Wild Windy Wednesday November 30, 2006
Posted by vollenda in : General , 3 commentsLast night was crazy windy and cold. My ride home was wild with a headwind the whole way except for a few times when the wind decided to blast me from the side. From ABC news…
NWS meteorologists said north-to-northeast winds were clocked in mountain areas Wednesday at between 30 and 40 miles per hour, gusting at up to 70 mph.
So all of my ride was spent fighting the wind and dodging fallen branches and trees. When I got home, I was tired but relieved. BUT…I changed into my running stuff and headed out anyway. It probably wasn’t the smartest move but I made it thru all 45 min without being hit by anything. Although there were a few big branches lying across my path that hadn’t been there on the way out. Luck was on my side. The run itself was pretty good. The out was into the wind and it really didn’t feel like I was fighting it. The back was hilarious and sometime it felt like there was a big hand picking me up and carrying me away. I was laughing. I had my tunes on the whole time but I didn’t really hear them because of the wind and concentrating on not tripping over debris.
And now for some wild animals of the Arizona variety. Apparently, they have to keep them in little corrals for the protection of the public:
When I asked Morgan what she thought of my theory, this was her response:
Speaking of Giraffes November 29, 2006
Posted by vollenda in : General , 5 commentsThe week so far:
Monday-bike commute-It rained on the way in to work and I was soaked by the time I got there but it wasn’t too bad really. I put my little heater on and my clothes were dry by the time I left for home. The only bad part was that it must have shorted out my NEW headlight and it wouldn’t work on the way home so the ride was a little scary.
Tuesday-bike commute & run-good rides to/from work. My legs were shaky when I left work for some reason but were fine by the time I got home and the run was good (30 min). It was like Christmas yesterday because my new backpack came, a calendar I ordered for my stepmom arrived, I got a rebate back from Symantec, and a $5 Starbucks card from So Cal Edison for going paperless. The backpack is great, a really loud orange and the built in lights are pretty bright and easy to use. And it has lots of pockets which I love.
Wednesday-bike commute & run-the ride in was freezing this morning. Ok, it was 34 so not quite freezing but it was darn cold and I’m still not warmed up. Run tonight of 45 min planned.
So, speaking of giraffes. Hmmm, I guess no one was but they sure can run, huh? When we were at the Living Desert, there was a baby giraffe running around. At one point he pestered the ostriches a little too much and they chased him back to the barn. It was fun to watch the little guy. It must be nice to have such long legs.
Bad To The Bone November 28, 2006
Posted by vollenda in : General , 5 commentsA motorcycle cop pulled up and drove along side me while I was riding to work today. He told me that I needed to obey the laws of the road and I couldn’t make them up as I go along. I wanted to ask him if that only applied to bikes or if he told that to cars as well. But I was good and said “yes sir”. And gave him my sweet, innocent smile. And I was just saying to myself what a beautiful morning it was after yesterday’s rain and then he had to go put a damper on it.
Butterflies Alive November 26, 2006
Posted by vollenda in : General , 3 commentsFloat like a butterfly, sting like a bee. If it’s me, the odds are I’m more like a bee than a butterfly. You know, the girl who may not be a “runner” but still likes to. Like the bee that’s not supposed to be able to fly but still does. Sometimes, I think if you don’t know you’re not supposed to be able to do something, you’re better off. Because then you don’t put any limits on yourself.
Anyway, I was bad, bad, bad last week. It was a fun week but not good at all training wise. I’m okay with that. Mostly. Oh sure, there was the tiniest fraction of guilt. Eh, I’m over it. 
So last week, I only rode my bike 3 days to/from work (because of the Thanksgiving holiday) and I only ran 4 times (Mon, Tues, Wed, Fri). My mom and I flew out to AZ at 6:45 in the morning on Thanksgiving. It actually went very, very smoothly. The day was filled with the 3 Fs - Family, Food, Fun. Friday, I ran in the morning for just a bit to save my energy because, yes, we went shopping. If you only knew how much I hate shopping. On-line stores are the greatest invention EVER! Anyway, after that, we flew home that night.
Saturday was another early morning. One of my friends picked me up at 6 am and we drove out to The Living Desert. Much walking and picture taking ensued. I saw lots of birds but most of them were caged. 
They also had a butterfly exhibit there called Butterflies Alive. I could have spent the whole day in there. It was fun to be in there with them flitting about and landing on me & my camera. Here are some pictures:
And this one I loved but I don’t know the name! Hint, hint, hint. Cough, bbb, cough. 
Yesterday, we spent with my grandfather having a belated Thanksgiving. I didn’t do anything yesterday though I was supposed to. THIS WEEK I will get back on track with training and eating and sleeping. Wish me luck!
Happy Thanksgiving November 22, 2006
Posted by vollenda in : General , 1 comment so farShort and sweet today… Happy Thanksgiving to all my fellow bloggers. Thank you for all your support and encouragement this year. I hope you have a great day and a great weekend. Stay safe if you’re traveling. And enjoy your family time. Oh… and the food.
I am especially thankful that I will get to spend Thanksgiving with both my parents tomorrow. It is a rare treat that I haven’t had since I was 12, some 26 years ago! And I am also thankful that I will get to spend Christmas in California with my sister and her family (which I just found out today) this year. The munchkins have never been to California for Christmas and my sister hasn’t been home for Christmas since 1993! We’ll get to share our hometown traditions with my nieces and newphew and I can’t wait!
It’s In The Mail November 21, 2006
Posted by vollenda in : General , 4 comments
Yesterday I had a ton of mail in my mailbox. Most of it was catalogs - 2 B&H (my fave photo place) and Land’s End. In the Land’s End catalog they have this Cool Blue Backpack that light’s up and I’m going to order it! It comes in a bunch of colors and I just have to decide which one. I like the parrot color (a green) but in the interest of being seen, I should probably choose the flame orange or classic red. Any votes? Anyway, it’s on sale right now for $49.50.
So…running. I ran last night for 30 minutes and it was an okay run. Left knee was bothering me a lot but otherwise it was good. It’s better when I run on the balls of my feet like bbb suggested. After the run, I did some core work for 10 minutes. The plan for the rest of the week is to run tonight and tomorrow, Friday in Arizona, and then a longish run on Sunday. But probably only 90 minutes because this is cut back week for me.
Oh, did you catch that? I’m going to AZ for Thanksgiving! Woo! Uh, huh! 
My mom and I are flying out on Thursday and then flying back on Friday night. The only bummer is that my grandfather isn’t going with us because he doesn’t want to leave his dog, Rocky and we couldn’t talk him out of it. He doesn’t trust leaving him with anyone because he’s a runner. So we will have a late Thanksgiving with him on Sunday. But my sister is going to have a full house that day. Not only are my mom and I going to be there, but also my dad and stepmom, and Jack’s dad and stepmom, and my Aunt Beverly. The house will be bursting! Can’t wait to see the munchkins.
A Run By Any Other Name November 20, 2006
Posted by vollenda in : General , 3 commentsI got my run in on Saturday, all 2 hours and 25 minutes of it. It was a beautiful, clear day in So Cal. I don’t know if you’ve heard but we were having a record breaking heat wave the past few days. Once again, my fellow Alta Lomans were out and about. And so were their dogs and all of them seemed happy to be out. There was a guy on a bike with a golden retriever and he was off the leash. The dog, not the guy. That golden retriever was a blur of gold he was so fast. He ran circles around me. Literally. But he was good and didn’t come near me except once when he stopped and sat a little in front of me with his tongue hanging out and his tail wagging like a propellar. I gave him a pat on the head and scratch behind the ear and then he was off again. He was cute. That’s what I love about dogs. Their exhuberant joy at being outside and playing. I miss having a dog. I used to have Tiny, a chihuahua/terrier mix, who sat in windowsills and loved eating oranges and loved to howl at the sirens but only when no one was looking. She was shy about that. She lived to be 19 and I miss her.
But back to the run…I would say it was a good run. I did do some walking during it. It was a little hot on the out because there wasn’t any shade on the tracks and no wind but the back was cool along a shaded path with a breeze. I had a bottle of gatorade with me but I still had to stop at the park for a restroom break. You would think a street called Victoria Park would have more parks on it but I made it to one in time. For the most part, my legs did fine. My knees complained a little when I had to stop on/off a couple of high curbs. Oh, and I got one blister. Other than that it was all good.
Sunday was a family day for me. I spent most of the day hanging out with my mom and grandpa (which is why I needed to run on Saturday). While at my grandpa’s house, I was looking at one of the photos I printed for my grandmother. It was of one of her roses and it reminded me that I haven’t photographed any roses lately. So I picked up a bunch of roses last night and spent a couple of hours taking pictures. 
Sturm and Drang November 17, 2006
Posted by vollenda in : General , 2 commentsOnce again, I find myself listing towards a life of sturm and drang. Tsk, tsk, tsk. That is not good. I think it’s time I lightened things up a bit with some Friday Funnies. I got this comic from snoopy.com yesterday:
By the way, Lucy wins this race. I also found this one scene of Calvin & Hobbes and it reminded me of being kicked out of class in high school because I couldn’t stop laughing.
Sometimes I laugh so hard, I cry. You may not be able to tell from this blog, but laughing is something I do often. While reading, watching movies, watching my nieces and nephew. I’m told I have a loud laugh (by my nieces). It even scared Morgan when she was a baby and made her cry. But now she’s used to it. One of the reasons I like reading Bolder’s blog and the Kahuna’s blog is because they often make me laugh.
This one explains exactly why I am the person behind the camera and not in front of it!
Anyway…I didn’t run this morning. I woke up in time. I actually got out of bed when the alarm went off. I just didn’t run. I’m not sure if I will run tonight or not. I’m going to play it by ear. I want to run for 2 hours and 20 minutes in the morning and that’s the run I don’t want to miss.
Have a great weekend everyone. I hope you laugh til you cry. Just don’t pee your pants. Not that I’ve ever done that. I swear.
The Good and Not So Good November 16, 2006
Posted by vollenda in : General , 4 commentsThey moved the deadline for the hats up to yesterday instead of after Thanksgiving so I only got 25 (18 girls & 7 boys) done instead of all 36. I was disappointed but the organizers loved them and gave me a really nice thank you note:
Thanks for all the hats you made for the kids less fortunate than us. They are all so beautiful and I know it was alot of work and time. I am sure the kids that receive them will think they are pretty special.
So that made me feel good. I also sold $50 worth of anklets and bracelets today. What does it have to do with triathlon? Nothing really, I’m just trying to focus on what’s good about the week instead of dwelling on what isn’t. Besides, I’m going to use that money to get a pedicure tonight and get an extra leg massage! Woo!
Last night’s run didn’t totally suck. Actually, it really wasn’t bad once I got going. It took me about an hour to get out the door, though, because I was debating with myself whether I wanted to go or should go. But I went. Like bbb says, “don’t think, just do”. Once I started going thru the motions, I decided to go. It was a beautiful, starry night (65 degrees) and a shame to waste it. I picked a flatter route and the only thing that really bothered me was the knees. The left knee hurts at the front of the knee and the right knee hurts at the top of the knee. I bought some glucosamine at the store this morning so I can start taking it again. I ran out around August and never got around to buying more. I think it helps but I just got out of the habit. As you may have guessed, I’m skipping the planned run for tonight but I will do it in the morning instead. I just want to give the knees a little extra rest tonight. They were a little sore on the ride in. But it was a beautiful morning. Check it out. It’s a cam from the airport a half mile or so from work.
Let It Shine November 15, 2006
Posted by vollenda in : General , 8 commentsLast night’s run was the worst ever! 30 minutes of torture. Ok, maybe not that bad. No, it WAS torture. Of all the runs I’ve done this year, I would have to say last nights was the 3rd worst. There was that one run where I tried to do 15 miles after the run in with the car and ended up walking 3 miles home. That was the worst. Then there was the one when I was training for Vineman and my calf went piff and I ended up walking a couple miles home. That was the 2nd worst of the year. Last nights didn’t involve walking but everything, and I mean everything, from the knees down was not loving it. Knees, calves, feet, arches. All of it was hurting. And I have no idea why. The ride home was great. Plenty of energy, legs felt good. I fully expected a great run. I thought it would get better after 10 min or so, but nope. It probably didn’t help that I’d picked a rolly route.
I did have some trouble at work though. My legs were jumpy in the afternoon and I was bouncing my legs up and down (kind of like bouncing a little one on your knees) trying to work out that feeling. I really hate that feeling. You know how sometimes just before you fall asleep your muscles will spasm a little? It’s like that but constant. Usually it only happens at night or when I’m tired. It’s actually pretty rare for me now that I’m running and riding. But it eventually went away yesterday so I don’t think that was it. Hmmm. If every run were like last night’s, I would not be a runner. But they’re not and as a whole they’ve made me happier than the couch potato life. Let’s hope tonight’s 40 min run goes better. Every run should feel like this…
Last night I watched Dancing with the Stars. Holy crap, there was some awesome hip action last night from both guys. I almost swooned. I think I may have to start taking dancing lessons! But you know why it was so much fun to watch? Because it’s fun to see someone try something risky, work hard for it, have fun, and succeed. It’s similar to triathlons that way, you know? It’s inspiring to watch someone shine at whatever it is they are doing. It makes you think you can shine too and go for it. Let it shine!
Speaking of shining, or sunshine…Here’s a picture of Max just because I can’t leave him out! Plus, he’s cute.
And another one becuase I’m an aunt and I want to…
