21st Century Mom

It's Hump Day Miscellany time and of course I have my own Olympic tidbits to share. I've mostly focused on the swimming for obvious reasons.

1). If you are having stroke issues try watching this all underwater version of the spectacular Mens 4 x 100M come from behind relay. Watch how these guys grab water and pull themselves through the pool while rotating their bodies. Beautiful

2). That particular relay was especially exciting for me as my son was the Jason Lezak of his relay team at the All City Meet the summer after his junior year in high school. This meet is second only to the end of summer conference and features about 20 swim teams. He swam anchor and when he went off the block he was close to a body length behind the leader. He had only 50 yards to work with. After his streamline following the 25 yard flip turn he was at the guy's ankles. After that he pulled himself forward, centimeter by centimeter to take the lead in the last 10 feet. Everyone at the meet was on their feet screaming and the boys set a new meet records with that race. It was a glorious day in my son's life and an incredibly proud Mama moment. I have some idea of how Debbie Phelps must feel.

3). There's a guy on the Olympic team named Ben WildmanTobriner. My son raced him for 2 years at the high school regional championships. Although Travis couldn't beat him in an individual event, his relay team took first at least one of those years, possibly both.

4). Am I the only one who gets a little sad every time they play the VISA ads with Morgan Freeman's voice in the background? The poor man fell asleep at the wheel recently and had a bad car accident. He's going to be okay but I'm sure it was terrifying.

5). Worst ad award goes to Hotels.com for that awful thing with the guys blowing bubbles into some man's bath. EW! That's just creepy.

6). Most idiotic commentary goes to the guy who when describing an incident in which Kerry Walsh lost her wedding ring in the sand prompting an all out hunt with metal detectors and an army of volunteers remarked, "I'm not sure what's so special about this ring". Hmmm... maybe it's because it's her wedding ring that her beloved husband gave her and that is inscribed with a special saying. That might make it special, don't you think?

7). I am 100% hetero but I have to admit to loving watching the women's volleyball. Oh those incredible bodies in those teeny little suits! What's not to love? Oh- and the winning. We LOVE the winning!

So to wrap up HDM on a positive note I give you this:

Post race time is all about recovery, right? I expected to be barely able to walk by Tuesday after Vineman but alas, such was not the case. I was sore but not that sore. By Saturday I could no longer live with myself being so sedentary.

1). Saturday - Masters swim (but not for long - I only lasted 40 minutes) and then a 3 mile run. It wasn't all that fast but it felt pretty good.

2). Sunday - off.

3). Monday off - old habits die hard. I'm not on a plan but Monday has been my "off" day for a while so that's just how I roll now. I got my bike back Monday, all clean and shiney and with a new chain - WINNER!

4). Tuesday - ride. Ahhhh.... I was so happy to ride again. I had to go solo because the Good Doctor is very busy but I was so glad to go. I had thought I'd get back in time to go to the 10:30 swim but I was having so much fun I just kept going. Not fast but lovely. The bike felt great for the first hour and then the chain started slipping in the back. I have to call the shop but I think I just need to adjust the cable with the barrel thingie (I know - the thought of me touching the bike when I use that vernacular is terrifying, right? Okay - the barrel adjuster. Feel better?)

5). Today - swam. I managed to gut out 2,000 whole meters. Go me. I'm sure I'll get back to my 2400- 2500 meter workouts any day now.

6). I'm missing my pre-race happiness and glow, though. I have a very nice sparkle when I talk about the race still because I'm still very happy with how I did. See? Happy!

Today's Humpy Day Miscellany is late and sort of random. That's what happens when your head is scrambled by a head cold.

Let's talk about Starbucks for moment.
1). I went in there the other day because I had a gift card. I got some iced tea. It cost $2.40. I'm thinking the margin on that cup of tea was HUGE!

2). The media announced that Starbucks was closing 600 stores which made a lot of sense to me since they have them on opposite corners of the same street. They then asserted that this might mean the end of 12,000 jobs. That would be 20 employees per store. Even accounting for the fact that most them are minimum wage, part time people and that there are probably some inside staff in the mix that seems a bit high to me. If it takes 20 employees per store then it is no small wonder they have to charge so much for stupid cup of iced tea.

3). I purchased Starbucks at something like $14/share. I expect this investment to work out for me because they are closing stores, tuning up operations and selling smoothies. Who doesn't love smoothies? And if people will pay $2.40 for a cup of tea I'm thinking they'll pay a good 6 bucks for a smoothie thereby generating HUGE cash flow.

Bicycle seats -
I went into Sports Basement the other day and looked at seats. Jenny says her hiney never gets sore because she has this cushy, padded Trek seat. Sports Basement didn't have Trek but they did have Terry. The men's seats cost $30 - $40. The women's were more like $120. Terry can bite me. I'll take a men's saddle, thanks.

The incredible shrinking woman -

Who is that tiny little thing standing next to Jenny? I know Jenny is tall but I look like I just flew in from Lilliput!

Click on the pic to read Jenny's Vineman report.

In search of - At IM CdA there was a man who, after the first loop of the swim, just stood in the water shivering. His hands were white and he was obviously going hypothermic. I took my shoes off, waded out to him, took his hand and pulled him out on to the beach. I told him he had to warm up before he got out there again. He said his head was killing him. I didn't quite know what to do but some other people came up and told him he needed to do push ups. He was so cold he couldn't manage that but he did some jumping up and down and then push ups and then he ran up the beach and back and did some more push ups. His hands were pink, he felt better and off he went. I noted his number off his cap and later looked him up. If anyone knows a Brad Williams from Sacramento please tell him I said WAY TO GUT IT OUT! He finished the race in 14:54 which is very respectable when you haven't suffered hypothermia and the stuff of legend when you have.

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 8:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)

Let's talk about lubrication, shall we? No no - THAT kind. I mean the kind you use in a race. I have been riding my bike almost exclusively in my tri shorts which I much prefer to biking shorts but I have not been using any sort of anything in them. I'm thinking that 56 miles of racing that way is not going to feel good so I'm wondering what is YOUR preferred product:

Please feel free to fill up the comments with anything you have to say about lubing up for the ride.

In other news - we had an evening with Michellie Jones the other night. Here's proof:

I know - I'm short.

1). She passed around her Silver Medal from the 2000 Olympics and I rubbed it on my cheek hoping for some race magic. We'll see if it worked on Sunday

2). She fuels up on a cheeseburger and fries the night before a race. It's her favorite meal

3). She could barely walk after her first HIM or after Florida.

4). She won her first ever IM (Florida) even though she was over 30.

5). She's sponsored for another 2 years which means she will be a sponsored athlete in her early 40s

6). Let's hear it for the 'old' broads who are out there still dominating the field!

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 12:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (22)

I've been listing stuff to include in this edition of Hump Day Miscellany and the list seemd long but as with all things in the life of a triathlete that seem long and hard I will forge on (most all things that seem long and hard, that is).

1). CdA - my sherpa experience in Coeur d'Alene was really fun but also really emblematic of my life. I hung out almost exclusively with my friend DPR who is also a chum. She has a sushi hat and we just need to get her one of these and get her out for Sharkfest and the circle will be complete. But I digress. The emblematic part is that I seemed always to be on the fringe of things. I missed the big party Thursday night and I missed the big party on Monday night (with the tequila and the lovin') and I missed seeing some people on the course. I did other stuff like volunteer in sunscreen and as a catcher. So ultimately I felt like I was part of the group but not. And that's very typical for me. I have pictures and stuff but honestly at this point I think you've seen it all. Congrats to all of the finishers - you were awesome!

2). My kitty - what a sad day last Friday was. It actually started Monday evening when I got back from CdA and went to The Good Doctor's house to pick her up (his other nickname has been retired). He looked up at me with her on his lap and said, "you have to have this cat put down". I knew that was true but didn't want to face it. He called Wednesday and asked me if I had done it and I said no so he said he would go with me. I couldn't do it at a time that worked for him until Friday but true to his word he came over after work and he went with me and he rubbed my back while I sobbed over the table as she went to sleep and he hugged me while I cried and he buried her for me. He's a really good man, hence the new name.

3). The Good Doctor has thrown out his back. It happened this weekend. I'm trying really hard not to blame his digging a grave for it since it didn't happen until Sunday and since he went on a hike with a backpack and then went to an outdoor concert and sat on concrete steps but I do tend to blame myself for pretty much everything that's wrong in the world. He has not made that connection. Anyhow, his mountain climbing trip is down the tubes and he can't ride right now. I'm going to miss him.

4). I've started using my own Inifinit formula and I love it. I will have to do a full blown Infinit PSA one of these days - great stuff!

5). Why is it that no matter how much BodyGlide you slather your neck with you end up with a wetsuit hickey? Sharkfest left me with one on my neck and a couple of little ones on my .... what to call it.... 2nd boob area. You know, just to the side of the armpit and above the boob. Ow.

6). I'm a disco queen and you can see my pic on the blog site of Bay Area weather reporter, Roberta Gonzales. Click here and go down to picture #11. That's me on the far left. This was taken at the Disco party that was thrown to comisserate the cancellation of the WS-100 but to celebrate life. It was fun.

7). Blogland met Real Life at BSLT when DPR said hello to Joe Foster and Kim Bruce. I love it when my worlds collide! Kim won a Kona slot in that race, too! Go Kim!

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 4:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (19)

1). I am blogstipated which is to say I'm full of stuff to say, none of which wants to come out.

2). CdA was a blast and I have pictures and I will post them soon. So many have posted about the experience already I feel like I'm not contributing much but then again there is my story of the weekend and it is bound to be a bit different.

3). I've got no sprint in the pool. Seriously. My first 100 warm up today was a 2:22. Much later in the workout we were to swim 4 100s with 1 and 3 being sprint and 2 and 4 being easy. My first sprint was a 2:26. I was winded and exhausted and it really sucked. I just splash and flail instead of sprinting. I guess that gives me something to work on, right?

4). Califorina is on fire. There are literally 100s of wildfires and the air is foul even where I live and there are no fires near me.

5). The Western States 100 Endurance race has been cancelled. Poor Donald. All that training down the tubes. The runner for our club is bereft. I was supposed to run the aid station at mile 85 and that isn't happening either.

6). This means that instead of busting a move from Sharkfest Saturday morning I can go have lunch with FeLady and that's good - for me. It doesn't, however, help Donald at all.

7). My cat isn't going to make it. I am having her put down Friday afternoon. The Good Doctor, my riding partner, took care of her all weekend while I was in CdA and is going to go with me to the vet. He's a good man.

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 8:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (19)

Today's Hump Day Miscellany celebrates - Canada! That's where I went last weekend. Toronto, to be precise. I had no idea it was just a big, bustling city. Frankly I'd rather drive in either San Francisco or Boston than Toronto because they have wicked traffic and tons of people on the street and they have signs that tell you you can't turn right OR left. It was tres difficile as some of the people up there would say. Here are some random things about Canada

1). The squirrels are black. Ebony black. Other than that they act just like squirrels
2). Canadians are VERY aggressive about making left hand turns. Right of way? Yield? No way, eh?
3). They call Dunkin' Donuts Tim Horton and they call donut holes Timbits. We confused the lady at the counter pretty badly.
4). The weather was most unpredictable. One minute sun, the next a wicked thunder storm. It wrecked our play day. I did manage to run 6 miles and swim 920 meters (the pool was 23 meters, eh?)
5). Toronto caters to the homeless and my brother in law's van was broken into by a crack head on a bicycle. Fortunatly the van had a great alarm system and they were sitting outside having coffee but still - it was a bummer.
6). My daughter picked up a map that showed where all the gay people live by having a drawing of rainbow flags flying in that neighborhood. It was adorable.
7) Gay marriage is legal and that's why we went. My niece got married to her girlfriend in what was both a traditional and non-traditional wedding. It was lovely and I cried - several times.
8). I learned on this trip to Canada that my little Pookie, having been accepted to the University of Cape Town, SA got a new tat on her wrist that says "Be Brave". I want one, too.

Photobucket is broken right now but I"ll post pics when it is fixed.

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 4:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (11)

Hump Day Miscellany is taking the day off. And the next 4 days after that. Monday Monday will be also be late because I have a wedding to attend. I'm bound for Canada, eh?

See you all on the flip side!

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 3:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

I got tagged by Juls just in time for episode 2 of the rebirth of Hump Day Miscellany.

Before I get to that, though I need to talk about food.

1). My cat is eating! I have not force fed her for 2 or 3 days now. At first I had to pretty much hold the food up to her mouth but she seems to be getting the hang of it again. I have snatched my kitty from the jaws of death!

2). I never in a million years thought I would say this but I'm looking forward to the end of Vineman training so I don't have to keep eating so much. My whole sense of scale is all thrown off. I finally fell in to a comfortable pattern of eating well and now I am starving all the time. Training tapeworm - die! I did really enjoy that Snickers on top of Diablo, though so there's always that!

Now the tag/meme thingie. There are 5 questions about running and then I need to list some rules and stuff. First the 5 questions:

1. How would you describe your running 10 years ago?
10 years ago I was a novice runner. I think I started running in 1997 and on Nov 30, 1997 I ran my first 5K in 38:23 which is a 12:21 pace - and it hurt. I'm thinking that in 1998 I was in about the same shape and swore I would NEVER do a marathon. I did my first one in 1999 and have done 2 since.

2. What is your best and worst run/race experience?
I think my best was my first marathon because it was such a thrill to finish. I cried like I had just lost my best friend.
I think a lot of runners will say that their best race experience was the first marathon - it is just such a HUGE accomplishment.

My worst was the run at Wildflower last year. I was totally nauseated and walked almost the entire 10K. Very disappointing.

3. Why do you run?
At this point I run because that's what the 3rd leg of a triathlon demands. I started running because I was the single mother of 3 young children and I needed to find a way to get the best exercise in the shortest possible time.

4. What is the best or worst piece of advice you've been given about running?

Best piece of advice is to not make any big changes before a long run (I know - it was Juls best also)

Worst is to drink water until your pee runs clear. Doing that starts you out with depleted electrolytes and puts you at risk for hyponatremia. It is not a good idea.

5. Tell us something surprising about yourself that not many people would know.
For my sophomore and junior years in high school I was a total bad ass of a kid. I wanted to drop out. The one really good thing my mother did during that time (possibly the only good thing) was to refuse to let me drop out of high school. My senior year I made high honors the first semester. I slipped up a bit toward the end of the year but at least I figured out I had some potential and that carried me to a successful adulthood.

Here are the rules:
If YOU have been tagged, you will find your name at the end of this post. You should then, copy the rules (or your version of them), and the set of questions onto your blog post, provide your own answers, and then tag 5 new people.

In this case, all 5 questions are all about RUNNING. How easy is that?

Just to be sure that everyone tagged knows they have been invited to play, go to their blogs and leave them a special comment letting them know, and refer them to your blog for details.

One more thing, once they've answered the questions on their own blog, they should come back to yours to tell you.

I don't usually do this but 5 quesitons is easy and who can't use a little blog fodder once in a while sooooo... I tag
Jeanne, David,
, Katy, DPR, and Donald who can either respond to this thing or write up how he killed Calvin and Hobbes or whatever that story is.

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 11:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)

In honor of my dear friend Momo I bring you the return of Hump Day Miscellany. She said she missed it.

1). I tried the tire levers - really I did. The tire was just too tight even for them

2). McBikey canceled on our afternoon ride today (too much work) and I thought I'd use it as the perfect excuse to blow off my 90 minute ride but I didn't. I pulled up my big girl pants (aka my bike shorts) put on my helmet and got it done. All but 6 minutes and 15 seconds but who's counting?

3). I finally mowed the lawn today. As I live and breath, when I get a job and have an income I'm hiring someone else to do that. I don't care that it only takes about 30 minutes - I don't like doing it and I have a tendency to run over rocks and sticks and it makes a terrible noise and I might lose a foot or something.

4). The cat continues to require force feeding. She has shown some minor interest in eating on her own but not enough to sustain her. If anyone knows how to get a cat to start eating again please let me know!

5). We are having very oogey weather for California. It's actually perfect running weather and it isn't too bad for cycling but it isn't sunny and clear by any means. More of a cloudy and windy sort of thing. I want my summer!

6). My blister is healed but I really did a number on my thumb joint. I hope it heals and I haven't given myself a permanent case of bursitis or arthritis.

7). I have mismatched wheels on my bike - too bad. The wheels still go round and round and that's about all I need right now. That and some more speed!

8). I love Jet Blue - I just changed my flight and it didn't cost me a dime! Love them.

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 3:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)

Have you failed to come up with a costume but really want to dress up? Here are some ideas for a quick DIY costume from one of my favorite crafty sites, ThreadBanger

Yes - I am a closet crafter. I made most of my own clothes in high school. I love that stuff and I love it that there are young people who eschew the seduction of Juicy Coutour and Kate Spade for funk.

Signed - 21stCenturyPerpetualHippie

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 9:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Last week I flew to Illinois to see my first born baby, Humbly Ann and enjoy a wedding reception local to her husband's family. Get that? Her husband. I'm still having a wee bit 'o trouble settling into the notion that my baby is married but I'm getting there, having been a guest in her very grown up home. It doesn't hurt that I love her husband and feel blessed that my child found someone who loves her and takes care of her so well.

The trip was really fun. You can click on any of the pictures below to see a larger image and/or you can watch the slide show at the end.

We drove a few hours to get to very heart of the heartland, passing many a corn field and bean field on the way.

We stayed on the lovely family farm where Humbly Ann's husband grew up and attended a lovely party his parents put on:

We communed with cattle and toured the farm

and saw these GIANT pieces of equipment:

The Combine (which combines harvesting the corn or soy beans and stripping them down to kernels and individual beans) which are then put in GIANT wagons and taken to storage bins or silos:

The Combine has HUGE wheels:

Then we did something really, really fun (it was my only workout for the entire trip). We climbed a 70 ft. grain silo and saw the world from another perspective. It was a hazy, cloudy day but it was still quite a view:

We played with babies, met aunts and uncles and cousins and 2nd cousins, and 2nd cousins once removed and old family friends. Humbly Ann got to see friends from home and Mr. HA saw many friends from high school and college. It was the stuff family and American Pie are made of and it was good - very good.

And as though all of that weren't enough, HA's friend who shares my birthday and occasionally my brain gave me this most fabulous coffee cup to honor my athletic pursuits

This last pic is for you, Momo

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 4:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (15)

1). Do you know how many Hump Day Miscellany posts I dedicated to Wildflower? A lot. Boy was I obsessed - really obsessed.

2). I was mostly obsessed with my ability to do it - I did it.

3). My obsession then turned to humiliation - I barely did it.

4). I'm over it - I did it and that's a good thing and my triathlon performance can only go up from here. Thanks to everyone for your continuous support and encouragement. I needed it, I heard it and it worked.

5). Did you get the implications of #5 - I'm probably going to do Folsom in August but I haven't signed up just yet

6). I bought a wetsuit. I bought a wetsuit even though I promised myself I would stop spending money on triathlon for a little while. I love this wetsuit. And most important of all - I CAN GET IT OFF! So there goes 5 minutes of my T1 time - good riddance. I can also zip it up myself. Love it. You know you are in love when you spend money on something you really shouldn't spend money on. *slurp* - I ♥ triathlon.

7). Next up - The Dread Pirate Rackham rolls in to town on Friday for an overnight stop at Chez 21CM before she heads to the city to hang with her friends. We are going swimming Saturday and then running the Bay to Breakers Sunday

8). I'm in no shape to run a 12K but since when has that ever stopped me?

9). I blew off my 6 mile run this morning but I WILL get it done this evening. I must.

Wildflower - The Movie is about to undergo some expansion. If you have photos from WF that you would like to have included please email them to me.

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 7:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (11)

Unless I am working or actively engaged in conversation about something else, my brain is fully occupied with thoughts of Wildflower. Any conversation I get in to soon turns to that topic.

"Did you hear that they are insulting each other in the Senate over the troop pull out plans?"
"I did and It reminded me of how concerned I am about my lack of training for Wildflower"

Seriously. It's all Wildflower, all the time between my ears. Mostly my thoughts are good, they are just chronic. So I'd like to welcome you to my brain as I cut a virtual peep hole in my skull with this post.

1). Placing - I've obsessed about showing up last in on the list published in my race club's newsletter because that would make me 3 for 3 coming in last. But it won't! In this last newsletter I ended up second to last but with AG/4 next to my name and I just beamed with pride. The pressure not to be last is off!

2). Swim - My masters swim team had no practice on Monday because the coaches and much of the team were recovering from the Pacific Masters Championship meet so I took the opportunity to do a 1000 yard time trial. I didn't swim that hard and managed to cover the distance in 20:55. So if no one kicks my goggles off, if I don't panic in the water, if I don't veer off course IF THE GOOD LORD'S WILLING AND THE CREEK DON'T RISE, I'll be out of the water in 30 minutes. I feel good about that.

3). Tapering - eek! It's taper time - right when I was warming up to train. Drat! I was talking to someone in the locker room at swimming on Monday about my training and saying I was planning on doing a brick this weekend to simulate the actual race and she said, "Oh no - you should be tapering". I explained that I was under trained and she said it didn't matter - I needed to rest. Then she said, "My best Ironman races were when I had been sick for a couple of weeks before". I, of course had to ask how many Ironman races she had done. "26. 10 in Kona". Whoa. If that woman says taper, who am I to argue? I'm tapering. I will still do a little brick this weekend but I won't spend more than 30 minutes on either the bike or the run.

4). Butt munch - Tuesday I spoke with another woman in the locker room (did I mention I'm obsessed??) about how I still hurt from my 45 mile ride on Saturday and how that just isn't right. I said I thought I needed a new seat and she just shook her head. "You don't want to change anything right before a race. You'd hate to have a sore nu nu half way though the event". Nu Nu is my new favorite word. This saddle sore is a drag, though and it isn't normal and I realized finally that I was sore in a particular spot on one side and that it is from dropping my bike (finally got THAT out of the way) and having the pointy part of the saddle jam me in my lower, inside, right buttock. It was such a hard hit that the seat was crooked when I picked up the bike. Owie. I do need a new seat but I will wait because other than that pain I'm okay.

5). Wetsuit - I had a blinding flash of insight the other day that about 1/2 my bad mood about Wildflower had to do with the fact that I still needed to go get fitted for a rental wetsuit and I just didn't want to do it. I have really, really bad body image and the thought of squeezing my pudgy hindquarter into a wetsuit was bumming me out. I figured I would need a large and it would be totally humiliating. It wasn't. I will be wearing a QR Superfull size small. I didn't have much trouble getting in to it (except for the part where I put my foot in the wrong leg to start and got the whole thing twisted around) but I had a hellish time getting it off. If that is representative of how it will be in the race, T1 will be about 22 minutes. I need to work on that or make sure I have a wetsuit stripper lined up.

6). s'mores - The only thing I really like about camping is s'mores and I so wanted to sit around the campfire with my fellow bloggers, toasting marshmallows and squeezing their burnt outer crusts and sweet gooey innards between 2 pieces of chocolate and a couple of graham cracker squares. And then I had a sad realization. The Long Course peeps are not going to want to eat them Friday night and I certainly don't want to eat them Saturday night. Houston, we have a problem. Unless we can all agree to a late Sunday Brunch of s'mores it just isn't going to happen. *sniff sniff* I can be coerced into singing campfire songs, though and having spent 14 summers at Family Camp I know a couple.

7). I can hardly wait to meet you all. I'm not sure how we'll find each other because this place is quite large. I did some looking around and my club camps in the Redondo Vista area as shown on this map (although not in exactly that spot). If you have any idea where you will be please let me know. Maybe we can all agree to end up at the raceAthlete RV city at some point. Regardless of planning or lack thereof I WILL find you - I must.

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 9:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (11)

Looks like I have some questions to answer: (updates!)

1). There was no bias! Really - read the comments again and find the one from my sister. oops- that wasn't a question.

2). The gent in the background at the shower is the husband of the hostess. He and his son did a wonderful job serving tea and pouring champagne. He was the perfect butler!

3).. Line dancing? Oh no, Momo! I am suffering a Brick House injury, Brick House being the world's very best dance song evah!

4). I don't believe there are any incriminating videos of me dancing like a crazy woman but I'm guessing there are more pictures. If any show up I'll share.

5). UPDATE - I forgot the poem. Momo asked about it. You can read it here. Perpare to get a little verklempt.

My hammy is recovering and I got a great workout this evening with the one, the only Amazing Hip! I am in his 'hood so I met up with him at a beautiful track where he was hoofing it at a 6 min/mile pace. I got on the track and was running at about 10:30 pace and when he passed me I asked him how many more repeats he had. I waited for him to finish and then we chatted for a minute and we ran his cool down together which for me ended up being a smokin' pace. My splits were:

Lap 1 - .58 miles 9:20/ mile (I swear while I was running it said 10:39)
Lap 2 - 1 mile - 9:07
Lap 3 - 1 mile - 9:23
Lap 4 - .42 miles - 9:31

I am feeling GOOD! Thanks Jeff - you are the BEST! I couldn't have done it without you. You really are the Amazing Hip.

UPDATE - that is PR! I have never run 3 milles that fast in my life. I can hardly wait for my next 5K so I can PR officially. Jeff, you are my new best friend.

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 7:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)

Minor update - I must have been really tired because I published this entry twice. I 'unpublished' one of them and some comments got 'unpublised' at the same time. I did get your comments, though. Also - I'm updating my little friend's name so it is spelled correctly.

Business travel is always full of interesting *cough cough* experiences. For some people that means drinking too much alcohol and drunk blogging. For me life is not so colorful.

For one thing, I always forget something and for another I get CNN disease and end up watching too much TV. And I never, ever get enough sleep.

Here are some highlights of my last 2 trips.

1). Last time I was on the road was when the Coulter/Edwards fracas was in full bloom. I was watching the news in my hotel room and discovered that what she was referring to was the Isaiah Washington/T R Knight dustup in which Washington hurled the 'f' word in Knight's direction and was ordered to check in to rehab. Oh - you hadn't made that connection? Neither had a single other person on the planet. Anney it really is time to STFU.

2). I shouldn't know stuff like that. I really shouldn't. It's a hotel room disease

3). When I checked in to my room last night I was greeted with a noise that sounded a lot like a cricket coming from the bathroom. It went on and on for a while and it was LOUD. I looked around and there was no bug and it only sounded sort of like a cricket. I called down to the desk to ask if I could be moved and the woman told me they were sold out. Exasperated, exhausted and terrified by visions of being woken up all night by this noise I replied with more cynicsm and anger than I should have, "are you trying to tell me this is the LAST room in this hotel? I just checked in 15 minutes ago." That went over well. She responded, "Ma'am I'll have to talk to my manager and get back to you and HUNG UP! I.was. steamed. The noise stopped and then started again so I pulled the phone into the bathroom, called down again, got a different person and said, "do you hear that?" and held out the phone. She didn't hear it. I explained the situation and she said she'd send someone right up. The engineer came in - 20 seconds after the noise stopped. I described it to him and said, "but I'm pretty sure it's the plumbing - I don't see a bug. But what can I say. There's no noise now". There was nothing he could do so he left. I called down again and asked to be moved and they were really not helpful. I was furious. I was writing a letter to Hilton corporate in my head that went something like, "I'd rather sleep in a muddy gutter than give your chain one more DIME of my business. I WILL NEVER STAY AT A HILTON AGAIN!!" It was 10:30 at night and I was really tired.

I went in the bathroom and lo and behold - who should saunter across the floor swinging his little umbrella and singing, "You've got to accentuate the positive Eliminate the negative Latch on to the affirmative Don't mess with Mister In-Between" but my buddy Jiminy Cricket. Holy crap - I really did have a cricket in my bathroom. I caught it in a glass, called the desk and reported my findings and they offered to send housekeeping up to fetch Jiminy and to comp me a breakfast. I ripped up the letter I had written in my head and hit the skids.

4). I got up at about 5:30 this morning to run and remembered it was too dark so I decided I'd go to the hotel gym. I opened my bag and got out my cool max shirt, my sports bra, my shoes and socks and...and... and..... no shorts. NO SHORTS! I momentarily envisioned myself on the dreadmill in jeans and then decided to stay in my room and do some crunches and stuff. It was a reminder that I need to memorize a few good core routines for just such emergencies. It wasn't much of a workout but it did confirm that I always forget something.

I have a long list of things I wanted to write about but alas it is 11:00 and I am blogging when I have to be dressed and on the way to my client site at 5 AM. Like I said, I never get enough sleep on these trips. I just hope you-know-who doesn't find me. I really need some shut eye.

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 8:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)

My thoughts tend to zing around in my little head like a pinball. I read or see one thing and it reminds me of something else and that thing sparks another thought and zing! zing! zing! my brain is running open loop, hither and yon, never really getting anywhere.

Lately EveryMan has fallen in love with the Mashup as an art form and has been featuring his fave mashups on his blog. Every time I read about one I am reminded of my current fave mashup from The Buena Vista Social Club who released a CD called Rhythms del Mundo where they took the vocals off of popular rock hits and put them to their own Cuban style of music. This video takes it one step further by putting the music to a ballet mashup.

Roman's last mashup also served to remind me of the difference between women and men so I offer a second video that is a little more obvious about it.

And on that note - it's time to go take a shower.

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 7:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)

Now that we've all had a chance to drool over my bike (which btw is worth more than my car!!) let's talk about a subject that sits right on top of my little pea brain every single day - WILDFLOWER! And if you think this is too scrolly a post please drop to the bottom so you can put your 2 cents in the ring on item #7.

1). I am doing the Olympic Distance race and it looks like this:

Let's drill in to those elevation maps now, shall we??

The bike:

Hilly but not too bad - I can train for that on my sexy new bike.

The Run:

Whoa - see those hills on that run? What to do, what to do?

2). Train for Hills. I found a great article compliments of Complete Running Network that gives some really revolutionary advice. If you have a hilly race, train on hills! Love that. Will do!

3). My Wildflower goals. I have developed these goals based on women in my age group who are MOPers like me (that's Middle Of the Pack for those of you not in the know). Going for MOP is actually quite ambitious for me.
Swim: 31 -33 minutes:
Bike: 1:44 - 2:02
Run: 1:05 - 1:25
Total time: 3:29 - 4:10

I know that is a lot of leeway but it's my first Oly and it is relatively hard so that's just how it is.

4). I stayed at the Hyatt La Jolla last weekend while visiting Pookie (go Priceline!) and they have a health club there with a very nice 25 meter pool that is under utilized. I took the opportunity to give myself a 1K time trial. Of course when I looked for a clock I found 2 - one with just a second hand and one with an hour and minute hand, no seconds. I had to do a little interpolating but it was about 23 minutes. Not brilliant and I would SO love to get that time down to 2:10/ 100m but I'm not holding my breath (hahahaha.... swimming... holding my breath...) Today at masters we did monthly 200s where you swim 4 200s descending starting with your time from last months 2nd 200. I about top out at 3:55 /200 yds so there you have it. That 2:10 is a long shot. C'est la vie. My times were 3:58, 3:55, 4:00, 4:02. I don't do 'descending' - just does not happen.

5). I looked up how many people from my race club are registered and the number is ..... drumroll..... 40! We have 40 people going. I'm so excited.

6). I looked up all the bloggers I could think of who were going and the number is.... drumroll....12 that I know of! But here's the really good news - REGISTRATION IS STILL OPEN! Come on - you KNOW you want to join us.

7). Last but not least - a few people have asked me what I'm going to name my bike. I'm not a 'thing' namer but I thought I'd open it up to my readers. What do YOU think I should name my bike. It is a Specialized Ruby if that helps. I already thought of Ruby Begonia but I"m too PC to really enjoy that name.

Oh- And Happy Valentine's Day! I.love.everyone!

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 5:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (12)

Today we get back to hump day miscellany in which we see that my mind is running free form like a small child set loose in Toys R Us. So many things - nowhere to settle!

1). During my half marathon on Sunday my left glute started to seize up a little. It made me happy. Honestly. Running through that sort of pain gives me something to focus on and something to overcome. I can concentrate on good form, relaxing and breathing to the exclusion of my mental chatter that sounds something like this: "where is the freakin' turn around? If we don't turn around soon I'll be in Mexico by the time this race is over. Shouldn't we be getting near the end by now? Where's the mile marker - I'm tired. WHERE IS THE WATER STATION!!??? Are we almost there? huh? huh?" I get like that toward the end of a race. Running through pain helps - it really does.

II). I have a note on my Hump Day notes page that says "stress". Indeed. But I can't remember what I wanted to say about stress except that I noticed I had quite a bit of it the other day. I feel better today.

trois). I'm pretty sure that every single woman who has both given birth and completed an endurance sporting event like a marathon or an Ironman or even a small triathlon has used the birth analogy. It just makes me smile whenever I see it. You know the one. "Racing an xyz is like having a baby. Right after it is over you think 'NEVER AGAIN!' but a few days later you realize you are in love and want another one". You mens have no idea.

Quad). Where is the outrage over the subtext of violence that was so common in the SuperBowl ads? Last year (I think it was last year) the entire country had its collective panties in a twist because we got a micro second shot of Janet Jackson's pastey covered nip. "OH THE CHILDREN!! WHAT ABOUT THE CHILDREN??!!" But endless come-ons for super violent episodes of Criminal Minds and trailers for violent movies? Meh - who cares? What is up with that, people?

Quatorze ('cause when it comes to counting Bono got nothin' up on me!) - My new, new bike will come in this weekend and I won't be able to pick it up because I'm going to visit my little Pookie and that's okay because I'm very excited to see her. We're going to the zoo or the wild animal park. Too much fun!

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 12:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)