Archive for March, 2006
The weather here has me confused. We had two days this week of almost 80 degree weather and then it rained last night. This can cause confusion when it comes to wardrobe. I was all ready to bust out the capri pants yesterday, when things took a chillier turn and god knows the weather reports are not to be trusted.
Our winter here in L.A. has been extremely weird. We’ve probably had less than 10 days of rain since September, which although it may sound nice to some, kind of bothers me. Not just because we are in a constant state of drought, but it just doesn’t FEEL like winter. Now, don’t get me wrong-I’m not asking for snow or temperatures below 40 (I am from California, after all), but a few more rainy days to sit at home by a cozy fire wouldn’t be all that bad.
Not much else to report….Lucy and I have been going for lots of walks since her illustrious graduation and I am still trying to figure out my new Polar Rs200sd. The whole heart rate monitor thing is new to me, so naturally, I will force Brian to set it up for me.
Hope everyone is having a nice weekend in whatever weather you happen to be experiencing!
March 26th, 2006
I finally have time today to do my race recap of the LA Marathon. No, I didn’t run, but Brian did! He did great-4:09:46, I was unbelievably proud of him, particularly since this was his first marathon ever. The weather was perfect-I don’t think it ever got much above 60-and the crowds were a lot of fun. Brian said there wasn’t a single spot along the course where there weren’t people cheering. This was my first time as a spectator at a major race, so that was pretty cool too!
We went to the expo on Saturday morning and luckily it wasn’t too crazy. Brian had some problems getting the right bib, but it all got worked out eventually. (His offical bib, as you can see above, said “Rocks”, the name of his intramural basketball team.) We taste-tested some Gatorade, I bought a Polar sd200 (it was a gooood price, and after checking out the new, extremely expensive Garmins, I decided to go with Polar) and we meandered about. Dean Karnazes, the ultra-marathon guy, was there giving a talk, but he was actually a little dull in person, IMHO.
The next morning, we headed downtown at about 5:45. Brian’s training group, the L.A. Roadrunners, had reserved a conference room at a hotel downtown where everyone could leave their stuff and get ready for the race. Plus, that way they could use real bathrooms instead of standing outside in line for the port-a-potties. The perks of being a member! I followed his pace group down to the street where they assembled for a pep talk while I found a choice spot along the road. As it turned out, when the race started I couldn’t spot Brian in the crowd, but I was so glad I was there. Getting to see the wheelchair athletes and the elite runners start was incredibly inspiring.
After the start, I trudged through downtown to meet our friends, Keve and Kerry, who were such a big help that day. They picked me up in downtown and we all drove to Mile 18 to wait and see Brian go by. After about an hour, there he was, looking great! He tossed me his fuel belt, which was empty by then, and we screamed for him and basically acted like freaks. I was so happy to see him looking so good and smiling!
According to Brian, it got harder after that. The first 13 miles of the course were pretty much downhill and the last half was a ton of rolling hills and really exhausting. While he was suffering through this, we got back in the car and scooted back to downtown to find him at the finish line. Because of all the closed roads, we weren’t able to get right to the finish, but we saw him just after he came out of the chute. He was exhausted, obviously, and maybe a little delirious, but doing great overall. I cried a little, but no one was too embarrassed. Then we came home, ate pizza with family and friends and celebrated the rest of the day, when we weren’t asleep (I have no idea why I was so tired, all I did was stand around).
Congratulations, Brian! I am so proud of you!
Scroll down for more pics, or go here to see all my pics from the race!
March 21st, 2006
I was too excited when he was approaching to take a picture, so this was the best I could do.
March 21st, 2006
Waiting at Mile 18….
March 21st, 2006
The starting line for the 21st L.A. Marathon!
March 21st, 2006
A couple of days ago on her blog, Rachel asked what we all remember of our very first race. Mine was only just last year-I did the Kickin’ Cancer 5K last September. It was a really fun day-since it was my first race, I got all excited about the mini-expo they had and loaded Brian down with lots of free crap. We brought Lucy, and she managed to be a well behaved spectator. It was inspiring to see all the cancer survivors and victims that were out and especially the whole families that were there running for a family member. Lots of kids running too, which was fun. It was a well organized, mellow race which is more than I can say for some of the ones I’ve done since. The only glitch that day was that on the road coming back in at the end, there had been some misunderstanding with city permits and the Farmer’s Market had started setting up right on the road we were running! Luckily, they stayed to the sides and out of the way but when I saw the stands from far away, I mistook them for the expo stands and started turning it on, thinking I was at the end. I actually still had a ways to go. I learned that day to always pay attention to mile markers, they don’t lie. I kept pushing to the end and was exhausted but I did it. My only goal for that day was to run the whole thing and having accomplished that, I was thrilled.
My second race was also memorable, but for very different reasons. It was the Santa Clarita 5K , part of the Santa Clarita Marathon. Brian ran a half marathon that day and I set off for the 5K. I started off ok but started getting tired fast from the many overpasses we had to run over. (I also didn’t realize that I was about to get a nasty cold that would stick with me for a week afterwards.) Close to the end of the second mile, I started cruising along, feeling better, when suddenly a man about two or three people in front of me, collapsed. He was shaking violently and turning purple. Luckily someone had a cell phone and called 911 and then, thank goodness, two runners who turned out to be nurses stopped and started CPR. Unfortunately, we were on a fire road behind a car dealership adn not very visible so after I saw the ambulance pass us by, I ran down to the end of the road, climbed on top of a fence and started waving my arms like crazy. They finally saw me, pulled in and eventually took him to the hospital. I ran the rest of the way with the two nurses and came in at about an hour, but I was so proud to cross the finish line with those two people. I still don’t know what happened to that guy. Someone told me that his wife had been waiting for him at the finish line and they had to come find her. It was awful.
On a brighter note, the LA Marathon is this weekend! Brian will be running and I will be there, screaming my lungs out with his family and a couple of our best friends. I’m excited, I’ve never been to a marathon before! I’m hoping that I can get down to the end in time to see the elite runners come through, that would be cool. I’m hoping it won’t be too hard to get a good spot on the sidelines, anyone have any advice? Afterwards, we have big plans for eating and celebrating but I have a feeling that Brian’s plan will also include passing out at some point. We’re going to the expo tomorrow. Alright! More free crap!
March 17th, 2006
Lucy graduated last night and I couldn’t be more proud. Even though she got points off for “slow sits” and many, many points off for not being able to sit and stay for an entire minute, she managed to eke out a passing grade. To celebrate, she sniffed some crotches and ate a pup-peroni. There were a few tense moments when during the “stand and stay” portion of the exam, the judge came over to inspect her and instead of standing still Lucy greeted her with her usual jubilation and ass-wagging. She can’t help it if she’s friendly! We wouldn’t have her any other way. (Well, actually, less crotch-sniffing would be nice, but you can’t have everything. )
Good work, Lucy Dog….a D+ is just as good as an A in this house.
March 16th, 2006
Dear Lucy,
Tonight is the final session of your Beginning Novice Training classes. You will have to take a test to determine whether or not you will “graduate.” Please try and focus.
Yes, I remember that you took beginning training classes as a puppy but, in case you’ve forgotten, that didn’t go so well. You were a bit, how shall I put it…..unruly.
I realize that it is asking a lot of you to sit and stay for entire minutes at a time without a break for crotch-sniffing or prancing, but I think you will see the benefits of your hard work soon enough. For instance, there will probably be less yelling at our house. I took you to the dog park today in an effort to tire you out a bit, but as you have proven time and again, that is basically impossible. You have the energy of a kangaroo and you even sort of look like one. Tonight, let’s see if we can rein it in a bit. Do it for your Dad, who has gone to every single class with you and taken you down to the park to practice every night when he gets home from work. I’ll be there watching, and I really don’t want to see him break down and cry in front of other adults. Good luck, and if you fail, we’ll still love you. And we’ll quite wasting our money on these stupid classes and take you to the dog park more often.
Love,
Mom
March 15th, 2006
It snowed in Southern California this weekend. What that means for me is that the very tippy tops of the mountains I can see from our backyard have some whiteness on them and the temperature hasn’t gotten above 59 degrees which can cause widespread panic down here. And of course, some kids somewhere got out of school on Friday (oh yes, it was on the front page of the paper). Obviously, this picture isn’t the best evidence of this meteorological phenomenon but this is about as close to winter as we get in the city of L.A. Needless to say, it has been good weather for getting cozy in the house and doing some practicing and lots of pretty much nothing.
I’m hoping this will be a productive week. I’m going to try and get back in to going to yoga, since running is not doing it for me at the moment. Hopefully lots of practicing and other stuff will get done. All the animals that live here have to go the vet for various shots. Lucy is no problem, but for the cats I have to schedule the appointments for a time when Brian can be here to help me get them in the travel bag. It is absolutely a two person job, no doubt. The last time I tried to do it by myself, I ended up in tears and cancelling the appointment. Furry little bastards.
March 12th, 2006
I have been back from my fabuloso trip for over a week now, and I think it has taken me about this long to get back to normal. My jetlag was just awful coming back-I passed out cold most nights at 8:30 and would wake up at 4:30 a.m. to a grumpy husband and a very confused dog. I went straight back to work the day after I returned, and then my Mom came into town this weekend. Monday afternoon I finally started putting my life back together and actually practiced the violin which was a minor miracle. I have a recital coming up at the end of April and I am nowhere near where I would like to be in terms of preparation. It’ll happen, eventually.
But, the real story here is that I have not been running. I walked a 5k with my mom and my sister this weekend, which was fun, but it didn’t quite get my juices flowing, so to speak. Amazingly, my lungs are still sort of a mess from the flu that I had a MONTH ago but…that’s not the only force at work here. I’m just not really motivated, maybe I need a little breather. There are other forces at work as well….but I won;t divulge all my secrets right now. 
I am signed up for a 5K that is connected to the LA Marathon on March 19th, so we’ll see how I feel then. Either way, I will be there to cheer Brian on at the marathon! He is going for under 4 hours, and I think he will do it. I will probably cry hysterically and embarass him in front of the other cool-runner types. Too bad, he married me-he knew what he was getting himself into.
March 9th, 2006
Previous Posts
