head over and walk through Hyde Park. Except that Marc thought we could go straight and make a quick turn, but instead we ended up adding about 2 miles to our already long day of walking (plus Crossfit). For the record, Marc is normally fabulous with his directions.

So we missed Hyde Park. Heh. I was somewhat determined to make something out of the day, so we ventured over to the Hyde Park Barracks, and learned a thing or two about Australia's history with initially being a penal colony (with respect to Western civilization as opposed to the Aborigines, who obviously have been here a very long time).

 Headed back to the hotel, and we made a decision not to head out to Bondi, one of the prettier suburbs on the water for dinner. Took a gamble and headed over to a place close to the hotel -- Rockpool Bar & Grill. Ended up being awesome. One of our friends, +Erik, connected us with the sommelier there. Michael gave us a great reco for the wine and the food was just what we needed. Simple, fresh and awesome. 

All in all, not a horrible day, but kind of frustrating. That said, we know many of you would be willing to trade places with us in a second, so we know we are incredibly fortunate. Thanks for tuning in. And don't forget to check out the Flickr feed:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lifeasawaterclown/

Dec 27 : Sydney

Slept well and now hopefully on local time already. +Jill and I got a 7 day train and ferry pass and rode over to North Sydney. I swam in the Olympic pool with views of the Harbour Bridge while Jill ran along the path near there. The salty water in the pool doesn't taste good - but then again neither does chlorinated water. It was funny circle swimming on the left but I got used to it. The hard part was adapting to lack of walls to push off of while swimming 50 meters at a time.

 We walked around a bit and over the bridge back into downtown Sydney. Lots and lots of walking today and all kinds of different angles of the opera house and Harbour Bridge with several photos taken.
I also managed to get my first hamburger with beets today. The good news is that it was a beet relish which was slightly sweet and not too bad at all. It was a good introduction because I'm not so sure I'm going to like regular beets on a burger at all.

Dec 24 -> 25 -> 26 : LAX -> Melbourne -> Sydney

Here I am a few hours into the flight from LAX that left on Christmas Eve and it is already the day after Christmas or pretty close anyway. I should be sleeping like everyone else (+Jill) but I just don't sleep well on planes - if at all. First class is practically empty so they "made our beds" in another seat while we ate dinner. I didn't take them up on moving over though since I knew I'd probably be writing in this journal rather than sleeping. 1 1/2 Unisom pills in and wide awake.

 I can't wait to walk around Sydney Harbour and start taking photos.

 I may have slept a couple of hours by the end of the flight. Multiple flight attendants told me I'd be more comfortable in the more padded "bed" seat but I doubt that the result would be any different. Plus all my reading, my journal, and tablet would have to move over anyway. As an aside, all the food was remarkably good although the Penfolds Grandfather tawny port stood out.

Watching Sandy's Damage From Afar.

[NOTE: I am working on some donation avenues for the communities most impacted by Sandy. I hope to post something in the next 48 hours. Stay tuned!]

 Well it has been a week since Hurricane Sandy left her mark on the New York metropolitan area, and depending on who you ask, things are improving. One sibling is still camping out at my folks house with their family (latest power restoration status is THANKSGIVING!) and the other sibling just got their power back yesterday, which was HUGE cause for celebration.

 I am getting lots of questions about what is actually happening on the ground. So for my non-NYC metro friends who do not know people impacted, I'll share what I reading on my family/friends posts on Facebook and Twitter vs. what is being reported in the news. I probably won't be able to do it justice, but I will do my best to document the challenges that I am reading about.

 I'll make a huge disclaimer that everyone working towards recovery efforts is doing everything they can to make things better. As you can imagine, not enough resources exist to handle what Sandy left in her wake. Power crews, FEMA, 1st responders, National Guard, community agencies, Red Cross, etc. That said, a bunch of my friends are having problems with FEMA. In spite of what was promised by federal officials, many of my friends are running into plenty of red tape and delays.  Insurance adjusters are overwhelmed as you can imagine.

If someone needs to relocate because their house was destroyed or was severely damaged in the storm, most likely their possessions were also in the same category.  That means a person needs replacement items for themselves, and their family if applicable.  While many donations are coming in, it probably will not be enough for all of the people that are in need because so many people have been left with nothing but a garbage bag they packed as they evacuated. 

 These are things that really the Red Cross and FEMA cannot help with.  And insurance checks will not be arriving for awhile.  The reality is that this can be mitigated by one thing - cash or a gift card to Wal-Mart, Target, etc.  Being able to pick up some pots/pans, linens, clothes, sneakers, school supplies (more on that next) and other household items... I imagine being able to purchase those items can help establish a level of normalcy for the impacted families.

 Speaking of school supplies, another issue associated with relocation is around schooling for kids. If a family is displaced from their home, it is possible that their child's school isn't going to be open for some time. Or perhaps they will need to relocate while their home is being rebuilt/repaired. But I have friends who are struggling where to enroll their kids because they literally do not know where they will be living, and they obviously need a plan that facilitates them getting to work to earn a living.

 This break is also not like the holiday break in late December where it takes a couple of days to regain momentum. It is going to take classrooms a long time to get back up to speed on what children need to be learning. One of my friends posted something to the Governor of NY about how realistic it is going to be to adhere to the state testing schedule.  It's something to be considered. 

 Teachers and school counselors are going to be dealing with extra trauma and challenges that families are going through, in addition to the normal workload.  I cannot even comprehend the implications of a family with a special needs child and how that routine is going to be significantly disrupted. 

 I saw a thread on Facebook where a mother asked if she should bring her young son to their severely damaged house. He wanted to see why they couldn't go home. She was worried about how traumatic that would be for him. A debate ensued. I am not saying a right or a wrong answer exists. What I am saying is that these are the conversations that many parents will be forced to have, if they haven't already.

 Other things I have observed in addition to having running water, power and a roof over your head. Gas. Like the 1970s gas shortages. Anyone remember those? The collective amount of hours that people I know spent waiting on line for gas can probably fill the hours of multiple years. For example, my brother waited in line for 3 hours, which is a relatively short period of time this week, and was 3 away from the pump. The generator used to power the gas pump died, so no gas for my brother and probably the 70 cars behind him in line.  I wish I was exaggerating.

 Most people need gas to get to work, even if you do take mass transit. Most people do not live within walking distance of mass transit in the communities hit the hardest. And people want to go back to work for obvious reasons (getting paid is good as well as for sanity), but we have people who are concerned about being able to get gas if they have to travel a certain distance daily. Some people are lucky in that they can work remotely, but many are not. Furthermore some folks have jobs where if they are not "on the job" in person, they do not get paid. Marc and I are fortunate that we do not have that issue, but others are not so lucky.

 My point of this is just to convey that so many issues exist for many people to confront in a very short time. I believe they will overcome them, but some help will be required. I am working on how others outside of the area can make more directed charitable contributions to the area's recovery.

 Thanks for reading. And for those who are still living the nightmare of Sandy, thoughts and prayers are with you.

Thoughts on Sandy and NYC Marathon.

I'll just start out by saying that I was horrified to see the impacts of Hurricane Sandy to the east coast.  My hometown of Massapequa sustained a great deal of damage, particularly my neighborhood.  The town of Long Beach had even more damage, which was very sad to me because I spent so much time there with my family visiting our beloved Grandma Mollie.  I'll spare putting pictures of the damage on the blog.  Just Google it.  But Sandy's wrath was personal for me even though I am on the west coast.

 Fortunately my family was lucky in terms of the lack of damage compared to many others. Some of our friends were not so lucky, and I'll just continue to think positive thoughts as they try to rebuild their lives and create some normalcy for their families.

 As many of you know, I am an avid runner and I had the pleasure of running the NYC Marathon last year.  With the anniversary coming up, I was starting to reminisce about the day I had and as luck had it, we were going to be spending time with one of our great friends, CP, who also ran it last year and managed to qualify for Boston.

 Hurricane Sandy left devastation in the 5 boroughs of New York City.  Staten Island, where the marathon starts, received the lion's share of damage along with the south shore of Queens (Breezy Point actually looked like a bomb was dropped on it).  The course itself wasn't too impacted but the marathon requires a good amount of NYC resources, such as NYPD, NYFD and EMTs.  And we know this because the entry fee for the NYC Marathon is amongst the most expensive and we were told it was because of paying for the security and other support for a point-to-point 26.2 mile course.

 For whatever reason, the New York Road Runners (who holds the race) and the Mayor of New York City, Michael Bloomberg, decided that the race should continue on because, you know, New Yorkers are resilient and the world needs to know that they are going to bounce back. Seriously?  With how many people now homeless, without power, without running water, food shortages, gas shortages, and who knows what else? You really think that a family who lost a loved one from this storm is going to say, "Oh, I am so glad they are running the marathon in spite of this"?

 My position on this was that they had no business holding the marathon this weekend.  The pictures that I saw of people realizing that family treasures and their homes were either gone or going to need major renovation were shocking.  I am friends with first responders and they have been working tirelessly to rescue people, even while having to worry about their own families and property.  They put their lives to protect us and would work until they collapsed to ensure everyone that could be rescued was.  If they had any "downtime" on Marathon Sunday, they could have spent that time with their families or sleeping. For the Mayor to tell people that none of the first responders currently working on rescue and recovery missions would be needed to work on Sunday was detestable. Sandy was an "all hands on deck" situation so where would the resources come from to support the marathon?

 But I will say that I would have supported any runner who decided to run. Reason being that they earned the right to be at the starting line. They should not have been demonized, and yes, they were. They trained and put in countless hours to run/suffer through 26.2 miles.  Many of them raised a ton of money for many note-worthy charities to secure their slot in the race, which is what I did last year for JDRF.

 Well finally Mary Wittenberg, CEO of the NYRR, and Bloomberg decided that the race had to be cancelled. I have no doubt that it was because of the massive social media campaign that was launched via Facebook and Twitter to either postpone or cancel the event. What is unfortunate about their VERY LATE about-face was that people taking refuge in NYC hotels were kicked out because of marathoners flying in from out-of-town. If people had known the race wasn't going to be on, maybe they wouldn't have flown in and those hotel rooms could have been kept for people who didn't have power, running water, heat, etc.?

 Anyway I am relieved that it was cancelled but it's not as though I am happy about the circumstances. Hurricane Sandy left a path of destruction that has impacted many and that is where the focus should be. Hopefully all of the runners and volunteers for Sunday will figure out a way to help in the relief efforts that are much needed.

Recovering from A Near Miss on the PR Front.

All in all, it wasn't a terrible year on the running front. 

 I did need some time to separate myself from the result in PDX a week or so ago. I actually was so mad right after the race that I signed up for another race at the end of the month that I was "confident" I could crush with a new PR. Especially with the Whistler PR invalidated because the court measured short. Don't get me started on that one.

 Then reality set in. And lethargy too, to be honest.

 I ran a lot this year. I had success at Ragnar by running 25+ miles over a short period with 3 legs, including the anchor leg. I ran it almost exactly to plan by going z1 in the 1st and 2nd legs and going for broke in the 3rd leg. Too bad that steep uphill in the heat got in the way for 1/4 of a mile!

 I broke a new PR about 6 weeks ago in the 5K and actually placed 2nd in my age group (not a typo). I paced Marc to a new PR in the 5K, which I was really proud of - meaning proud of him because he hates running and I had the privilege of helping him for a change. 

 Oh - and I did PR in NYC earlier in the year, in spite of my own ineptitude. So that's something.   :-)

 We also had our JDRF Dinner and are inching close to raising almost $20,000! You can still donate here. Thanks to all who have donated to date.

So yep, we have been busy. And now we have the NFL in full swing along with the MLB playoffs. I wish I could say that the Mariners have gotten a clue about how to run a baseball team, but they haven't. The Yankees overachieved to get past Baltimore and were summarily swept by Detroit.

The Giants have started off in an uneven way, as per usual. They continue to have to come from behind in order to make wins happen, or make it close at the end and lose. The Broncos have also gotten off to an uneven start with Peyton Manning now the starting QB and recovering from his neck surgery. So who knows? 

We are testing out a new blogging tool for an upcoming project we are working on, so we will see how it works with respect to hyperlinking, inserting pictures and what not that we can typically do from a regular laptop as opposed to a tablet. If things look wacky, please bear with us as we figure it all out!

Unedited Race Report from PDX Half Marathon.

It's fair to stay that I was probably at around 80-85% heading into race day, 'the day before' "carboloading" at VooDoo Donuts notwithstanding.  I thought that by keeping up with extra cardio and mimicking the heart rate that I would have on my z2 runs that would help compensate for the fact that I was not able to run for extended periods of time without being in some pain.  So the focus became getting the runs in once a week and focusing on speed work.

 And before we know it on race morning, I am off.  Find a groove, stick to it and take the 1st quarter of the race in a conservative manner since the only real hill was in that section.  At this stage, I was really happy that we drove the course the day before because I knew when the hill was going to be over and didn't have to guess when that might be.  I was really happy with the mile 3 split of 8:45.

 I decided that I was not going to check my Garmin for "real time split" during each mile.  I would look only at my overall lap time over the course of the entire race and my elapsed time, and figured that would be enough to manage the race.  Once I crested at the top of the hill just before the 5k mark, I reminded myself to pick up some speed but not get ahead of myself on the downhill.  Again, didn't look at the watch and saw a 7:58 at mile 4 so I was pretty happy because I definitely felt like I was not taxing myself.

 The only snag in this was that I was so focused on keeping an even cadence up the hill that I forgot to take my gel at :25 mins in.  I took one at :40 and decided that I would take another one at 1:05 and at 1:25, and figured that would be ok.

 Miles 5 - 10 honestly felt really good.  I saw Marc at mile 6+, kept taking in water and was thinking that this was a pace that I felt I could maintain for awhile.  I was sticking between 8:10 and 8:20 for those splits, and was happy but knew the real work was in the last 5K of the race.  I can't say there was much to report in the middle section.

 Somehow in mile 11, I started feeling very fatigued and my breathing was starting to labor.  I deliberately decided NOT to look at my watch in the middle of the lap (mile) to see what pace my watch said.  If you have learned anything this year, it's to go with your feel, Jill!

 Needless to say when I saw my mile 11 split, I was not happy.  The course is flat and I was giving everything I had.  I tried going faster and maybe I increased my exertion level, but it didn't really help when I saw my mile 12 split.  I saw Marc and he actually ran with me for about 1/4 mile, and I was just struggling.  I was giving everything I had, trying not to give up even though the goal time was out the window.  My legs were going, but the results were not commensurate with the effort I was giving, which was a real downer.

 I took the turn off of the main highway finishing mile 13 and just tried to beat my PR from NYC.  I tried to get my legs up that hill quicker.  It just wasn't happening.  I couldn't find my exact time because of issues with tracking, but I was pretty sure I came within 5 seconds of my PR. On the wrong side. Sure enough my official time was 1:49:54 - 3 seconds slower than my previous PR in NYC.

 That sucked.  Obviously I was injured but to get THAT close and not at least beat it was a true bummer. Logically I know I gave a great effort and did the best I could considering I hadn't run 13 miles in one stretch since June (!).  In my heart though, I am disappointed and frustrated because I really don't know what else I could have done to better manage the race.  Would micromanaging miles 12 and 13 helped after I saw problems in mile 11?  I don't know.

 Takeaways:
  • Managed most of the race without micromanaging it and it worked really well for the 1st 10 miles.  This is good.
  • No matter how much elliptical time I log, I am now past the point where I run a pace that necessitates getting out and hitting the pavement more than I did in August and September. Yes, was in a lot of pain but would it have been worth it to take 2 Tylenol Extra Strength before the run and during the run while I was training?  I think I would consider it now even though conventional wisdom is against taking pain relievers so you don't mask an injury and do something worse.
  • Doing the mileage I did at Ragnar (25+ miles) was a mistake if I have a fall race longer than a 10k on my calendar. I'll have to stick to 15-17 miles total going forward.
  • I gave everything I had in this race, so I guess there is something to be said for that.  I didn't give up and didn't leave any time out there, although I almost left some of my insides just after the finish line but fortunately got myself together. Yeah, lovely....
  • Not sure how to measure sweat rate but I get pretty salty after long efforts, even now with taking the Power Bar Gels. I don't know if I need to take Hammer Enduralyte tablets even for half marathons now as opposed to just full marathon efforts.  My clothes were absolutely soaked.
So that's the recap.  Like I said, the effort was there and I did the best I could with training, but the result wasn't.  And that is no one's fault.  It's just a part of racing, I guess.

 But at least Big Blue and the Pinstripes won! Unfortunately the Broncos lost though for Marc, who deserved better for being such a great cheerleader. Other positive was great friend, PNak, PR'ing the full marathon and coming in under 4 hours and celebrating at Paley's Place later on in the evening! Plus we had good meals earlier in the weekend at Pok Pok and Wildwood, which caught Marc in a somewhat overwhelmed position looking at the SAVORY menu (normally it's the sweets!)

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!

The End Justifies The Means. Kinda?

Well, yes.  The ‘kinda’ will be explained as this blog entry progresses. Today was supposed to be a ‘B’ race, which means that it wasn’t a priority to PR.  My last race resulted in a PR, but it was in spite of one major stupid decision I made – being a slave to my watch instead of going on feel.  I figured at some point I would have the opportunity to put that lesson into practice.  I just wasn’t expecting to do it in my next race.

In front of the Olympic Rings from
Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics
Our friend, CP, kept on encouraging me to sign-up for the Whistler Half Marathon – beautiful (and, err, challenging) course, not crowded, really well run, and great local support.  I missed out before the race filled up but won a contest and snagged an entry.  When I discussed this race and another race I have in 3 weeks with Coach Kim, we decided that the latter race would be the ‘A’ race and this would be the ‘B’ race.  So we would work on pacing plus I wouldn’t feel pressured to do something awesome with 2000+ feet of altitude and with some climbs involved.

Racing in the mountains was a new experience, so I was a tad nervous.  We got up to Whistler 2 days before the race so I could get somewhat acclimated.  The weather in Whistler has been all over the place, so I didn’t know what to expect at 7:30am on raceday.  Woke up at 6am, room service was late and oh yeah, it was raining steadily. 

But we had some luck and the sun was starting to come out.  You couldn’t see all of the mountain peaks, but you saw enough blue skies and that was enough.  I saw CP at the start after my warm-up jog from the hotel, and before we knew it, we were off.  I thought I was going to be cold at the start but I actually felt really good in the short-sleeves and shorts.  Nice.

Coming down Blueberry Hill!
My race strategy with Kim was to do marathon pace for the 1st 5-6 miles, then transition to half marathon pace for 4 miles, and then just give it whatever I had.  The 1st 2 miles, which included a mile long steep climb along Blueberry Hill (well known to the locals!), went exactly as I wanted.  I felt good and thought that maybe altitude wouldn’t be an issue.  In the 3rd mile, I stayed steady on the downhill, saw Marc and headed to Alta Lake – miles 4 and 5.

This ended up being a pretty tough stretch of the course with a deceiving quick uphill, which coincided with my bib ripping from the waist holder I wear. Normally not an issue but the timing chip was on it and I didn’t know where they would have timing mats. Holding it for the next 9 miles was not really a good option.  I figured out a fix but felt like I was working really hard at this stage.  Hmmm…

I was checking my splits and I was doing ok for the 1st 5 miles, but I wasn’t feeling awesome about the fact that I was supposed to reverse split the rest of the course.  As we were in Canada, the mile marker signs were actually kilometer marker signs.  I knew what my 10K time should be, but didn’t really work on conversions (i.e., pace per km as opposed to pace per mile).  So it was kind of hard to gauge my progress. 

I hit 10K and was surprised that I was only a minute or two off of that PR.  Saw CP, who was about 2 mins ahead of me at this stage.  At the halfway mat, I saw that my pace was actually pretty good considering only one major hill remained.  But my splits remained higher than I felt like I was working.  I just chalked it up to the altitude and that mile 4/5 stretch.  Was disappointed, but stayed positive.  Again I would see KM signs but not have any idea what it meant in miles.  But after the last half in NYC, I learned that I should just trust my body and this was not supposed to be my “A” race anyway.

I saw Marc again at around 15K and went on to the final out/back section of the course.  It then occurred to me at the 16K mark that I essentially had a 5K left, which I know is 3.1 miles. Wow, were my miles were underreported by over a half a mile? Well, maybe my calculations are wrong.  Maybe my watch was wrong.  The course was marked wrong. Whatever. Just finish and see how it goes.  I wasn’t feeling great or strong, so again I attributed this to altitude and working too hard in the 1st half of the race.

I’m getting closer to the end.  At every KM marker, I am looking at my mileage count and doing the math. Nah, I couldn’t have been THIS off with my math? Darn you, Excel! But can I hit my original goal time? I am literally confused (not in a medically concerning way or anything, but more from a pacing perspective).  I hit 19K and it seems like it took forever to get to the 20K mark.  But as I got closer, it seemed less and less likely that the course was wrong, especially when I saw the “1K LEFT” sign.

Obviously I am feeling tired in this last bit, but I am doing ok – at least better than I was in March in NYC.  I see CP in the last ¼ mile who yells something about 1:50 as I get to the finish, and see Marc.  I look down at my watch, am pleasantly surprised AND puzzled to see 1:49:03 (I always wait until I am past the photographers before stopping the watch).  Really, a new PR?  Wow.

Official new PR: 1:48:58 – 53 second PR on a much tougher course with altitude, some hills, etc. Stunning outcome considering this wasn’t an “A” race.  Hmmm….

After my last 2 PRs, I have to say that I wasn’t as pleased about them as maybe I should have been because I made some dumb mistakes.  This one felt REALLY, REALLY good.  And CP’s promises about the race being awesome with crowd support, picturesque course and being really well run?  Yep, check on all of the above.  Thanks, CP, and of course, thanks to Marc for being the usual amazing support partner that a gal can hope for.
CP and I post-race. She also ran a great race!
So the ‘kinda’ really references how I don’t know how the ‘means’ and the ‘end’ were impacted by each other because the culprit was the watch not recording due to the many trees and turns (thanks, PuddleThumper). 

P.S. – The ice water in Whistler is REALLY cold. Throw in some ice, and you have life changing ice bath conditions. My legs were numb for 5 minutes post-ice bath. Holy cow.