Black Monday, 2008 version...

Dear Stock Market,

Thank you for making my craptastic day even crappier. You suck.

Sincerely,
Carolyn

Now that I'm dirt poor, I probably can't even afford to get allergy tested, which I so desperately need to do because I'm suffering terribly. I can't breathe without nose spray, which opens things up too much and makes my throat dry and sore. I spent most of my day shoving Vicks up my nose to moisturize things. I sat at work in a daze most of the time, at first because I didn't feel well, then because of the Great Stock Market Crash of 2008. I don't think I'll even look at my 401k statements for the next year or so. My poor dad, just retired and now everything is going to heck. I'm sure somehow this is ex-Coach Francione's fault...

Speaking of Aggie football, I hope all fans out there cherished the win on Saturday because it will be our last of the season.

Running update: We ran 13 miles on Saturday. I had a great run up until about mile 8-9. Thank you intestinal tract. And I was kickin' it old school with my Garmin Forerunner 201 because I left my 205 at the office. There is a reason Garmin upgraded to the 205... the satellite they used for the 201 is defective. It clocked one of my miles at 5 minutes... You can file that under never. So, I really have no idea exactly how far I ran or my average pace, but it was probably somewhere around 9 minutes until my "issues" started.

Saturday fun after the run: Had a baby shower for my friend Angela on Saturday afternoon. It was alot of fun, and I can actually participate in some of the baby discussions now since I'm an Aunt and am slightly more knowledgeable than I was a couple of years ago. Even so, it is hard to really relate to my friends' pregnancy and parenting tales since I haven't actually experienced it myself. I guess I'll always be the comic relief and the single, childless friend they can hang out with when they need a break. That's okay with me. I enjoy being an "aunt" to all of the kiddos! After the shower and a nap, Angela, her husband Jason, Aimee and Stacy hung out at my house Saturday evening for some pizza and gossip. It was great to catch up with everyone. However, it must have been stressful for my cat Millie, because she was running up and down the stairs all night and meowing for attention, which she apparently wasn't getting enough of because she not only decided to throw up big time on my carpet upstairs, but she also pooped outside of my bedroom door. She has never, ever done that before. I was too tired to be upset and chalked it up to her old age. A trip to the vet is in order soon though. Poor thing, just can't handle not being the center of attention at all times...

Baby watch: My sister in law is due soon, and everyone is very anxious to meet the new little one. Boy or girl? Nobody knows, but you know I'll blog about it ASAP.

Speaking of babies, congrats to Sul Ross and his wife on the arrival of their new daughter! She's precious!

Pictures of the day: My poor little nephew Koen...He got bit by a mosquito! Apparently this was taken after swelling went down, so no telling how bad it was.

Hayden also got a couple of bites, on the ear and knuckle, though it didn't appear he experienced the swelling Koen did.

And, my brother and sister in law tried to introduce the boys to toddler beds. This was only some of the result. My brother put the cribs back together the next night...

Interesting tidbits in the world of celebrity

If you are looking to get knocked up, Nicole Kidman swears that an Austrailian Outback waterfall was the reason she did. Hmmm, sex ed must be different over there in the land down under. Apparently, she went swimming in this water during the making of a film, and seven people working on the film who swam in the same water got pregnant during this time. And here I thought the union of an egg and sperm resulted in pregnancy. I'm so naive.

So, Clay Aiken finally came out of the closet. OMG, he's gay??!! Shocking. Thanks for confirming what the entire world knew like 5 years ago...

Kim Kardashian and Jennifer Love Hewitt both claim to be a size 2. Hmmm, I'm a size 2 on a (very) good day and am definitely not carrying that load of junk in my trunk. Something is amiss here...

I have no idea who this singer is, but gosh darnit, she has the same latex dress I bought for my company Christmas party!

What in the name of all that is holy happened to Val Kilmer??

I concede, Tina Fey looks and sounds much more like Sarah Palin than I do...

David Blaine, "magician," is apparently cheating in his latest stupid, idiodic "stunt". I thought he was going to hang upside down for 60 straight hours, risking blindness and death. Apparently not. Coward. Heck, even I could hang upside down for 60 hours if I took a break every now and then.

Not celebrity related, but hands down the most disgusting mess in an apartment I've ever seen. And, no this is not my house, I swear. How people live like this is just beyond my imagination. Barf.

Running update: 50 minute run followed by 50 minutes on the elliptical on Monday. Rest day yesterday and long, long Board meeting followed by a dinner with Stacy, Aimee and Aimee's son Senator tonight. Fun times! Gonna try to get in a short run/elliptical workout on Thursday, then rest up for 13 miles or so on Saturday morning. Patiently awaiting the cool front!

Picture of the day: See apartment pictures link above...

Beware of the wildlife post-Ike!

Running update: Since Houston Fit runs were cancelled on Saturday, I decided at the last minute to run my 11 miles on Thursday evening. I had an excellent run (8:55 average pace) despite the obstacles of remaining Ike debris. However, two events made this run particularly entertaining:

First, I ate it. For the first time in my running life, I tripped and went flying. Thankfully it was on the sandy trail along Buffalo Bayou. Unfortunately it was on part of the trail right by Memorial Drive, so I'm sure some drivers had quite the chuckle. A badly skinned knee was my only visible injury. Rights of passage, I suppose.

Second, as I was running along Kirby drive, trying to avoid the debris, I almost stepped on what I first thought was a mouse. I stopped and realized it was a baby squirrel. The cutest thing ever! And it had a sibling by the side of the grass. I felt so sorry for these guys. They apparently fell out of the tree during the storm, but were alive, almost a week later. How could that be? Of course I wasn't going to touch them, but my mind was racing about how I could save them. Their mom must have died, I thought. As I stood there looking at them, one let out a little cry. Suddenly, I heard a louder cry and a rustling in the tree above me. I looked up and mamma squirrel was running full speed down a branch right toward me. She was alive! The babies would be saved! Then I realized she was probably going to attack me, so I ran off a little. But my curiousity got the better of me when the mom didn't come down to the ground to get her babies, so I went back to them. The mom then chased after me again, jumping from limb to limb until I out-ran her. Man, those cute little things are mean! Good thing it didn't jump on me, especially since the traffic on Kirby was terribly backed up and tons of people would have witnessed me getting attacked by a squirrel. No doubt that would have ended up on YouTube. My dad found humor in it though, providing me a great laugh during my visit this weekend:

Saturday morning I ran 9 miles (9:01 average pace) prior to the A&M game. I figured I still had some stress to run off. It ends up I was right...

A&M Football: WHY GOD WHY?? WHY DO WE SUCK SO BAD???

The sweet sound of generators in the morning.

Houston is a mess. That's the simplist way to describe it. A big mess of trees everywhere, and I mean everywhere. Long lines at the few open gas stations, lines to even get into a grocery store, more people in Walgreens/CVS stores than I've ever seen at any given time. Restaurants and business are still closed for the most part, and we are under a city-wide curfew. I haven't had a curfew since high school! Its almost like a war zone. And now, the fatigue has set in and the tempers are starting to flare. So many people are still without electricity after almost a week. Galveston and Bolivar Island are pretty much destroyed. Kemah Boardwalk will need to be completely rebuilt. Its hard to believe this storm was at most a very weak Category 3. I am still counting my blessings that I had very little damage and still have electricity. However, my cable and internet went out at home on Sunday and are still out, which is becoming annoying, but I've got to keep in in perspective. Evening update - Cable and internet are back! Woo-hoo!

A quick shout out to Russ, friend, fellow runner and neighbor, who called to let me know my place was okay after the hurricane, not knowing that I was actually there, "hunkered down." And if I hear "hunkered down" one more time, I'll scream. I hope it makes the list of banned words soon, though apparently there was a hurricane drinking game that involved this phrase.

Running update: I've managed two 60 minute runs in the past couple of days, though with all the dodging of fallen trees and limbs, they felt like trail runs. In addition, I logged 60 minutes on the elliptical on Monday and 55 minutes this morning. If I keep this up, I will eventually burn off the thousands of calories I consumed in junk food and drinks during and after the hurricane.

That's all for now. I'm too tired to find a funny pic to post today. Plus, not so much out there is funny. I did, however, think it was funny that as I was driving to work this morning, at the corner of Montrose and Gray there was a young driver stopped at the light who was hunched over with his eyes closed. I first though he passed out from a night of post-hurricane partying, but he had a dog in the car. Then I thought he fell asleep, because I've been so tired sometimes that I've nodded off a little at stop lights. But this was a non-working stop light to be treated as a stop sign and he was the first car at the light. Not much time to nod off. Therefore, I think he may have been dead! A cop pulled behind him, but I had to get to work so I couldn't stay and gawk. Weird, and definitely not funny if true. I will now always wonder what happened to that guy...

Hurricane Ike Play-by-Play

Prologue: After 25 years, the Houston Hurricane Force Field is going to fail us. I'm not quite sure what we are in for, since the last hurricane I went through was Alicia in 1983, when I was like 2 years old. Okay, not really two, but close. Okay not really close, more like 12 years old, but I digress. I remember four things from Alicia: 1. "hunkering down" in my dad's study, 2. watching one of our trees fall over from the winds then get pushed straight back up from the other side of the storm (no lie), 3. watching a roach cling to the trunk of a tree during the winds (yes, very random, but I hate roaches so I tend to remember all encounters with them), and 4. I think my brother slept through the worst part of the storm. Anyway, I hope I'm ready for this one. I'm sure it will be memorable in some way. HOWEVER, I'm still thinking this thing could pull a Rita and not hit us. You never know...

So, according to the news people, anyone staying on Galveston Island faces "certain death." Wow, that is a very strong statement. Based on what I've seen on the news from reporters reporting from the island, alot of people are going to die, because they are just jacking around down there. That must be one short straw that those lucky reporters pull to get to cover hurricanes in the most dangerous areas.

I'll be updating this blog throughout the hurricane as long as I have electricity...

Friday, 7:00 am: Got an hour run in this morning. Lots of runners out today, including Sul Ross and Robyn, who got in 12 miles this morning. It was a smidge breezy. Not too much traffic. The Shell station on Memorial drive apparently thinks the "x" of masking tape they put on their windows is going to help in some way. Yeah, good luck with that.

Friday, 8:30 am: I decided to go to Kroger for the fun of it. To my dismay, everyone was calm. There was no fighting over the last bag of potato chips, no long lines at the registers, just bizarre civility. I got some milk and cereal, and dirty martini mix. Heck, if I'm going to be riding the storm out, I'm going to do it with a martini in hand! Speaking of potato chips, the only items that Kroger appeared to be in danger of running out of were chips and cookies. Apparently, all food items are fat-free and calorie-free during hurricanes! Woo-hoo!

Friday, 9:20 am: In anticipation of losing electricity, I am making some popcorn and cooking some mini-pizzas (see above statement about everything being calorie- and fat-free). I have sterno and plenty of canned food and snack items. I'm also doing laundry and cleaning. At some point, I'm going to need to bring in stuff off of my patio.

Friday, 11:25 am: I have now completed the two most important tasks on my pre-hurricane to-do list: color my hair and shave my legs. Should Ike be the end of the road for me, at least I won't have grays or stubble. Its getting very cloudy outside and winds are picking up just a bit, maybe enough to blow an empty plastic water bottle down the road. I'm not sure if its the endless news reports or the radar of the storm or an eerie sixth sense, but I think its going to get windier as the day progresses...

Friday, 11:45 am: Crap! Just heard on the news that the bayous in the city are not draining like they should be, and we haven't even seen a drop of rain yet. Not good news. I'm a few blocks from Buffalo Bayou. Glad I got flood insurance. And apparently, the illegals people who work construction who may or may not be here legally and who may or may not speak English didn't get the memo that a hurricane is on the way. They are still working on a construction project a couple of blocks from me. I hear nail guns. Or maybe the looting has begun already and those are real guns I hear. I've got mine loaded and ready for use. Just ask my parents what a good shot I am. In case they play dumb, I totally beat them on the shooting portion of the CHL test. Oh yeah, I beat them on the written exam too.

Friday, 1:30 pm: Bye-bye Galveston. You are toast. I'm starting to get a little anxious here inside the loop. The news people are making this thing sound very, very, very scary. Now I'm worried about tornadoes (3rd floor), broken windows (2nd floor) and flooding (1st floor), in addition to looters. Maybe the safest place for me will be on the stairs. I have a headache, which apparently is a sign of pressure change. My cat Millie seems oblivious, as she has been out on the patio all day. I thought animals were supposed to have some sort of sense about coming danger. Maybe I should call one of the news stations and let them know that everything is going to be okay because my cat is not freaking out. Hey, one of the stations once had a "weather dog" so why not take cues from my cat? I'm going to try to take a nap since there will be no sleeping for me tonight. Before I go, one of the reporters on TV just reported that the wind is stronger now than it was two hours ago. Really?? This is what my soap operas have been shelved for? *sigh* And why is it always the rednecks who decide not to evacuate from mandatory evacuation zones? Since they stay, they end up on the news, worldwide, and end up representing the entire city and state. Fabulous. No wonder Houston wasn't named the city with the prettiest people.

Friday, 2:05 pm: I see the sun! Its peeking out! The storm is over, the storm is over! Wait, what? Oh, apparently we still have 12 more hours to go before the eye hits land. I'm bored.

Friday, 5:40 pm: I'm back from my little nap. Seems not much has changed. The winds are a little more gusty, but still no rain. The same poor reporters are still out by the beach, getting blown around. I could never do that job. I mean, it would totally mess up my hair! Its hilarious that the reporters "hide" behind the vans to shield themselves from the wind while the cameramen have to stand out in the wind to film, and the picture gets all crooked. I've decided that cameramen have one of the most thankless jobs around. And the same redneck idiots are out there too, doing stupid crap to get on TV. I'm hungry so its time for some pizza! I wonder what's on TV tonight. I hope its more wall-to-wall coverage of the storm! Actually, I plan to catch today's episode of All My Children on SoapNet. That's the best channel ever! Might be the last time I see the show for a while. I can now hear the wind gusts through my attic. Sounds like low thunder. I have not experienced a storm of any magnitude really since I bought my home, so I am anticipating that every little sound is going to freak me out. Perhaps valium and beer would make nice side dishes for my pizza.

Friday, 6:00 pm: Okay, its getting windier. And this is just the start of tropical storm force winds. Great. A quick shout out to Jen Shen who sent me this joke in response to my keen observations about rednecks: You know what Texas tornados and Tennessee divorces have in common? Someone's gonna lose a trailer. Pizza is ready, and The Young and the Restless is on. Yes! Its going to be a great couple of hours of soaps!

Friday, 6:50 pm: Winds are picking up. How surprising. What I wasn't expecting was for the utility poles outside my townhome to already be swaying a bit. Those suckers are falling down at some point tonight, guaranteed. Which direction they fall remains to be seen. I really hope they don't fall into my house. That would suck.

Friday, 7:25 pm: ABC 13 just interviewed a bunch of drunk people hanging out on one of the suspension bridges over 59. I'm laughing big time. The giggles have overcome me, most likely my way of releasing some stress. I just talked with my parents, and my poor mom finds nothing funny about what is going on. I think in about 4 hours I'll agree with her. Speaking of laughing uncontrollably, this is the funniest hurricane-related thing I've seen all day. Too bad I didn't see it live.

Friday, 8:20 pm: Power outages are being reported inland, just outside the loop. I'm surprised, as we are still just experiencing tropical storm winds. I don't have a wind gauge, but its really picking up out there. I see paper flyers and other random stuff blowing around like crazy in the street. I hear the wind in my attic and through the fireplace. I've moved all of my important things, like my purses and select pairs of shoes, to the downstairs bedroom, where I will camp out once the power goes out. I'm not sure there is room in the closet for me if a tornado hits, but my purses, shoes and some clothes will be safe!

Friday, 8:40 pm: Big time lightning is starting. Here it comes...

Friday, 9:10 pm: The streetlights just went out and my lights are starting to dim and flicker. Crud. My silly cat still wants to go out on the patio. Apparently, her sense of danger is gone. I agree with my SIL Kristi...its probably senility since she is 16 years old. Poor kitty, no more outside enjoyment for a while.

Friday, 10:00 pm: Carolyn's Dad (stenographer)- Currently talking to Carolyn on the phone. She's okay, still has electricity, but lost cable and internet. Conditions: continuing wind increases and is starting to rain. One way or another, she will provide updates when possible.

Saturday, 6:00 am: Carolyn's Dad - Have Carolyn on the phone and she is fine. So far, she still has electricity and phone service. Has had a few minor leaks around doors and windows, but nothing serious. She is still experencing high winds and very heavy rain.

Saturday, Play-by-Play Conclusion: Wow. That was a crazy ride last night. First, I hope that my fellow Houstonian readers and runners are okay and fared well. Second, thanks to my dad for posting for me when my cable and internet went out, and thanks to my mom for the endless prayers she sent my way. It was very comforting talking with them at various points through the storm.

Don't hate me, but I never lost electricity. I have absolutely no idea how that happened, and I am apparently one of like 20 people in the entire city who has power. And obviously my cable and internet are working again.

The wind and rain were absolutely fierce. Horizontal, whipping rain and sounds I never knew wind could make. I had some minor leaks around doors and windows, and discovered a small leak in my roof that appears to be wind-caused because I am not missing any shingles. I went up in the attic and put a pot under the drip. Too bad that it didn't occur to me during my first trip up there to put on long sleeves and gloves before I went digging around in the insulation.

It was a long night and even after a brief nap this afternoon, I'm still exhausted. I went for a walk to Memorial and Allen Parkway at Waugh. Completely under water. There are broken windows everywhere and the streets are full of various sizes of tree limbs. Downtown is a disaster, and for those who love Brennan's, sorry, but it was completely destroyed by fire overnight. I have already held a moment of silence for their delicious pralines.

And if you are wondering, my cat Millie is just fine, and yes, she is out on the patio...

Hold strong, Houston Force Field!!

Running update: A fabulous 15 miles on Saturday, 9:02 pace. Shocking to me, as I have never run that distance at that average pace, and I felt good and strong through the entire run, and could hold a conversation even at the end without huffing and puffing. Several miles under 9 minutes. The wonderful weather helped tremendously. Everyone seems to have a strong run. I hope it was encouraging to some who have been struggling lately with the heat and humidity. 60 minutes on the elliptical before work this morning. I hope to get a couple of good runs in this week, seeing that we may be getting a hurricane this weekend.

Aggie football: YES! A win! Very exciting to know we won't lose all of our games this season! Maybe now ESPN will move us out of the bottom 10 teams.

A few shout outs: I watched the game at BW3 in the Village with several of my running friends - Ruthie and Todd, Sul Ross, Robyn, Alaina and Greg, Ali, Byron - and we had a blast. Thanks to Ruthie and Todd for hosting an impromptu get together at their house after the game so we could watch the pay per view UFC fights and relax in the hot tub. Very fun night. Still piecing it together, but it I do remember it was fun.

On Sunday, I enjoyed some coffee and a family visit with a long-lost friend of mine, Cindy, who I haven't seen in over 20 years but re-connected with on Facebook. Great to see you Cindy! Funning thing is, Cindy is married to the brother of someone I worked with in Amsterdam several years ago. Small world.

Also, congrats to my friends Stacy and Shubh, who found out they are expecting a boy! Yay! I'm so thrilled for them. Babies, babies everywhere! (Note to self: don't drink the water.)

Thanks to my awesome sister in law, Kristi, for confirming she not only reads my blog, but enjoys it too! (If you have no idea what I'm talking about, you can read the PMS-inspired comment I left in the comment section on one of my early blog posts.)

You be the judge...

My co-workers Donna, Julie and Martha (Whaddup?) insisted that I look like Sarah Palin when I wear my hair up and have on my glasses, as I did today. What say you, faithful reader(s)?



Running update: Thanks to my PMS hissy fit last night, I had beer instead of going for a run. But, I got up and did 90 minutes on the elliptical before work, so I feel better.

Facebook: I finally joined Facebook. What I thought was a site just for teenagers turns out to be a fantastic way to catch up with new and old friends, and/or e-stalk old boyfriends. Its been fun touching base with people again after so many years (in some cases, over 20 years! I know you are thinking that is impossible, that I don't look a day over 20 so how could I have been in HS 20 years ago), and its fun to see so many of my running buddies there too.

God loves Houston and hates Louisiana.

We have once again been spared a hurricane's wrath thanks to the force field that seems to protect our beloved city from hurricanes. Sure, we may get flooded by tropical storms, or even a 30 minute downpour, but we don't have to deal with the wind and flying debris and broken windows and power outages. But I'll admit, I became rather obsessed with tracking Gustav the past few days. Weather fascinates me and I was glued to the internet every time a new update would come out. Kind of like watching the news for days and weeks after 9/11. Couldn't turn away.

Speaking of 9/11, people, it is nine-eleven, not nine-one-one. It drives me INSANE when I hear people call it nine-one-one. Do you refer to the date of Christmas as twelve-two-five, or Halloween as ten-three-one. No, of course not. So why in the world do people refer to 9/11 as nine-one-one?? Its nine-eleven!!!!!! Ok, I feel better.

Running update: 13 miles on Saturday morning (9:20 average, with my last three miles sub-9) and about 60 minutes this morning. Trying to work off all the crap I've eaten in the past 48 hours. Both runs were good. Can definitely tell Fall is not too far away.

Texas A&M football:


Birthdays all around! Happy 50th to Joe, and happy birthday to Kaytha. The three of us had a very fun celebration dinner on Saturday. Also, happy 16th birthday (today) to my adorable but high-maintenance kitty, Millie. She still has spunk!

Picture of the day: My sweet Millie. Happy Birthday!

How do you train for a marathon?

I posted this on Jamoosh's blog, but thought it would be good as a post here as well. There is alot of information out there about the best ways to approach training for a marathon and setting goals. Kathleen has some excellent and useful information on her blog about training times, and these methods have obviously worked great for her because she has rocked out some awesome times lately and only continues to get better, but my perspective on training is a little different. Granted, I'm no expert, but I have to go with what works for me, and you, my readers, need to figure out what works for you. Check out what Jamoosh and Kathleen have to say, because something might strike a chord with you. In the meantime, here's my take:

My primary goal has always been, and will continue, to be healthy on race day and finish the race. I usually determine my other goals the morning of the race, depending on how I feel and what the weather is like. I just knew the morning of the Houston Marathon this year that a sub-4 was possible. I even told my parents at mile 11 that I was "going for it." I had not trained for it, nor was I even expecting it to be a goal, but suddenly after the first few miles, it was.

When I ran Marine Corps a couple of years ago, I just wanted to finish, because I was in DC primarily to visit my friend Angela, and second, to run a marathon while I was there, just to get the experience of a real out-of-town race (Austin doesn't count!) I had no time expectations, for I had heard the course was difficult. But it was a good day weather-wise and I didn't have the "bathroom issues" I was expecting (I won't go into that story), and half way through I felt strong enough to kick it up a notch and ended up with a PR because I made the appropriate adjustments along the course depending on how I felt. It easily could have gone the other way, and I would have adjusted accordingly to that as well.

It just happens that I've had some great marathons, by my standards anyway, but I know the day will come (knock on wood) when one is not so great, and the feeling of accomplishment of just finishing will be reward enough. My only "problem" is that I'm so darn competitive with myself, and I need to learn to keep that in check so my expectations remain reasonable and flexible (ie: I'm not going to PR every time, nor am I probably ever going to qualify for Boston).

My training does not follow a standard proven plan. Again, I run based on how I feel that day, even during my short runs during the week and my long runs on Saturdays. Some Saturdays I feel strong and run an entire run at or near my typical marathon pace. Other days aren't so good, and I walk alot, and that's okay. I always aim for a negative split though, no matter how I'm feeling. I would love to try to run Saturdays at the 10-20 percent slower than marathon pace as is sworn the right method by so many, but I do admittedly find it extremely difficult to slow my pace by that much. My body is not used to that. By running my long runs near my marathon pace or slightly slower, I gain the confidence that come race day, I know what I'm capable of. That is what works for me, maybe not for everyone, but for me.

And, I don't get to run during the week as often as I'd like or as often as the training schedule dictates, especially the hill and speed workouts, but I never have followed the training schedule to a tee anyway and I've so far fared well on marathon day. And, I have never monitored my heart rate and don't plan to. I know by now when I'm pushing it too much, especially in the heat and humidity, just by how I feel.

So, long story short, it is about you and only you and how you feel and what you know you are capable of based on your training and preparation, regardless of what the training manuals and schedules say. Find a plan that works for you and stick with it, and adjust as needed. There is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to training for and running a marathon.

Actually, if I'm really honest with myself, my number one goal is to burn as many calories as possible so I can eat Mexican food and drink martinis after long runs and races.

Laughter really IS the best medicine.

Running update: I had a great run on Saturday. 11 miles at about a 9:22 average pace. My last mile was 8:56 and I threw in about three miles that were around 9:05-9:10. I was pleased. Just a tad cooler that morning, which helped apparently. 50 minutes on the elliptical yesterday morning, then a 50 minute run last night. Planning on hitting the track tonight for speed work. 13 miles is on tap for Saturday, but I may get pulled into the 18 miler that the Chicago marathoners are running. We'll see.

Weekend of laughs: After my run on Saturday, I sped home, cleaned up, and caught a flight to Dallas to visit my friend Jennifer (sprinkles!). She is absolutely hilarious and we spent the entire weekend laughing at everything. Its been too long since I've been brought to flowing tears from laughing so hard. Laughter is good for the soul, no doubt. I came back to Houston refreshed and ready to tackle this short work week. Yes, I said short week. I am taking Thursday and Friday off and plan to not do much at all (which usually translates to I'll be doing work from home, but I'm going to try not to). Maybe a day at the spa is in order. Recession? what recession?

Eye on the tropics: Its looking busy out there. Is this Houston's year for the "big one" ?

Speaking of which, the picture of the day is an actual snapshot of a drawing of the wind "swaths" (whatever those are) that was posted on the National Hurricane Center's website during Edouard. Who draws this stuff?? Did the website master really think this was a good picture to post? Sorry, especially to my dear parents, but this could not go unposted. That's all I have to say. Please keep your comments clean...

Interesting tidbits in the news...

Did these guys really think they'd get away with this hoax?? C'mon, trying to pass off a gorilla suit as Bigfoot's corpse? Amazing the crap that comes out of the backwoods of any state, especially our beloved southern states.
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Speaking of corpses, Mom and Dad, when I die, please prop me up in the corner for my viewing.
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Before I die, maybe I can make it to the Olympics afterall. According to this site, since I'm a Taurus, I'd be good at bull jumping, known as the pole vault now I guess, gymnastics, rythmic gymnastics, ice hockey, and the butterfly stroke in swimming. Let's break down my chances:

Pole vault - Um, relying on a stick to catapult me through the air over a bar? No thanks. Too afraid of heights and impaling self with said pole vault apparatus.

Gymnastics - First of all, I'm about a foot too tall. Second, see above mention about fear of heights and Google "gymnastics disasters".

Rythmic gymnastics - Have you seen these gymnasts? They contort themselves into pretzel shapes while hula-hooping, juggling and twirling around long ribbons. I'd apparently need to be anorexic for this, as well as be double-jointed everywhere. HOWEVER, I am pretty sure I could do a better routine than these two tools.

Ice hockey - Oh lord. Really? Female ice hockey players can beat the crap out of anyone. The only physical fights I've ever been in were with my brother (back before he hit puberty and started lifting weights, after which he could suddenly fight back). I prefer to keep my face as is, and all of my teeth. Plus, I might break a nail.

Butterfly (swimming) - If you caught the lovely segment NBC did on Michael Phelps' freakishly weird body proportions, which obviously make him the best swimmer ever, you'll understand that nobody else ever is going to be as good as swimmer as him, especially in the butterfly. Plus, I think I would need a severe underbite. That seems to help him as well.
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Finally, for those who missed it, the Idiot of the Year goes to the doofus who thought it would be a good idea to "kite-surf" during a hurricane.
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Running update: Oh, was I supposed to be running this week? Oops. Maybe tonight. I did get in an hour on the elliptical last night though.

I forgot how long 15 miles is...

Running update: 15.1 miles on Saturday. Longest distance of the season so far, and the longest I've run since the Houston Marathon in January. It was a good route and I had a pretty decent run, despite some hamstring issues that I plan to get worked on this week. Ran about a 9:38 pace, with some pretty decently-paced miles in the middle. It was soupy outside as usual, and I was pretty sure that some lightning to the east was going to stop us at some point, but it didn't. I even made a bet with myself that we would be stopped and turned around out about mile 7 but that didn't happen, so I had to pay myself $5. Funny how that works.

75 minutes on the elliptical last night while watching the Olympics, which have suddenly become boring now that swimming events are over. I wonder if Phelps can even stand up straight when he has all 8 gold medals around his neck. And I wonder, do all medals weigh the same or is the gold heavier than the silver and bronze? Too bad that is a question I will never know the answer to. And how about the women's marathon? Great race. Too bad for Deena Kastor. All those stories I hear about people breaking their foot because they have a hairline stress fracture somewhere are true, I guess. At least I think that is what happened to her. That's too bad. But what amazes me most is that the winner finished the marathon in the same amount of time it took me to run 15 miles on Saturday. Some people are just born to run fast, crazy fast. My dad kindly noted that all I had to do was cut an hour and a half from my best marathon time, and I too could qualify for the Olympics, and possibly medal. He made it sound so easy.

Twinkies! I took a trip into College Station to visit my family this weekend after my run. My brother, sister in law and the twins were in town. The little twinkies get cuter everytime I see them, though they like to say "no" alot (they are reaching the terrible twos).

Me: Koen, do you love Auntie Kiki (me)?
Koen: NO!
Me: Hayden, come give Auntie Kiki a kiss.
Hayden: NO!

But when they say "no" with their cute little smiles, it still melts my heart, so I didn't take the rejections personally.

It was great to spend some time with the whole family. Very relaxing weekend. So relaxing in fact that I managed to hit my snooze for an hour and a half after my alarm went off from my Saturday nap. Guess I was pretty wiped out from my run. I think my dad was worried that I slipped into a coma. It sure felt like I did.

Rain, rain, go away. My guess is that rain will hamper my running plans for the first part of the week. As much as I love my elliptical, it can get boring unless you have a good book to read. I just finished "A Thousand Splendid Suns" which was great. Now I have to find something funny. Recommendations would be appreciated.

I'm a woman, therefore I am allowed to change my mind.

Running update: I ran 6 yassos last night with my training group. They actually weren't that bad, so disregard my previous post about hating them (the yassos, not my training group). It was quite a workout, but I managed all 6 in under 4 minutes each. I was pleased with my consistency, even as they got tougher to run at the end. Since I forgot my watch, I would not have known my times if it weren't for Joe, who timed each of my yassos. Since I know he lurks here, thanks Joe! :) He knows I'm anal about knowing my exact times. Including warm up and cool down laps, I got in about 6 miles.

If anyone out there still wonders why men and women have some trouble understanding each other and communicating, here's an example:
Joe: Carolyn, watch your form.
Me, defensively: What's wrong with my form?
Joe: Nothing.
Me: Then why did you point it out??

I was self-conscious about my form from then on, and all he was trying to do was encourage me to focus on keeping my form once I started getting tired. Poor Joe, he's friends with a drama queen.

Olympics: I stayed up way past my bedtime only to see our women's gymnastics team blow it. I sort of feel sorry for the one girl that screwed it up for everyone. I'm very tired this morning and am already working on my second cup of coffee. But how about Phelps?! Amazing. I'm thoroughly enjoying the swimming this year. Can't wait for the track stuff to start. That's always fun to watch too. Go USA!

On the same topic, I managed to catch some of the events over the weekend. Lucky me, men's synchronized diving was on. Yes, that's right, men's synchronized diving. I'm not sure there is a less masculine event out there. I was a little disturbed. I initially thought I had accidently flipped to the LOGO channel. What's next? Men's synchronized swimming? (My apologies if I have offended any fans of the men's sychronized diving event.)

Beware of the Antivirus 2009 virus!

Somehow my computer got infected with the "Antivirus 2009" spyware virus thingy. I spent two hours trying to get rid of it. Very tricky little virus, especially for the technological non-gurus like me. I was trying to stay calm, but I really just wanted to throw my computer away and buy a new one. Not a very fiscally responsible choice, so I took deep breaths (and a Xanax) and I finally found some software to download that wiped it out. Thank goodness I have the McAfee security system (she said sarcastically). Great job it did stopping this one. Thanks McAfee. That's two hours of my life I'll never get back.

Property tax protest drama: Speaking of time-consuming nonsense, I have made the bold moves of (1) protesting my property value, and (2) turning down the HCAD's first counter-offer. Now I am preparing for a formal hearing in front of a panel. Lots of number crunching and picture taking and analysis of various properties. I'm actually enjoying the research and preparation, but honestly, I don't have a clue what I am doing. And what the HCAD is using as "comparables" is befuddling. This will be a learning experience more than anything. Does anyone know if flirting with the review panel works? Should I go in wearing my tiara? Maybe I should start crying.

Running update: 12.25 miles on Saturday, including 3 miles of parking garage ramps. The first time up and down was fine, the second time, a little more difficult, and by the time we made it back for the third round, I couldn't really feel my legs much anymore, so I'm not sure if they were hurting or not. This was another run where I felt pretty strong and thought I was flying, but I averaged around 9:36/mile. Still pretty good for the longest run of the season so far. I think the heat and humidity got to me because I was not feeling well at all for the rest of the day on Saturday. Hopped on the elliptical for 70 minutes on Sunday evening, and tonight I got in an easy 5 mile run. Speedwork tomorrow. We are almost half way through the training program for San Antonio. Wow. I know that all this tough training in this weather will pay off in October and November. It better.

Olympic fever: I have it. GO USA! (HAHAHAHAHA to the French who guaranteed a victory in that swimming relay, only to get beaten by the USA by a fingertip. HAHAHAHAHAHA! )

Reveille VIII: Texas A&M has finally found its new mascot. After much debate and consideration of various breeds of dog, they stuck with the Collie. Kudos to the decision-makers. Can't imagine any other type of dog being our mascot. The dog’s official name is “Tapestry Tenacious Juell,” but she goes by Kelly (well, technically, now she goes by Reveille). First of all, what the heck kind of name is Tapestry Tenacious Juell? Second, how in the world do you get "Kelly" out of that? Tapestry? Tenacious? REALLY?? Well, at least her name wasn't "Booger," which was the name of the pit bull that now has five clones, who are owned by a woman who was once accused of stalking and kidnapping a Mormon missionary and making him her sex slave, back in the 70s I think. WTF is wrong with people?

Never too soon to start thinking about Halloween.

Costume planning: The theme this year for Coach Ruthie's Halloween bash is famous movie characters (at least that still better be the theme since I have my costume!). You know, Batman, Joker, Indiana Jones, Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's, the Sex and the City girls, Cinderella, etc. I thought I could maybe pull off Lara Croft, Tomb Raider, but the costume ideas online did nothing for me. Plus, I'd have to get lip injections and some boobs. Then I thought about Julie Roberts' hooker character in Pretty Woman. Yes, what a brilliant idea! I googled Pretty Woman costume ideas, and this gem came up, which is my Picture of the day:
Um, is this a joke? What the eff is that?? I don't know what movie the costume manufacturer was watching, but it was NOT the same Pretty Woman I saw. I can't even describe this, or look at it long enough to try to come up with words. And I'm certainly not dressing up like this. Pretty Woman, out. Staying true to my princess-ness and my love for pink, I have decided to be *** drum roll *** Elle Woods from Legally Blonde. Yes, by the time the party rolls around, I will have perfected the look and the bend, pop up, snap thing she taught the manicure lady. I have the deep pink suit, am making a pill box hat, will have a fabulous blonde wig, and of course, will tote around Bruiser. I'm super excited. Ruthie's parties are always fun - last year was an 80's theme - I fit right in, felt like I was back in high school. Was thrilled to wear shoulder pads again, and I even used half a can of Aqua Net just because that was the normal thing to do back then. So, I probably did contribute to the hole in the ozone layer. Whatever. It was totally awesome!

Random animal fact: I love pandas. I was obsessed with watching the baby panda (Tai Shan) on the Washington DC zoo cam when he was born and growing up in 2005. When I went to DC to run the Marine Corps Marathon in 2006, I insisted on a visit to the zoo to visit the "baby" panda, who was then about 16 months old. Few animals are cuter than pandas. Or so I thought until I read this article. Apparently, pandas poop up to 40 times a day. Pooping that much is not cute. (Note to self: Don't eat bamboo.)

Running update: Well, I've totally wussed out on my running this week. Monday was just way too hot and humid after work, then the big terrible tropical storm rolled through yesterday. Guess I could have gone for a run in the evening, but I instead opted to enjoy a nice dinner with my friend Stacy. However, I did get in 90 minutes on the elliptical, taking a couple breaks to answer and send emails, since I was working from home. Today I was in the office for over 11 hours and was exhausted by the time I left. I plan some elliptical work in the morning and an easy run tomorrow evening.