21st Century Mom » Fun in a tub

My Bike Ride – A Story Mostly in Pictures

21st Century Mom — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 03:06:05 +0000

Anyone who knows me knows that my poor sense of direction is legendary.

Today I went on a ‘group’ ride. Only problem is that I haven’t been riding and I got dropped on a hill and then I just stopped to get some air in my body and I lost the group. Undaunted I carried on and spent some time riding in circles but not before I found another woman from the group who had made the same mistake. Together we ended up having a lovely ride. It went like this (if you click on the pics they get bigger and you can see my typos) And I apologize for the crappy formatting. I have no idea.

Here is a shot of the route. Looks innocent enough and yet – what is that dog leg doing there? Hmm.. let’s explore:

Zooming in a bit we see this:

Digging deeper:

We did not catch them – we didn’t even see them and I have no idea why. We really should have. Oh wait – maybe it’s because we did this:

To round it all up:

jhkjkjhkjhk

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Over the Top

21st Century Mom — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 04:40:10 +0000

I can’t believe I got from last weekend to this weekend without writing about the fabulosity that was those 2 days, a week ago. I think that’s how it goes. I figure I’d better spit it out before I have another weekend to recount because I know you all yearn to live vicariously through my incredible weekends. You know – the ones that start with me sitting at home alone on Friday blogging.

Anyhow – last weekend I did 2 things (in addition to sitting in front of the TV playing on my laptop). On Saturday I went for a long ride with my new cycling BFFs Sharley and Kelby. And to my already existing cycling BFFs no worries – I have room for a legion of BFFs in my life, particularly those who attempt to rescue me from Friday nights at home alone as Vali tried to do last Friday when I turned her down on going out for Margaritas. But I digres….

Our ride took us out to the wilds where the windmills whop, whop, whop their way to lighting our lives only it wasn’t windy and the windmills were still – all of them! We didn’t pre-plan the route and extemporaneously decided to ride the infamous Patterson Pass Rd. I had never done it before but I had heard it was a pretty good climb. If I had had any idea exactly what that meant I would have changed the plan but innocence really is bliss some times.

The climb starts with a ‘false flat’ that is so very false you swear you are going downhill based on what your eyes perceive and yet you are in the granny gear working your ass off and not moving very fast. It was bizarre to the point of being mind altering. The physical experience did not match the visual – it was sort of like one of those pre-race dreams where you are trying really hard but something surreal keeps getting in your way.

After that it just starts climbing up and up and up and then you get to the the top – only you aren’t. But there is a flat spot where we stopped for a minute and when I looked up and saw that we had an even steeper climb ahead of us all I could think of was ‘holy crap balls – that is Dr. Suess land!’ (click here to get to a page of pictures of the real thing)

Dr. Suessian Hills

I stood there, looking up thinking “No can do – I just can’t get up there” and I begged to turn back and I was turned down because back was going to be as hard as forward and I said “I can’t do this” and Sharley thought but didn’t say “and what do you think you’ll do?” and I thought but didn’t say “I’ll be walking my bike up that hill”.

But I did not walk. I rode. I pedaled and pedaled and pedaled and I told myself ‘just turn the cranks 10 more times… oh wait – 10 more… okay fine, 10 more” and then I was at the top. I redlined my heart rate on the way (178) and I got that creepy, hair standing on end feeling on the top of my head but I did it and life got very, very good at that point. Mostly because we got to go downhill but also because of the way I felt. It was a perfect day.

Dr. Suessville Elevation Chart

Sunday I ran the Nike Women’s Half Marathon. I ran it like I will run the marathon at Beach 2 Battleship which is to say at a very slow pace. I practiced that pace 10:30 – 11:00/mile and I came in at 2:29 something which is 11:22/mile but it’s hilly and I forgot to account for that. It wasn’t a PR by time (although not a PW, either) but a year ago if someone had told me I would do a hard, “I can’t do it”, redline ride for 3 and half hours the day before I ran 13.1 really hilly miles I would have told them ‘no way – no can do’. I would have whined and refused to even consider the possibility whereas this year I looked forward to the opportunity to test my legs and I was comfortable with the test results.

And that is why I am over the top giddy with excitement for my race. I can do this. I can push through and I can pace myself and I will finish and it will be another perfect day.

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Hump Day Miscellany – Double Weekend Happiness

21st Century Mom — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 22:28:25 +0000

I’m only calling this Hump Day Miscellany because it’s Wednesday and that’s what Wednesdays are for. I’m not doing miscellany, though – I’m giving you my 2 fabulous weekends (the last 2) in pictures because pictures are worth 1,000 words at least. Maybe more. I might use a few words, too because sometimes you had to be there to ‘get it’.

Sept 19-20

Saturday September 19 – no pictures. I ran 2 hours and felt reasonable (which is HUGE!) and then I went to visit my CASA kid. If you haven’t read up on CASA please do and if you have any time in your life at all (as in your kids are grown and gone or you don’t have any) consider becoming a CASA – it’s a very important organization that does critical work. You really can make a difference in the life of a foster child. Enough said.

So here’s my run – yawn

Sunday was a great, great, day. It was the day my new triathletes had been training for – the Tri for Real. I already wrote about this in great detail so here are the pics and a little video:

I didn’t race – I helped someone on the swim and then I ran up to the water station to cheer. You can see me at about 7:00 in that video but what you really want to do is start watching at about 6:20 so you can see our Tres Amigos de los Speedos who did the whole race ‘old school’ in their Speedos. Words don’t do that justice.

Some of my fabulous Newbies

Aren’t those kits gorgeous? I love our team kit.

After the race it was off to ride Mines Rd. This was a pretty epic ride for me because I was with women in their 30s who are all much more fit and fabulous than I, it was hot, it was windy and we had to do some serious climbing.

My Sunday Ride

My Sunday Ride ( you probably have to click it see what it says)

We took pics at the junction

We finally got back to the park where we started and took cold, outdoor showers, washed and headed off to the Challenge Weekend BBQ a mere 90 minutes late (for 2 hour party – oops). Some certain people were very worried about me although I had spoken on the phone to others. When I got there I did a little speech to congratulate my newbies and then they speeched me back and said all kinds of wonderful things that made me quiver and blush and then they gave me a present:

Reading the card

Do I look surprised! Like I'm going to cry? They gave me a Garmin 310XT and a gift certificate.

My fabulous Newbie Graduates

Sept 25-27

The Challenge Series weekend was hard to beat but I managed to have another one that came quite close. Summary – Bad Girls Book Club goes to the beach. Friday afternoon I drove over to Stinson with a not Bad Girl (definitely a guy) from my club and we rode our bikes from Stinson Beach to Marshall and back and it was spectacular. Friday night was dedicated to hot tubbing, eating, drinking and for the rest of the group, Guitar Hero. I was shot and went to bed.

Saturday I ran for 2 hours including running up the mountain. Then we had a massive brunch, went to a sand sculpture event and then I hiked back up the mountain to take pictures, dragging a couple of bad girls with me. I’m hoping they will forgive me any day now. Saturday night we made a fabulous dinner and then played Guitar Hero. Hysterical. There was hot tubbing, too. Sunday we kayaked and then we just played at the beach. The weather was perfect.

Harold and me in Marshall, CA where the population equals the elevation (15 ft.) plus the speed limit (35)

People like to make sculptures on the beach all the time

We learned how to make sand balls from local artist Zach Pine (http://www.naturesculpture.com/) That is one of his

We made these sand balls

Taking Pictures on the Beach

Saturday Brunch of Cheesy Scrambled Eggs, beans, guacamole, sour cream, salsa, tortillas,bacon, cottage potatoes, fruit salad and mimosas. My hair is wet because I had already run for 2 hours. I really enjoyed that food!

Learning to make sand balls from Zach Pine http://www.naturesculpture.com/

Hiking up the Matt Davis Trail

Kayaking (those are my friends in the boat, not me)

I hiked back up here Saturday aftenoon because I saw this in the morning and just had to have a picture of it. It was further up the trail than I had remembered

I think the reason I skipped Monday Monday is obvious. I’m staying stuck in my weekends as long as I can.

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Hump Day Miscellany – in pictures!

21st Century Mom — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 06:06:54 +0000

I decided to just post pictures of a bunch of stuff

Folsom Olympic Distance Triathlon

The night before the race I went to the Mexican restaurant next door and ordered a chicken burrito, expecting to get a normal burrito. No. I got this ginormous thing (note the burrito is as wide as my laptop and that’s not a netbook) and was pretty stunned. I gutted the thing and by the time I was ready to toss out what was left it looked a bit like something you might find on the side of the road after it got run over several times. ew. Tasty, though!

The swag I got. Another ‘interesting t-shirt and some samples. Not bad. By the end of the race I owned 2 more water bottles, too!

A composite of me across all 3 disciplines. Do I look a tad dead on the run? And the elation coming out of the water says, “yay! no cramp!”

Podium!! AG 3 out of 8. Best podium finish ever!

Sharkfest 09

Is this the shore?? Am I alive?? Oh miracle of miracles!

That dark stuff on my face = sea smutz.

Tour of Napa Valley Century

As we were going up the first big hill the woman behind said, “Is that death or is that bagpipes?” I was too winded to answer but I’m happy to say it was bagpipes. This guy was a really welcomed addition to the ride.

Groovin’ at the first aid station with Dana and Kelley!

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Quick Stuff

21st Century Mom — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 05:09:59 +0000

I guess this is the Thursday edition of Hump Day Miscellany.

Things I love

1). A great day in the wine country going on a bike ride with Juls, Runner Susan and her lovely husband The Chef. We had such a great time! Runner Susan is everything you ever dreamed she was and more – sweet, adorable, entertaining and the hostess with the mostess. The Chef is charming as only a man in a white cycling kit can be.

We had a beautiful ride and then we went back to Susan’s room to shower and go for lunch. The Chef provided glasses of ‘recovery juice’ that looked and tasted remarkably like red wine and was just what I needed. Then The Runners Susan took us to a delicious lunch where we consumed some more wine. Fabulous. After lunch I would rather have gone back to the hotel with the whole gang for a group snuggle nap but I’m pretty sure Julie and I would have fought over Runner Susan and The Chef would have gotten jealous and felt left out so it was better to just hit the road. Not sure I was totally legal for that but we made it to my house where Julie and I proceeded to pass out on different couches.

I wish I could go on vacation with the Susans all the time and that we could take Julie with us.

2). My jet lagged daughter apparently left her wallet on the roof of the car when she got gas and a man picked it up and walked to our house with it. He removed not one cent of the roughly $85 that were inside. I got the call about that while drinking wine and eating delicious food in Napa which made it a doubly lovely day.

3). I found a new cycling route today and it has a big hill – just enough to make me work but not terrible.

Things that make me mad:

I had some of these. I remember thinking “grrrr… I need to put this in HDM” but now I foget what they are. And that’s probably one of the things I like the most.

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Getting out the Vote

21st Century Mom — Fri, 15 May 2009 18:11:35 +0000

No – I’m not talking about the California Propositions. I’m talking about my friends’ most excellent short film. I want her to win! Most of her competition is pretty poor and not doing well at all but she’s up against a short animated thing that is behind in views but ahead in votes. I really, really, really need your support so I’m posting the instructions for voting and both versions of her film. Please – if you have a couple of minutes go vote! She’s very talented and adorable and I want her to win!

TIA

The Youtube rating system is somewhat unclear, so i’m just being really nit picky and sending these easy steps out in case you haven’t rated yet.

How to vote: (first double click on the embedded videos so that you are on the YouTube site. You don’t have access to the rating system, otherwise)

1. Make sure you are logged into YouTube

2. Click on the 5th star in the rating area of the video (just below and to the left)

3. If you don’t have a YouTube account, you have to create one (VERY SIMPLE!) by clicking on ‘Sign up’ in the top right corner of the screen

4. Repeat for every YouTube account (ie, email address) you have!

Now, for those of you who are a little sneaky like me (and who really want to help us win!) there is also a FRENCH VERSION of the film up here:

No one seems to really be watching/voting on these, so it might be a sort of back door way to get our numbers up!

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Tuesday Monday – Because it is

21st Century Mom — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 17:29:37 +0000

No more Monday Monday on Tuesday. That’s just wrong.

So here’s what I did this weekend.

First Climb Diablo to Junction then climb Morgan Terrirtory

** update**

I just re-read this post and realized that if you aren’t a cyclist it sounds like I am a nutjob who speaks in some strange tongue. I’m not going to re-write it. Just an observation.

That second climb looks a lot like the first but the general concensus around here is that it is much harder. I didn’t really know when the climb started because the road winds through a heavily wooded area so you can’t see what’s coming. I found myself thinking “this had better be the climb because if it isn’t I’m in a heap ‘o trouble!” When we got to the very steepest part I had no idea what to expect and my HR was in the stratosphere so I stopped for a minute to let it go down. Then I started up again – going up a steep hill. It’s still easier when you have O2 in the system. Of course that part flattened out a bit just around the corner but the climb was not done. Oh no – there was a ways to go.

I only used the little chain ring for that 1 part and the rest of the time was in the middle chain ring. My climbing was really good and I felt a huge sense of accomplishment for having done this. On the way back a couple of fast guys pulled us slower riders in and then I kind of ran out of gas. When we were just about back – close enough that I got dropped, I flatted. No princes in shining spandex came back to rescue me so I had to change my own tire. I was actually kind of glad of that, too because I did it in a relatively short amount of time and it worked and it’s always nice to know you can save yourself.

Sunday I took a nice recovery ride follwed by a whopping 20 minute run and Monday I did an open water swim and a little run – a whole 30 minutes. My next race is The Relay which is all run. It takes you from Calistoga to Santa Cruz (199 miles) in 36 legs for each 12 person team. That means you run 3 times in about 30 or so hours so I need to practice running some more. I think I’ll skip practicing the sleep deprivation and enduring a lot of stink, though. That is something that needs to be endured real time because there’s just no reasonable way to simulate that experience.

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Tour of Ca – I was This —>

21st Century Mom — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 19:52:53 +0000

I had an invitation to go to Winters to watch the Tour come through and then to have dinner at the somewhat famous BuckHorn Grill. The plan was to go up there with the Good Doctor, bikes in rack, watch the Tour come through, go for a ride around Lake Barryessa and then have our dinner. Sadly, TGD had to go to traffic school and it was pouring rain. Sadder still, I decided not to drive up there and watch the tour come through – big mistake. I did get something out of it, though.

The invitation came from my Ex who is a super nice guy. Since I couldn’t be there he took care of me, though. A week after the tour he delivered this shirt via TDG who is treating his Dad right now.

I thought it was a great shirt and immediately noticed that it had been signed so I took a colser look at the inscription:

Any Time!

Awesome! I sent the Ex an email thanking him for the shirt and telling him how funny I thought his signature was and asking him if he used a laundry pen. This was his reply:

ME?!?! You mean Lance, don’t you? And sorry, we were both pedaling so fast, I couldn’t see what kind of pen he was using.

Let me tell you how it all happened…..It was sleeting a side-winding cold, and very wet rain, as I lay in wait on Railroad Ave for “The Pack”. My frigid knuckles ached as they wrapped around the hand grips of “Old Blue”, my 1969 Schwinn Varsity. Through the sea of umbrella-wielding, wet well-wishers, I glimpsed Armstrong leading “The Pack”.

Of course, I let them pass through downtown Winters. Then, I sloshed down a side street, my blue jeans and converse high tops heavy with rain water, but managed to catch up to the back of the pack as they hit the grade to Monticello Dam.

Visibility was poor, with water dripping off the brim of my Black Angus ball cap, but I squinted hard and moved on the pack up their left flank. Many of the less experienced riders started dropping back on the 15% grade, and that opened a hole for me to get up front. I had to be aggressive and a bit rude in order to muscle my Schwinn in between Lance and the guy to his left, but I did it.

He looked amazed…looked me right in the eye as we stroked the spokes at 25 mph uphill, side by side. “What the fuck are you doing, you old fool?!?”, Lance politely asked me.
“Just autograph my shirt for my friend Pamela, Junior, and I’ll wait for you in Santa Rosa”, I responded, just as politely.
“Jesus H. Christ”, he shouted, “I’m in the middle of a race!”
“Just lean over and sign the goddam shirt, will ya? I’m in a hurry”, I said calmly.
“OK Grandpa…gimme a pen”. (Just a ballpoint, to answer your question).

As I threw it into high gear, and sped away from the pack, I heard him mutter, “Where did that old fart come from, and what was that piece of crap he was riding?”

Enjoy the t-shirt, my friend.

Best shirt ever!

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Nike swag

21st Century Mom — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 01:21:12 +0000

Tomorrow is race day and I’m ready although I’m really tired.

I wanted to share with you what I got at the Expo. I had to go twice to do this. I got the stuff in the first picture on Thursday night when they had “Ladies Night” complete with wine and crackers and cheese. I thought it was crowded then but that was nothing compared to today when I returned to get my iPod engraved. The lines were very, very long and the swag was pretty much gone. Glad we went Thursday!

Nike Swag

I got a Bare Naked bag, 3x Bare Naked Granola, a fabulous bright orange towel which will be very handy at a tri (easier to find your spot), Luna Moons, 20% off Cole Hahn card (very handy when you are seriously in need of $300 flats), a mirror, Dove ‘poo and cream rinse and a card for a free Jamba Juice in San Francisco, sunscreen and chapstick. Not bad! I also got a chair massage by the smokin’ hot Eddie who did a really great job, a foot massage, a horrible manicure (but she was really cute and she’s only interested in hair, not nails) and of course, a glass of wine and some food. I also had a great time with my friends from FoMo.

Today I went back to get my iPod engraved and it has come my attention that a certain someone has a little too much influence on my thinking right now. You know who you are, Dana!

Engraved back of iPod

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Hockey Mom

21st Century Mom — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 18:41:40 +0000

Hockey Mom!

My brother in law made this pumpkin with a friend of his. He makes a pumpkin with a hocky puck every year but this year was special – so very special. His favorite part is that when you open the top and look in there’s nothing there!

(Okay you conservatives – GET A SENSE OF HUMOR! )

If you want to share this pumpkin please just post or email a link instead of downloading the picture and making up a story about it. This is 21st Century Brother In Law’s work and I want him to retain full attribution! Thank you. You can also use the little icons below to share.

If you need help with your sense of humor regarding the Hockey Mom’s intellect please read on…..

You have to admit she isn’t the brightest bulb in the pack, right?)

Here read a transcript of what comes out of her mouth when she is speaking extemporaneously (with a crib sheet) It is a little confounding. Really – check this one out if you don’t believe me

excerpt:

PALIN: Darn right it was the predator lenders, who tried to talk Americans into thinking that it was smart to buy a $300,000 house if we could only afford a $100,000 house. There was deception there, and there was greed and there is corruption on Wall Street. And we need to stop that.

Again, John McCain and I, that commitment that we have made, and we’re going to follow through on that, getting rid of that corruption.

PALIN: One thing that Americans do at this time, also, though, is let’s commit ourselves just every day American people, Joe Six Pack, hockey moms across the nation, I think we need to band together and say never again. Never will we be exploited and taken advantage of again by those who are managing our money and loaning us these dollars. We need to make sure that we demand from the federal government strict oversight of those entities in charge of our investments and our savings and we need also to not get ourselves in debt. Let’s do what our parents told us before we probably even got that first credit card. Don’t live outside of our means. We need to make sure that as individuals we’re taking personal responsibility through all of this. It’s not the American peoples fault that the economy is hurting like it is, but we have an opportunity to learn a heck of a lot of good lessons through this and say never again will we be taken advantage of.

——

Well- that was comprehensive, wasn’t it?

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Weekend Update

21st Century Mom — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 22:00:42 +0000

I just got back from spending the weekend at Stinson Beach with 6 women from my book group. We walked on the beach, sat in the hot tub, watched funny things on TV, ate great food and maybe drank a little wine.

Stinson Weekend 2008

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Look At My Shiney New Blog!

21st Century Mom — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 17:16:04 +0000

Is this not fabulous? It IS fabulous and it is brought to you by the Fabulous Team Sumy Designs! That’s right – if you want to be fabulous you MUST visit them and get them to sex up your blog. Nobody does it better.

They are hosting my blog, too. It’s very cost effective because I can deal with the technology and not be made crazy by the platform. My former host, the incomparable Amazing Hip runs a different platform and it out nerded me with the latest upgrade. Jane left the building and I could not figure out how to get her back in so I fled.

The very lovely Sisters Runner Susan and Runner Amy set up the blog and designed my masthead. Fabulos-o, non? OUI! I hope you enjoy it as much as me – and yes I do mean I hope you enjoy the design as much as you enjoy reading my blog, if not more so.

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Chums or Chum? That Was the Question

21stcenturymom — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 14:35:47 +0000

On Saturday June 28th I met up with FeLady, Mr. FeLady and their friends Mr. and Mrs. Chico to take my second shot at swimming from Alcatraz to Aquatic Park without getting eaten by a Shark. It was the FeLadies 5th swim. Mrs. Chico is the smart one of the group and was just along to socialize and be our sherpa. Her husband is the loony one in the family and was also out for Sharkfest #5.

As you can see, Cheryl and I suited up in sushi just to make things a little more interesting. Were we being chums or would we be chum? That was the question. Interestingly enough, both of us had had fantasies that the event might be canceled due to low visibility. No such luck. The skies were gray and there was wind but you could see just fine.

We suited up in neoprene and headed over to the ferry. This is a fairly long walk that must really amuse the tourists. Where else can you see 800+ wetsuit clad people and 20 or so non-wetsuit nut cases marching along one of the world’s most famous tourist attractions? Fisherman’s wharf’s finest hour if you ask me. Not that it took an hour to walk to the ferries but it does take about 15 – 20 minutes. It’s a good time to take a few deep breaths and get in touch with the reality that you are about to jump off a boat in dark and very cold water and swim for quite a while.

The ride out is the ride out. More time to panic if you don’t mind your mental machinations. I did not panic. I trusted myself and my experience and tried not to think about how badly I wanted to run out of the water at Couer d’Alene where the water temp was at least 1 or 2 degrees warmer. I kid you not. Sharkfest allows neoprene hoods but not booties. I had neither. I did have 2 caps, though.

T-minus no more time left and we are at the door with the guy yelling “JUMP!”. As soon as I hit the water I hear some woman from the other ferry screaming over and over and over “WAHHHHH! WAHHHHH ! WAHHHHH!”. I really wanted to yell “STOP THAT – YOU ARE TIPPING MY WAH”* but I knew she could never hear me over the din of her own terror and besides I figured she was one of the nut jobs with no wetsuit so who was I to criticize?.

We lined up at the kayaks and waited and waited and waited and waited some more for the horn to blow. Finally something happened and we all started swimming and that’s when things got really dicey. First of all it meant that it was time to put my face in the ice bucket – ow. Second of all I soon discovered that it was very, very rough out there.

My last recollection of being tossed around by water was when I was a kid playing in the surf at the beach on Long Island sound. Scary but I could touch the bottom. Not here. The water was sort of roiling and rough and I think there were currents to deal with. All I could do was poke my head up once in a while and try to find the 2 towers I was sighting on. The problem is that I’m not good l at stopping and looking around. I just want to keep swimming and swimming but I have no skill at all in holding a line. Can you spell z-i-g z-a-g?

So the swim went like this – zig, zag, roll, bounce, blub, blub, blub, swim, swim,swim, look up, correct, zig, zag, blub, blub, blub…. you get the idea. I drank quite a bit of salt water. I’d draw you one of those amusing pictures but honestly I have no idea. I just kept going. I was gratified to find myself not all alone after 15 minutes like I was last year. I could always look up and spot yellow caps and boats and that gave me great comfort. In fact, there was a guy in a speedo (crazy bastard!) who I met up with repeatedly. I knew he was making the best time he possibly could for shore so I took that as a good sign.

The amazing thing about an event like this is that all you can do is keep trying to move forward no matter how totally unnatural it is and let me assure you, clawing at water from a horizontal position to gain forward momentum and trying to breath and not panic is about the most unnatural thing I’ve ever done. That’s the part I love. It is positively surreal – no drugs needed!

At some point I realized that I could see the porches on the building I was sighting on and then I could see the orange buoy on the lead boat and I knew I was actually making progress. Then I could see the seawall and the masts of the C.A.Thayer and I swam harder and there was the speedo guy. I probably headed more to the left of the entrance to Aquatic Park than I needed to but there is a current that will pull you back toward it so it’s better to head left than to try to hit the thing dead on.

Finding that opening and getting through it was a kind of relief you feel only when the traffic jam you are stuck in breaks up in just enough time for you to make your flight. It’s just like that. In that moment you know you will get to the shore and get out of that water and you will live to tell the tale. Last year I was so knocked out I couldn’t even find the buoys that mark the exit but not so this time. I saw those buoys, made a bee line and finally realized that my hand was hitting sand and I was in about 12 inches of water. HUZZAH! I stood up and ran out on the stubs at the end of my legs. My feet had checked out of service about 10 minutes into the swim.

As soon as I stood up I turned around and was elated to see the waters of Aquatic Park chock full of swimmers who were coming in behind me. My time was not so great and I was 15 out of 18 in my AG (FeLady was 9th – TOP TEN!!) but I was 171 out of 223 women (FeLady was numbah 100!) compared to last year when I was 162/209. So I moved up a few slots. The important thing is that I lived, trust me.

There were really 2 great lessons in this experience. The first lesson is that if you just keep going and don’t give up you can get there (absent any medical issues like hypothermia or broken bones). I used that thought extensively on Sunday when I decided to climb Mt. Diablo after riding 35 or 40 miles. I wanted to quit and just head down the hill but I kept envisioning orange buoys and shore and I kept pedaling and I got where I needed to be. The second lesson is that FeLady and I are chums. Not chum – chums. We had a great time together.

*ShoGun reference. I think that was the phrase. Does anyone else remember?

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Skinny Songs

21stcenturymom — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 20:53:49 +0000

A couple months ago I was driving to work listening to the local classic rock radio station (KFOG) and “The Fog Files” was playing. The Fog Files is the news guy’s (Peter Finch) feature show. This one was about a Silicon Valley Venture Capitalist who also happens to be a middle aged woman who struggles with weight – just like me! She was driving to work one day, listening to the radio (harmonic convergence!) and thinking about a meeting she would soon be attending. She knew that at this meeting there would be plate of cookies and she would eat them and then hate herself (more harmonic convergence!) and she wondered why it is that there are songs about loving and losing and getting the guy and getting dumped but not a single song about resisting cookies.

In that AHA moment she returned to that comfortable old aphorism – if you need something done right you have to do it yourself and so she did. First she wrote some song lyrics to express her feelings about weight and food. Then she spoke with some industry people about how to go about getting these songs produced and they told her to hire top talent in the music writing and vocals arena. Being that she’s a Silicon Valley Venture Capitalist she has more money than fat so that’s what she did.

Harmonic convergence entered my life yet again when I got an email a couple weeks later asking me if I’d like to review the CD. “Bring it on!” I said, I already heard about this on the radio.

So that’s the story behind the review of Skinny Songs by Heidi Roizan. And what about that review?

I admire Ms. Roizen for doing something positive about this cookie problem. Way to go! Clearly this has worked for you You look great, not to mention the fact that this has brought you face to face with Martha! I’m impressed! (see pic below)

As for the music – she did a smart thing by making some of them very country, a couple of them sort of hip-hopish and some more mainstream rock. The rhythm is set to workout speed so you can hear words of affirmation about what you are doing while you do it and that’s always a good thing. There are lyrics to remind you of why you really want to lose weight:
From “Who the Hell is That”
who the hell is that? ‘Cause it sure ain’t me!
how’d I get so fat? It’s a shame to see
something’s gone wrong with the photo quality
who the hell is that, cause it sure ain’t me

And lyrics to remind you that it’s all up to you and that you really want it and YOU CAN DO IT!
From “You Da Boss”
But you don’t need that piece of pie
Gotta let it go and pass you by
and I’m here to remind you why
’cause you want to be lookin’ and feelin’ fly

“You Got to Use it to Lose” is my particular fave but truth be told it’s the kind of exercise music that gets stuck in your head and just hangs around like post workout sock stink.

I’m not nuts about most of the music (I’m not a fan of country or hip hop) but I think the CD is a great idea and expect there are people out there for whom this collection would represent a huge source of motivation and assistance in the battle of the bulge. Although the marketing is clearly targeting women, many of the songs are sung by men so I think they could relate.

They have a line of shirts, too (look – it’s Martha!!) I find some of them offensive but when it comes to my body I’ve never had a very good sense of humor.

Bottom line – this CD isn’t really to my taste but I applaud her effort and I encourage anyone who does daily hand to mind combat with fattening food to check it out - it could be just what you have been looking for.

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By The Sea, By The Sea, By the Beautiful Sea

21stcenturymom — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 20:01:17 +0000

My weekend in southern California was super fun.

I got in Friday night and DN2 (Pookie, Daughter Number 2) picked me up at the airport and off we went to a Mexican food place she’s been telling me about for the last year and half. When she talked about it I was sure she was telling me about Cody Hahn which I thought was one of those comical restaurant names like Carols Goldstien or Shamus Gonzales. I was wrong. We went to this place

A woman who was there asked how it is pronounced and suffice it to say that Cody Hahn is somewhat lacking but there’s no good way to write it. What’s more important than the name was the meal – a ginormous plate of nachos. When we both declared ourselves stuffed DN2 took her water and poured it all over what was left on the plate. I was both stunned and impressed. If you need help to quit stuffing your face do try it – it was 100% effective.

Back to the on-campus apartment we headed, stopping first to meet her friends who were puppy sitting. A picture of the pup is forthcoming but alas, I don’t have it yet. Petting a puppy was EXACTLY what I needed. That and a strawberry creamcheese empanada from a Paula Dean recipie. Yum!

After a night of sleep that reminded me of how hard sleep can be to come by on a college campus I got up, ran 6 miles, showered, had a protein shake and then DN2 and I headed for a day at the San Diego Zoo where we walked our feet down to nubbins. I made a movie of our day that is at the end of this post.

Then it was off to Long Beach to see my prodigal Son and have dinner at McKennas By the Bay. It was lovely to see where he lived and have a really nice meal.

Saturday night, completely spent from traipsing around the zoo and then driving a couple hundred miles I slept like the dead. No amount of collegiate ruckus could penetrate my slumber and apparenlty I dreamt of running because DN2 told me I sort of snored only what she described as a snore sounded like I was inhaling through my nose and making whoofing exhales through my mouth.

As much as I loved all of that I think Sunday was my favorite day. We got up a little later and headed to the La Jolla shore for brunch. First we stopped by Children’s Beach where the children have been displaced by a colony of seals.

We watched them for quite some time before heading up to the Brockton Villa Restaurant for some Coast Toast. If there is something more sublime than a beautiful sunny day on the veranda enjoying the deliciousness of Coast Toast I’m not sure what it is in this moment. My mind is suffused in a maple syrup sunshine pool of bliss. mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm………..

We were very happy

After brunch we stood overlooking the water and watched the world’s most amazing body surfer. With the aid of fins and webbed gloves this guy was able to ride right on top of the waves from way out until he had to duck under to keep from getting tossed on the rocks. I included a couple of shots of him the video.

Our final tour was of the Birch Aquarium but at that point my camera was out of battery from all the video I shot so I have no pictures.
Many thanks to DN2, Pookie for showing me such a great weekend.

Here is my video memento of the trip. I took all of these with my humble little Casio camera so please pardon its inability to maintain focus on the close-ups.

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