Obsession, You're My Obsession

Bay to Breakers is done. Where do I go from here? Well, the natural progression of things would point to doing a half-marathon, now wouldn't it?

So I'm searching for a race that will fit my novice status. With that in mind, I homed in on one that has 2800 ft of climbing and descending. A little overambitious. (You think??) Alright, I'll lower my expectations.

Again I run into a dilemma: there's the Lake Merced Half-Marathon at the beginning of September that's 3 x a 4.5 mi loop. There's also a Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon that goes around downtown San Jose - a rock and roll half-marathon in mid-October. Which one to do?

Occam's Razor to the rescue in the form of T.

"Do both of them."

----
And, no, I haven't dropped out of aikido. It's just been busy at work so I've gone to once a week for the past three weeks. Next Tuesday, Doran Sensei teaches and that's always a good class. Last time around, I even got picked to be uke (! - v. exciting) for one teeny little technique. Still having a great time throwing, falling and getting up again, and again, and again.

Memorial Day

On the drive in to work this morning, I found myself thinking about my father-in-law. He passed away last August, losing out in the end, to lung cancer.

He was, as one would say, a good egg. He had a great sense of humor and would periodically send us a cartoon strip that he'd cut out of the paper because it had caught his eye. He had his finger on the pulse of politics in the country and the world, read the paper religiously, and was up for a hearty discussion any time of day. He was a dyed-in-the-wool Democrat and his three sons haven't strayed far from their father's influence. He loved to play golf and drive his grandsons around in his golf cart. He loved pasta (and calamari!), a good steak and a pre-dinner drink. He loved his family, and welcomed me whole-heartedly into it.

He had been stationed in Germany at the end of World War II. At the funeral at the military cemetary, a bugler played "Taps" for him, there was a 3-volley salute, and an American flag was folded and presented to M's stepmother. It was the most moving service I have ever been to and I still choke up when I think about it.

I respected him and I loved him. I love the fact that he lives on through his grandsons. I always thought of him on Veterans' Day. Now I'll always think of him on Memorial Day as well.

You Know You're an Assimilated Californian When...

...you make a salad with avocado in it AND your friends think that's perfectly normal.

I had never thought of avocado as something savory before. Growing up, we'd have it mashed up with milk and sugar (and maybe some shaved ice) as a dessert or snack. YUM! Then I got here and was introduced to guacamole. Who knew? Yes, Mexican food did not do so well in Manila.

Today, I found myself making a salad to take along to a picnic and I thought: Why not throw some avocado in there? So I did. It was delicious.

I shall make some more tomorrow.

No Tunes

I headed out the door to run this afternoon and swiftly realized that my iPod was totally dead, no power...NO MUSIC. I didn't want to turn back and pressed on. Time to hang out with the voices in my head again.

Focus on breathing.
...
Don't focus on that weird feeling in my left knee. It will go away.
...
I hope.
...
Breathe in, breathe out. Back straight, shoulders down, don't lift knees too much, watch the arms, don't run into that tree.
...
How long have I been running?
...
Hey, no more pain in my knee. Good deal.
...
OK, first 2.5 mi loop was 26:14. Now for the next one.
...
Ahhhhh, it's nice to have the wind in my back. Let's speed up a bit.
...
Breathe!
...
Turning into the wind now. Time to grit teeth. Think good thoughts. The wind is my friend. Be one with the wind.
...
Here comes the fire station again, only half a mile to go. Quick time check: Eep! If I want to run my second half faster than the first, I have got to pick up the pace right now. Go, go, go, go!
...
Made it. Second loop in 26:06. Hmmm, I thought I had run faster than that.
...
Now for the best part: s-t-r-e-t-c-h. Oh yeah, that's the ticket.

It's always nice to have a little time to talk to myself.

A Good Day

1. Had lunch at Google and an intro to GoogleApps. Food was great, the complex is HUGE, presentation interesting and maybe, just maybe, we'll adopt this at work. I would NOT miss all the spam I currently get.

2. Found new music. Feist. You've got to check her out. Especially '1234' and 'My Moon My Man'.

3. Got my test results back from my annual checkup. Since last year, my cholesterol level has dropped from 214 (not good) to 173 (normal), my triglycerides have dropped from 186 (not good at all) to 69 and all other numbers are well within the normal range. WOOHOO!

Web Surfing Fallout

Weaving through the blogosphere is fun and but all I can think about right now is this one thing:

My lap is really hot.

Damn those dual processors.

Birthday Wishes

P turned three today. THREE! It seems just yesterday we were running a red light at 2:45 am on the way to the hospital.

In the morning:

Me: What do you want for your birthday?
P: A popsicle.

After blowing out the three candles on his chocolate cake:

M: What did you wish for?
P: Chocolate cake.

Wishes granted. If only life was always so simple.