Cute Baby Pictures

Just some cute pics of my cousin's baby... I thought I would share. Enjoy!

I've never done THAT before!

This weekend I did something I've NEVER done BEFORE..

I went to lake tahoe...
Just me and the husband. No kids. Hallelujah!! Stayed in a villa here.

I know --I know. I've lived within 2 hours of Tahoe my whole life and never been. Tahoe has an interesting mix of hippie vibe & gun toting motorcycle gangs.

Why did I go??? I went to celebrate my 39th birthday.
Exercise included lifting cocktails to my lips while lounging at the resort pool and spa-time.

Ate at a cute kitchy place called Freshies. GREAT tacos and beer.

I plan to be 39 at least 6 more times and hopefully will enjoy each 39th birthday more than the last one.

Racing Urban Cow Half Marathon this upcoming weekend.. I hope to manage a 1:53 but we will see.

When was the last time you did something you've NEVER done before??

Miner's Ravine Race Report

Sometimes I do weird things. For instance. This week my training schedule said run 10-12 miles on Sunday and run 7 on Saturday. But I know myself, I won't run both days unless I absolutely have to. So I signed up for the Miner's Ravine race on Sunday and ran 12 miles on saturday.

I told you . I'm weird/crazy/insane.

Saturday's 12 mile run was supposed to start at 7 a.m. I awoke at 8:30--groggy, sweaty and tired. I did NOT want to run and tried to rationalize skipping my long run. Then I remembered that the Urban Cow half marathon is in 2 weeks and I haven't yet done any long run longer than 8 miles. That got me moving.

At 10:20 I was out the door, Nathan Intensity Waterpack slung over my shoulder.

I would like to say that it was an easy run or that something super interesting happened, but neither of those are true. I ran. I covered the distance at a leisurely pace. I tried to stay in the shade to avoid the heat.

At 12:30 I finished the workout and was back home sitting on the couch drinking some ice cold water mixed with Emergen-C. I contemplated switching to the 5k for the following day. But to get in my mileage for the week, I had to complete the 10k.

I've lived in Roseville almost my whole life and I heard there was a nifty new-ish bike trail in town. Short compared to the Jedidiah Smith American River Bike trail in nearby Sacramento.. But a nice place to ride/run.

The Miner's Ravine 10k was my first exposure to this great little gem.

First things first: Race was nice and small, great booths, easy parking, chip timing. The race started a bit late because the kids 1-mile run took a bit longer than expected. I think a 9 a.m. start is a little late anyway. I would love if the 10k had started at 8 a.m. instead of 9.

First mile was a doozy for me. I definatly felt the 12 mile run from the previous day in my quads as I ran downhill. I tried to stabilize my breathing and relax. I also told myself, "This might hurt but you can get thorugh 6 miles".

The course itself was really beautiful, even if it was exposed. Lots of rolling hills, little shade. This is a perfect place for an early morning or evening run--can't believe I have never been out there.

I finished the race in approx 56 min and considering the 12 mile run the day before and the hilly, exposed, hot course, I am VERY happy with my time. I pushed hard and was determined to finish strong. I passed four people within the last 1/2 mile and kicked a bit at the uphill finish.

31 miles total running for the week and 24 miles riding for the week.

In 2 weeks I do Urban Cow.. I can't wait!

Is “mediocre” ever “Good Enough”?

This post has been rambling around in my head for a few weeks.. Looking over some of my race results this year –I am mortified. No big breakthroughs in speed. No great accomplishments in distance. Nothing exemplary to report. After reviewing my lackluster results, I started to think about other sports I like to do.



I enjoy mountain biking, but I really suck ass. I mean, I am awful. I walk down hills a lot, I fall always, I whine, I always want to stop and take a drink from my camelbak or eat some Shot Blocks.



Although I’ve been road biking longer than mountain biking, I might be even worse at that. My speed never gets better. I’m always a back of-the-pack person; so much so that I’ve stopped riding with other people because it is so humiliating. People who just started to ride 2 months ago are WAY faster than me. I used to blame it on a variety of things—my 650cc wheels;
my lanky body type (long legs/long levers/little power); my dad’s smoking as a kid screwed up my lungs; my missing glute muscle. (yes on my right side one of my muscles is so atrophied it is almost non-existent—this was the reason for so many of my early running injuries).


Finally, there is swimming. Let’s get real. Indian people aren’t good swimmers. We sink. We flail. We suck.

I am trying to accept the fact that I just kind of suck at sports. Unfortunately, for me, I chose to spend my spare time doing physical activities. “For Fun” I convinced myself. Maybe I should have stuck with doing algebra or IT support.
The thing is, people always expect me to be really good at these things. I am 5’2” and 112 lbs. I’m small, somewhat lean and I have long legs for my height. People see me and say, “Wow you must win running races, huh?”
Uh, no.

“You are probably a fast biker since you are so small—you can probably climb like a goat.”
Uh, no. Actually, husband passes me on uphills –and he is peddling with only one leg.

“Wow, look at your shoulders and back muscles! You must be a good swimmer!!!”
Uh, no. Only if I am matched against a kid with swim floaties on. And that kid still might beat me.

So can I accept the fact that I am mediocre and probably always will be so? Will mediocre be “good enough” for my psyche, my ego, my self-esteem?
All of these thoughts came to a pin-point when I ran into someone just starting out in triathlon. He signed up for a half ironman. This is his first triathlon in 30 years.

He is faster than me as a runner, a cyclist, and swimmer.
He is 20 years older than me. “Geezer Division” he called it.
He kept asking me my race times from my last triathlon, my last road races, etc. It was embarrassing for me and he was (I could tell) shocked at my slow paces.
I want to say that I am “OK” with my paces since I am doing sports for the long haul. I want to be the 90 year old woman still running. I plan to simply outlive my competition. Sure they might be faster now, but when we are 80 they will be dead or drooling into their gruel while I am still jogging across finish lines.


That’s the plan anyway.
I’m not sure if it is good enough for me now though. I’m not sure if my ego can make it to age 80.

What's new you ask??? Well let me tell you.

Running, etc have been going really well these days. I ran 4 times last week for a total of 25 miles. Some of the runs were difficult and one felt really great. I'm feeling ready to tackle the Miner's Ravine 10k in two weeks. RugRat#2 might also participate.

What have I been doing other than running? Well......

• I did a little of this...
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• And I've been doing some of this...
  
  
  
  
• Someone gave me six varieties of garlic to try out so I've been eating that almost every evening. I've therefore been doing quite a bit of this...
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Oh and I'm considering purchasing these for no reason other than they look cool.