June 2009 - Running stats

As of this afternoon, I will have run 277 miles in June.

Average miles per day - 9.23
Average miles per day (not including rest days) - 10.65
# of 10-20 mile runs -11
# of 20+ mile runs - 3

This is the third highest monthly mileage I've ever done. This 30-day month's average mileage per day is almost identical to my second highest monthly mileage in a 31-day month (March 2009). I ran my third highest weekly mileage ever last week. This week I'm going for 82-83 miles to tie or beat my highest weekly mileage from Jan 2009.

Next month is hopefully going to be awesome. Bring it, July.

Bars and Gels - Participation Requested

It was fun reading the comments last time I did a 'Participation Requested' post. Let's see how we do today. Please join in and comment (even anonymously if you don't want to be outed as a lurker). C'mon, it's fun being a part of a blog community!

Today's wonderings are centered around the bars/gels variety.

Topic 1 - Do you have a favorite nutrition bar? When do you eat said bar? Why do you like it?

I think my favorite brand of bars are the Luna varieties, with my favorite flavor being Lemon Zest. Right now I'm on a Luna Berry Almond kick, just to have some variety in my life, but Lemon Zest is my all time fave. I like to eat these as my pre-run breakfast these days instead of oatmeal because the oatmeal is too hot for summer running. Luna Bars easily become an afternoon snack if we don't have anything else that sounds better to eat in the house. The Lemon Zest flavor has the right combination of tart/sweet/crunch/creamy that I like. I'm a sucker for citrus flavors, especially tart lemon, so it is an easy choice.

Topic 2 - What brand and flavor of Gel/race food do you like? Do you like it solely for the flavor, or is there more to it concerning calories, electrolytes, etc? Does it have caffeine?

I like Gu brand in the 'Just Plain' and 'Vanilla Bean' flavors. Both of these flavors contain caffeine, which I like...it doesn't bother my tummy. I don't have issues with electrolytes like others do during a race, so I have the luxury of picking a brand based on flavor and size of packaging. Gu brand is great because the packaging is smaller than other brands, so I can cram one(or two) into the little key pocket in my shorts or more than than in my sports bra. I have tried all of the flavors and have decided that the plainer the better for me. If I have to, I'll eat most any flavor except coffee/espresso...gag!

I have trouble with Clif Shots tasting too much like jelly or pudding and the large packaging that doesn't fit in my pocket. PowerGel tastes too chemical-like for me, especially the tangerine and apple flavors...gross, though I've been known to like the vanilla and plain flavors of PowerGel as a Gu back-up if I have to. Hammer stuff tastes weird to me. eGel is too big and very salty.

I like the concept of the gummy candies and more solid race foods like Sport Beans, Luna Moons, and Clif Blocks. There's just something to having to chew to get 100 calories rather than sucking it down quickly. Any sort of extra work during a race seems like it isn't worth it. I guess one of the benefits to the solid foods is that you can decide how much to eat at a time...rationing is good.

Impromptu Summer Supper

Baked salmon with warm roasted cherry tomato salad and quinoa salad.
Tomato salad was from Barefoot Contessa recipe...using yellow and red
cherry tomatoes (the red ones from our plant) and basil from our
plants. The quinoa was my own recipe using veg bouillon, onion,
cucumber, red pepper, lemon, and cilantro. Mmmmm...

Good Week

Things went really well this week compared to last. I got in all of my miles for the week early and I get to take a rest day tomorrow...woohoo! (I bumped my Sunday 3 miler to Friday and it worked out so nicely.) Today I did 21 miles with one Gu at the 2 hour mark. Last week I bonked hard after taking a Gu at the 2 hour mark and then again at 17 miles. It is a relief to know that my body cooperated much better this week.

Next week I plan to go for 80, but we'll see how it goes. Chad's birthday is on Friday and we have plans to go to Dallas to see the Texas Rangers play on the 4th of July. Next week will be a drop down for me, even though I will only get one week at 80 instead of two. I need a week of recovery and am only willing to push it through next week.

Good times on the running front.

111

In response to Jessica...agreed. WTF? It is 111.4 on our back porch right now. (It is somewhat in the sun, granted, but c'mon!) I don't want to step outside.

Shoes and Hobbies - Participation Requested

C'mon, play along...please leave a comment (you can be anonymous if you want to) or blog about it on your own blog and send me the link if I don't already have it.

Running Related - What brand/model shoe do you wear most often on a run? (what are some other models you have tried and/or liked?)

I run in Mizuno Wave Riders.

In the past I have run in Mizuno Precisions and Elixirs, as well as Mizuno Alchemys from time to time. I like New Balance as well, but can't seem to get the right model. I also like the Asics DS Trainer for a lighter shoe for speed.

Non-Running Related - What other hobbies or interests do you have other than running?

I try to be the best cook/baker I can be. I would like to be able to whip something up on a regular basis without a recipe and have it taste like a decent chef made it. Perhaps some cooking classes and lots of practice are in my future.

Others - Gardening, Wine, Animals, Photography (I would love a great camera and to take a class), Music, Shopping (even just window shopping), Travel. I would also like to have more time to learn how to sew - I have a sewing machine and can thread it.

New Breakfast

Sugar-sweetened oatmeal - good riddance! There is a new breakfast in town that has replaced you as my new favorite. Honestly, I never thought I could eat plain oatmeal. It's just so plain. pasty. bland. mushy.

I thought I was doing great to eat the organic apple cinnamon oatmeal made by Central Market. It has 150 cal per pack and an okay amount of protein...especially when you eat two packs at a time for breakfast. Well, I've graduated to the adult oatmeal now. I take one packet of CM organic plain oatmeal (150 cal, but not with the sweeteners, and instead with higher protein and a little higher fat). To make it palatable, I finely slice one whole banana (or a peach) and mix the fruit in.

It is much more filling than the old sugary apple cinnamon oatmeal, and now instead of the added sugar, I get a full serving of real whole fruit instead of the reconstituted apples. The first time I tried it, I also added some slivered almonds for some crunch. It was yummy! I don't miss the sweet stuff at all. really. really...the sweet tooth girl can do without sometimes.

This week's plan for 70

Here is the plan for this week, just so I can put it out there to get it done...

Monday - 10 miles (done), book club with girlfriends

Tuesday - 12 miles am Team Rogue run

Wednesday - 10 miles in morning (Tara...I need to email you :))

Thursday - 14 miles am Team Rogue run

Friday - off, sleep late

Saturday - 22 miles long run

Sunday - 3 miles easy

Running in the mornings is so much easier, btw. The humidity may be bad, but it is not as bad as 100 degree afternoons. Really. I'm running in the mornings now to have people to run with or because of other obligations, but I don't like it.

Last week's running recap

Last week was a rough one for me in my running world. Monday's shortened run led to Tuesday morning run that wiped me out as well. After 7 miles in the morning (4 with Tara, 3 on my own), I had to crash for a nap and ended up sleeping two hours. Wednesday was also met with fatigue and I ran only 4.75 in the afternoon. That sort of minimal mileage doesn't really get you where you need to be when you are trying for a 65 mile week. Mentally and physically, I was not ready to get it done.

Thursday was a 14 miler with the Team (ran w/Renee), but it turned out to be a little short as well. Argh! So, what did I do? I elected to forego my off day and ran 5ish on Friday morning. With my planned 22 on Saturday, I would have only 4ish miles left for Sunday to hit 65 (secretly I wanted to get to 68 or 69 on Sunday). Well, 22 did not happen on Saturday. I totally bonked the run and could only get through 20.5 (sadly, with some walking at the end). I knew it was bad when at 14 I was exhausted.

Why did I bonk? Was it nutrition? no. Was it electrolytes? no. It was complete fatigue. I hardly slept at all on Friday night because of the little terror of a kitten we are watching right now. He kept me up all night long. Argh!

So, I was at 60 for the week yesterday, woke up exhausted, and saw that Tara wasn't going to be able to meet me to run. Whew! I didn't get in the extra miles to boost me to 65 (or 68 or 69). We had a day of resting, eating, and focusing on other stuff besides running. It was just what I needed. So, I have two weeks at 60 in a row and will be going for 70 this week.

Firebird!

I'm so excited that the Google logo today honors the birthday of Igor Stravinsky. When I was a junior in HS, the TMEA All-State flute audition music was an excerpt from L'Oiseau de feu (The Firebird). Unfortunately, I did not qualify in a high enough chair to make the orchestra that got to perform the piece (I made the Symphonic Band). I used to drive around in my car with a recording on audiocassette and play it over and over and over at full volume.

The part that I would listen to most is below in the video of the ballet from the start until about 4:00 in. My particular audition excerpt was one of the flute parts between :55 and 2:00 (Dance of the Firebird). If you listen to it, it is amazing how fast they are playing...that is several flutes, piccolos and clarinets playing multiple parts all layered together. I love how much it sounds like an actual bird.

Below is an excerpt of the Firebird Suite as it was used in Fantasia. The particular selection of my tryout is not in this part. (The scary part 'Infernal Dance' is between 2:30 and 4:45)

Quote via Tara

Tara shared this quote with me this morning, and I thought it fitting to share here. Quote lovers Keith and Katie - Enjoy!

"On that day, we seemed to achieve what generations of politicians and philosophers have failed to do. With nothing more than our running shoes, we accomplished what all the wars and weapons have failed to do. We were, for a few hours anyway, a community of people whose sameness was more important than our differences."

John "The Penguin" Bingham on The New York City Marathon

Slug

Don't tell me it is the heat. I know it is partially to do with the heat, yes, but I have been feeling like a slug. After the somewhat confidence-boosting 20 miler on Saturday (because of the loss of airplane bloating and only needing one GU), I did not recover well. Because I was one of the last folks into Rogue, I didn't do any of the things on my normal routine...no stretching, no pushups, no chai latte, no breakfast. I did get a Jamba Juice all-fruit smoothie on the way home (with whey protein and a couple of other boosts), so some of the benefits of the chai latte and steamed eggs were had. I think I needed an ice bath as well. We ran hills and my right calf flared up the rest of the day. I should have done an ice bath later that afternoon after I refused to do one in the morning. I should have done an ice bath on Sunday morning even, but no.

My legs are tired. I had to cut my run short yesterday afternoon (good thing I got over 7 miles in including the warmup) because my stomach was not feeling right. I'm no longer allowed to have Nature Valley crunchy granola bars before a run. I have eaten them twice and both times my intestines get mad at me...I suspect there is wheat in them, though it is not on the label.

Anyhoo...I need more sleep. I need more water. I need Walgreens to always have my pre-natal vitamins in stock. Today is day two without them. I need to continue to focus on nutrition...that is the only thing that has been good. My weight is down a couple of pounds and I can tell a difference in my appearance (and it is not water weight, either...I've been down a couple of pounds for a week or so with the exception of airline bloating).

Austin, sweet Austin

I love this city. After spending the week in San Diego (which is a beautiful place to visit), I noticed how much my spirits lifted every moment I got to spend in Austin this weekend. Even with the awful oppressing heat that has hit us prematurely this summer, I love living in this town.

Friday - got home in the afternoon, Chad picked me up from the airport and he finished his workday at home with his laptop. awesome! We had our pre-long run breakfast for dinner at Kerbey Lane, and I must say that the quality of the breakfast at the north 183 location is slowly but surely worsening. Our eggs were hardly the quantity that we used to get for "2 eggs" and the home fries are inconsistent. We finished the evening watching Doubt on DVD. It is good if you haven't seen it yet.

Saturday - Apparently I missed the detail of the 5:30 am start rather than the typical 6:00 am. I was a little pissed that the map only went to 16 and that I didn't have my normal peeps to run with...until we got to Mayfield Park. Michael had caught me (thank goodness) and we encountered our teammates coming down from Mt. Bonnell road. They explained that we were supposed to start at 5:30 and that there were 18, 20, and 22 mile options. Hurray! Anyhow, Michael and I ran 20 hilly miles together and despite being the last ones back to Rogue, I had a good run. I did 20 miles on only one GU and managed to sweat off all of the airline bloating. I estimate that I probably lost about 8 pounds of fluid during the run because even after a huge Jamba Juice smoothie and a lot of water, I was still 6 pounds down.

Chad and I spent the rest of the afternoon together. We bought a media stand (FINALLY!!!) for the living room. Our tv has been sitting on a console table against the wall with the cable box and DVR stacked underneath on a shorter lamp table since before we got married. Our new stand will be delivered on June 26th woohoo!!! We also had dinner at Corazon on Saturday night. It was yummy. I got the vegetarian entree with a caipirinha and Chad got the pork dish and a glass of wine.

Sunday - Went for a short run in the morning (3.5 miles). I planned to do 7 miles total yesterday, but wanted to break it up into two chunks because my legs were very very tired. 3.5 was all I could handle and my right calf hurt from all of the hills on Saturday. We lunched at Wahoo's (shocker! :)) and then went to the mall to knock out a couple of shopping errands. We saw Amy Anderson (HI AMY!), who told me that I was the winner of the 'Place Your Bets' thread on the Rogue Forum. I guessed that she would do 77 pushups in a row at this point in her quest to complete the 100 push up challenge. It wasn't that I thought she couldn't do more than that (I thought she'd be in the 80-90 range), but I really like the number 77 and thought it could be a reasonable guess. So, my prize? She is going to make me some cupcakes! Amy is a fabulous baker, so Chad and I are really looking forward to them. YummYummm! I may share them with people that I like :).

For dinner I made veggie hodgepodge out of the veggies that were in the fridge (green beans, sweet onions, mushrooms, red bell peppers, red potatoes, garlic). I tried making home fries the 'best' way by parboiling the potato pieces before putting them in the skillet, which was a new technique for me. They turned out so yummy. After the parboil I had onions simmering in the olive oil before I put the potatoes in, and they turned out so flavorful and crispy on the outside. The other veggies were combined in another large skillet and turned out well, too. I opened a bottle of 'The Hermit Crab' Viognier Marsanne, which turned out to be both delicious and trouble. Chad and I finished the whole bottle, which means I had more than two glasses and went beyond my one glass buzz. I have no business going beyond a glass and a half of wine.

Anyhow...It was a good weekend. I finished 60 miles (including the miles on the sidewalk paths in San Diego). This week I hope to do 65-70, but we'll see. I'm really okay with whatever comes each week as long as I continue to build. There is plenty of time to run lots of miles this summer. My goal this week is to get lots of sleep.

Hungry Cats

I love these stray cats in the Gaslamp area, waiting on breakfast. I
took a walk this morning to find them again and take some pics. There
are two more behind me that you can't see here.

Oh, and a few more things...

• I woke up early every day between 4:40 and 5:15am to get my runs in. My morning peeps would be proud, though that is really only 6:40-7:15am central time.
• I ran 10 Mon, 12 Tues, 8 Wed, and 7 today.
• I really didn't want to run today. My feet hurt from running on concrete and wearing work shoes all week, but I sucked it up and did seven. I had promised myself to do at least four when I set out, so seven is a number I'm proud of.
• Speaking of wearing work shoes and foot pain...I have a big scab/broken blister on the back of my left foot from wearing dress shoes all day. Not fun to run on.
• If I get the notion, I might run a few more miles tonight or tomorrow. I did plan ahead and bring a spare set of clothes in case I needed to split my miles into a 2-a-day because of my work schedule.
• I have done my push-ups and situps while I am here.

This has been the most successful work trip in terms of maintaining my fitness goals. If only my nutrition could be perfect while on the road as well. Eating banquet food and restaurant food can't always be what is best for a runners body, but I have done the best I can.

My SD Runs - snippets and thoughts

• Lost Iguana posters - really, if I found the lost iguana, I don't think I'd want to take it home with me and call the owner...can you imagine what will happen when someone actually finds the missing lizard? It looked pretty big in the picture with its owner. Yikes. Totally not the same as a missing dog poster.
• Restrooms with no stall doors - I'm okay with no doors sometimes, but with a homeless man or a stopped taxi immediately outside, there is no way I'm going in there by myself. No peep show for you.
• Sea gull trash bandits and flocks of pigeons that are not afraid of people...they don't move. Sea gulls here are huge here in Cali, by the way...their beaks were up to my knee level.
• Kitty breakfast - six or seven black and white kitties waiting outside of a restaurant, staring at the door. I'm sure once the door opens, the kitties get their breakfast.
• Park at the Park - Outside of Petco Park where the San Diego Padres play, there is this park immediately past the outfield seats. It opens at dawn, so I ran through there and got an up close look inside the stadium.
• Sculptures - already posted about them
• Lots of boats - entertaining to read the names on them. My favorite one is called 'Third Child'.
• Gaslamp condos - There is a section of condos that reminds me of running in downtown Boston. There are brick sidewalks with walk-up gates and small patios/garden areas.
• Trains and Trolleys - horns and tracks.
• Animal sightings in downtown SD - dogs, cats, bunny, lizard (though not the missing iguana), mouse, sea birds, pigeons, crows, hummingbird.
• Panda Express conference - A whole bunch of Panda Express employees (like close to 200 of them, if not more) were out M,T, and W at 5:30-6:00am walking, running, and doing yoga on the path near the hotel and in the bayside parks. They had a 5k on Wednesday morning and completely clogged the path. :) I didn't mind. It was obvious that not all of them did regular fitness activities, but they all took part in some sort of movement each morning. Awesome.

Dinner with Sam

Last night there was no reception or dinner scheduled for our conference, so I had a chance to have dinner out on my own. My cousin Sam (dad's sister's younger daughter) just walked in her college graduation from San Diego State this May and is in town finishing her last credits this summer. Lucky for me, she was able to drive down for dinner last night and we got some good girl cousin time. She is from the Portland area, so I haven't had too many chances to see her, but the times that we've had to visit have been oh so nice.

I made a reservation for us at the Oceanaire Seafood Room, where Top Chef's Brian Malarkey is the executive chef. We had a lovely dinner with wine and chatted about life and love and what is yet to come for both of us. Poor girl is leaving her awesome life in San Diego and will be going back home to Portland at the end of July. I remember the adjustment to the working world after college to be a bit of a lonely adjustment, but hopefully she'll find something that she likes to do and can work hard for a few years until she can truly adjust to life in the real world and the independence that comes with it. She is pretty aware that things are going to change, so I tried by best to encourage her that it all gets better from here...She'll hit her stride soon enough.

Anyhow, it was a great evening. I tried the pickled herring on the relish tray...nasty...definitely an acquired taste. We split a strawberry field greens salad, then I got the scallop entree with polenta. So good. After dinner we walked around gaslamp and got some frozen yogurt at pinkberry. Ummm...the place is heavenly. I got the plain yogurt, no toppings, and it was simply divine.

Hungry Pups

The scene outside the restaurant at lunch today. Three very friendly
pups on the fence.

Shiner in CA

I thought I blogged about this already, but I guess my 'one beer buzz'
had my brain in a fog and I didn't hit send. The restaurant on Monday
night had a ton of beers on tap, including Shiner Hefeweizen. No
Shiner Bock, though. Anyhow, it was yummy.

Okay G'night

Darling, I very much enjoyed this sunset with you tonight:).

Change of Venue

I'm eating dinner tonight at a cafe in the Gaslamp district, pretty
close to our hotel. House Salad with a glass of Sauvignon Blanc.
Taking some 'Sadie time' away from the group.

Art on the Run

I thought Erin W. might be particularly interested in this, though I don't think if she were here she would just run past them...

On my run yesterday morning, I get to the point in the path along Harbor Drive near the Maritime Museum. There are sculptures of all different kinds of things along the path, and at first I think they are ocean-themed. I saw an octopus and a whale and thought 'how cool' and kept on running. As I continued down the path, I noticed there were more and more sculptures, one after the other. Then I noticed that they all kind of looked like trees. Hmm...even more cool...look at all of these different 'tree' sculptures. Yes, even the octopus and whale looked like trees once I noticed the theme.

Well, today during my run I take the time to stop and read the plaques on them and find out that what I'm seeing is a collection of sculptures called the Urban Trees. There are thirty one sculptures along the waterfront as part of the Public Art program here in San Diego. From the website, it looks like this is the fifth time they have done this...check out this year's sculptures. My favorite is #17, "School of Blue Bottle Noses" by David Boyer. This piece moves, and is quite large in person. I like the way the title describes what you are looking at both literally and figuratively.

Updates from my trip

Flight story - I got an 'A' boarding pass on my Southwest flight, so I was probably the 20th person on the plane. There was a bulkhead window seat available in the front row, so I took it (Woohoo!). As all of the passengers boarded, the middle seat next to me remained open. Behind me, a 2 year old who liked to kick the seat....lovely. I remained positive that it would all turn out okay and that I would have the patience to endure the constant seat pounding or that I would move over and sit in the middle seat. Well, as it turns out, every seat on the plane needed to be filled. The flight attendant whispered loudly about a 'panic anxiety' woman who couldn't find a seat and who needed to be at the front. 'Great', I thought. She's going to freak out sitting next to me and I'm going to have 'thumper' behind me. As it turned out, she sat next to me and her husband sat in the middle seat across the aisle (also in the bulkhead front row). There was a woman with a small child on the other side of the aisle who had her child in the middle seat instead of her lap. She had to put the little one in her lap so that the husband would have a seat.

Like the nice, thoughtful person I stive to be, I volunteered to give up my window seat to let the husband sit next to the 'panic anxiety woman'. I took the middle seat on the other side next to the woman and the child. Was I nice? Yes. Did I get something out of it? You bet! I got rid of 'thumper' behind me and had the constant entertainment of a 15 month old in the seat next to me. The cute smiles and waves were much better than the kicks in the back. And, I looked like a hero for helping the anxious woman sit by her husband.

Hotel details - It's all about the little things. Sometimes the small details make all the difference in the comfort for travelers. The hotel we are staying at has taken care of a few things that make life easier -

• fast elevators
• drawers in the bathroom next to the sink (no products on the counter, yay!)
• pleasant smelling soaps and lotion
• easy to program alarm clock
• accessible power outlets for charging phones/ipods/etc so that I don't have to hunt behind furniture
• Full service Starbucks at the hotel (any decent coffee shop with coffee, tea, and multiple breakfast items other than simply pastries would be fine with me...this one happens to be a Starbucks)
• Towels that are almost as big as the ones we have at home (bath sheet size)
• Full size hair dryer (not the weenie ones attached to the wall)

Running Details - San Diego has proven to be a great city to run in. There is a multi-use path along the bayfront that has bathrooms and water fountains every few miles. The views of the water are beautiful. The path is well patrolled by police and as the hotel desk clerk said 'It's like The Strip in Vegas...there is absolutely no crime because the police patrol it that way.' San Diego has made an effort to keep the area that I'm in safe for pedestrian traffic, even at 5am. Ten miles was easy to obtain this morning. If I had to run more than that, I'd have no trouble finding places to get in more miles. Oh, and the weather is perfect. If you are curious, look up the forecast for the next few days here...I know you'll be jealous.

Lunch Break

On a lounge chair. Feels like 65 degrees, cool, sunny, and perfect in
jeans and a light sweater.

San Diego

I made it! Here is the view from my room. San Diego is so awesome.
More blog posts later.

UP in 3D

Lookin' good in my 3D glasses.

Hot hot hot!

Check out the temp on our back porch. 3rd one down. Dang!

I got somethin'

Edited - For those of you who read the original post, things have been resolved amicably.  :)

Cherry Tomatoes

These are the first two that are ripe. Looking forward to many more!

I got nothin'

Nothing important to say, so I'll do a quick update...

Monday - easy run in the neighborhood.

Tuesday - found out we were doing "Sadie's Run" as the selected route for the workout, so I revamped my route from last time to take out some bad red light street crossings.  I personally found the route very enjoyable...some familiar 'Rogue' roads, some roads that are a little different, lots of turns (though most of them are still on familiar roads), plenty of water, hills at the end, and surprisingly little traffic with the new and improved 14 mile route.  After the run, there was some friendly grumbling amongst the fast black short guys.  What I found funny about their comments started with Kamran first saying that he deserved an 'orienteering badge' or something like that for making it through the trip ticket.  Then, I got inside and Ken said something about the route being short or that they probably make a wrong turn, then kiddingly blamed Kamran for steering them wrong.  According to Ken, they ended up almost a mile shorter than the route was plotted for.  Then Charles blogged about not liking reading a map in the dark with 50 or more turns.  Oh goodness, the black short crew apparently doesn't do well with reading directions and running.  I can't take it personally, because I know that new routes are hard for everyone to do the first or second time.  I also imagine that reading a trip ticket is more difficult in a group of more than three or four people as opposed to only having a few people steering you in the right (or in their case, wrong) direction.  It just kind of sucks to have your name on a route and have people miss turns.  At least everybody's trip ticket was accurate...it was just misreading or being directionally challenged.  (Guys, I don't care if you comment more about it...y'all are goofy.)

Wednesday - easy run with Tara that ended up being too hot and hilly.  It was great, much-needed girl chat.

Thursday - 10 miles starting at Barton Springs - Ran with Renee, who is not only sweet and easy to talk to during a run, but who is also well matched pace-wise with me.  There were times today where she was dragging me up the hills, and I greatly appreciated it.  After the run, there were lots of folks still around stretching and doing push ups.  I did my 'Big 10' girl push up version of the sequence and joined everyone for a soak in Barton Springs.  I guess I don't soak with the group enough...there was a great mix of our group down there in the water.  It was fun watching everyone squirm in the cold water.

So that's about it.  Tomorrow I'm not running at all.  Saturday, I'll do 16 or 18 depending on the route.  Sunday will be an easy run in the morning and then I leave town to go to San Diego.  I think the weather there is going to be awesome running weather.  Woohoo!

Music Change - She's Everything

I accidently hit the 'Wedding Music' playlist on my iPhone/iPod this weekend and ended up listening to this song again.  I remember trying to find the right song for 'our song', and though this was never one of the true contenders (because it is all about her and not him), this song makes me get that misty-eyed feeling almost everytime I hear it.

I know Chad feels like the woman Brad Paisley is singing about is very much like me to him.  When Chad and I first listened to it together, we giggled at how much me and the woman (his wife I assume) have in common (except for the Saturn with a sunroof).  I wish there was an equivalent song that I could claim about Chad.

She's Everything - Brad Paisley

She's a yellow pair of running shoes
A holey pair of jeans
She looks great in cheap sunglasses
She looks great in anything
She's I want a piece of chocolate
Take me to a movie
She's I can't find a thing to wear
Now and then she's moody

She's a Saturn with a sunroof
With her brown hair a-blowin
She's a soft place to land
And a good feeling knowing
She's a warm conversation
That I wouldn't miss for nothing
She's a fighter when she's mad
And she's a lover when she's loving 

And she's everything I ever wanted
And everything I need
I talk about her, I go on and on and on
because she's everything to me

She's a Saturday out on the town
And a church girl on Sunday
She's a cross around her neck
And a cuss word 'cause its Monday
She's a bubble bath and candles
Baby come and kiss me
She's a one glass of wine
And she's feeling kinda tipsy

She's the giver I wish I could be
And the stealer of the covers
She's a picture in my wallet
Of my unborn children's mother
She's the hand that I'm holding
When I'm on my knees and praying
She's the answer to my prayer
And she's the song that I'm playing

And she's everything I ever wanted
And everything I need
I talk about her, I go on and on and on
because she's everything to me

She's the voice I love to hear
Someday when I'm ninety
She's that wooden rocking chair
I want rocking right beside me
Everyday that passes 
I only love her more
Yeah, she's the one 
That I'd lay down my own life for

And she's everything I ever wanted
And everything I need
She's everything to me
Yeah she's everything to me

Everything I ever wanted
And everything I need
She's everything to me
Yeah shes everything to me
everything to me

Mama and Baby

We are so lucky to have a quiet, peaceful yard that the deer like to
visit. We have been watching a new momma deer with her teeny tiny
baby for a few weeks. Today, she decided to nurse in our flower bed
not more than a foot away from the kitties and me inside.