2005-05-08, 10:39 p.m.
Hooray! Summer is here! This weekend was a lot less lazy than I had planned. I ended up not getting that much sleep either, so I'm more tired than usual this morning.
- Friday I did a 4-miler along Crissy Field--very windy!
- Friday and Saturday evenings were consumed by a cousin's wedding. Friday was the pre-party up at the Twin Peaks house (sit-down dinner for 60 people--wow!) which always includes great wine. Saturday was the banquet at Yank Sing, where people have begun to ask me when it will be my turn. The answer being, not for a while!
- Saturday morning, we did a 5 mile trail run through King's Mountain (technically unincorporated Woodside). The gradients weren't too extreme, so it made for a beautiful run. J saw his first banana slug :)
- Sunday I got a sunburn watching Carnaval in the Mission. I *love* drums.
- Sunday night was errands with J and dinner at Chutney...which I like better than Naan'n'Curry. Although the service is slower, the food tastes better. And the added bonus is that the guy running the place was rather handsome.
- T & I also caught Mad Hot Ballroom, a great documentary about public school kids in NYC who take a 10 week ballroom dancing course. Those Washington Heights kids sure can merengue! I just didn't understand the rhythm of merengue while in the Dominican Republic, but I think a lot of it has to do with growing up in a dancing culture (which most Asian cultures aren't).
- Woke up early to run some errands. Picked up a new hat at Sports Basement since all my other ones are getting rather crusty. I also want new running shoes, but I'm going to go down to Runner's High in Menlo Park so that they can customize the arches for me. I've got pretty low arches so I need more support there. Went to Trader Joe's to pick up some Airborne, since I think I'm coming down with something but don't have time to be sick since I'm leaving for Orlando (for work) tomorrow morning.
- The rest of the day was consumed by a BBQ down in San Carlos and some more errands.
- I haven't been running well lately but hope it is because I'm getting sick. I will need to be more diligent about doing my weekly hill sprints, which I've been neglecting in favor of trail runs. I'd like to do a half marathon by the fall...so I should start looking for one so that I have a solid training goal. I'm hoping to be ready for the 10k trail race in three weeks...so even though I'm traveling, I need to make sure I hit the gym before we go out. I haven't felt like I've had a truly good run since I ran the practice Bay to Breakers 3 weeks ago.
Just got back from 24 hours in NYC. I've been up since 3am PST and my feet smell. At JFK, the woman at the Burger King (there was nothing else to eat at the Delta terminal...and don't get me started about Delta and its passengers) counter asked me, "Which midwestern state do you come from?" PSH!
However, I did have the best toro of my life last night at Tao. Toro aside, the restaurant was waaaaaay too loud: three levels of brick and cement, music pounding. I'm getting old, but I don't care. I don't like loud music...especially at a business dinner...but I'd go back just for some of that buttery melt-in-your-mouth toro...mmm...and the kobe beef shabu shabu was tasty too...perfectly marbled and cooked to taste.
On Saturday, I picked up some Brooks trail running shoes at my favorite store, Sports Basement (we're there at least 3x a month). On Sunday, I ran a 6k trail race (my first ever trail run, not to mention a race). The first half was straight uphil (climbing over 800 ft), and the last half was straight downhill. My times were terrible, but I had a lot of fun. I got a GIANT blister on my big toe. I took some pictures of it, but I think I'll spare you.
Afterwards, T & I decided to paint one of the walls in our living room. Tired of living in a brown and white post-college world, we're embarking on the task of making our home a bit more grown-up. The first step: paint!
I'll post a final pic later after we put the furniture back. Future projects: new couch, painting the pantry, painting a wall in my room, and a magnetic wall (using magnetic paint!)...This is the first time I've lived somewhere this long...with no plans in the near future to leave. I love my apartment, my room, my private bathroom, the location, my parking spot, my dishwasher...I love it! We'll probably be here at least until J finishes school. Hooray to permanence!
Pedialyte! I've been drinking this stuff a lot these days...before my races (better absorption, there's no water sloshing around my tummy, and I don't have to pee as much before the race), after my races (to rehydrate), AND after a night of heavy drinking.
My friend learned this trick in the army to stave off alcohol-related dehydration...but after running my first race with water sloshing around in my stomach, I thought I'd try using it to hydrate myself for running(since races start around 8/9am and I'm always dehydrated when I wake up). Apple flavor is the least disgusting (its a little salty to aid absorption) and I dilute it with water.
I started drinking at noon yesterday and didn't stop until around 10pm. Needless to say, by the time I'd stopped, I was a lot drunker than I thought. Thanks to some Pedialyte at 2am, I was able to make it into work this morning unscathed!
Woke up early this morning to run a practice Bay to Breakers (7.5 miles) with the Dolphin South End Runners through the rain. Ran it in the exact time I had targeted too--I'm quite proud of myself, especially since I was still able to give it a nice kick in the last 1/2 mile. My legs are sore now...one of my toenails hurt...and tomorrow, I'm sure my arms will be too since I spent the greater part of the afternoon putting together a large dresser from Ikea. The hardest part of the run was the Hayes St. hill...the rest of the run was flat or downhill...pretty easy. So...rather than racing a 10k at the end of May as I'd originally planned, I jumped straight from 5ks to a 12k with no real problems. I'm not sure if I'll run the real B2B next weekend...it is quite crowded and costs $35!
I didn't know so much of my family was reading this. Hello family...how long have you been here?
I've been trying to cut high fructose corn syrup out of my diet. It is amazing that HFCS makes its way into everything we eat...even crackers! Luckily, my closest grocery store is Trader Joe's.
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