Saturday Long Run

Today’s goal was 16 miles. I was a little unsure how that would work out because I’ve been having twinges in my hip again, but I selected a route that would keep me on flat, level surfaces throughout, and gave it a go.

I ran into a problem when I got to Memorial and Loop 610, where the road was closed due to construction. I almost thought I’d have to backtrack, but I managed to find a way through the site, near where the workers’ cars were parked and far from the actual work going on. The only difficulty was that the area was so full of thick, slimy, mud that there was no way I was going back that way.

The next problem I encountered was the place I had planned to get water was no longer there. That’ll teach me to not check that particular part of the route for more than a year! And since I would have to find a new route back to Memorial Park, I didn’t know when or where I would get water. I knew logically that I would find some within a couple miles, but it really messed with my head to not be sure. I felt thirstier than I should’ve at that point on the run and I thought about water way more than was necessary.

And all for nothing. I found a place with a gloriously ice-cold water fountain within a couple miles of my now-demolished first choice stop, and I have a new running route into the bargain. Instead of a boring out-and-back, I can now do a loop.

Uh, yeah. My creativity doesn’t manifest itself in new running routes nearly often enough.

I finished my 16 miles with no hip pain. Tonight it feels like it wants to act up, but I may just be thinking about it too much. We’ll see how I feel in the morning. If it’s bothering me at all, I’ll do a Spinerval instead of my usual Sunday six-miler.

Today’s Workout
16 mile run

L'ordinateur est arrivé!

Yay! My replacement computer is finally here!

It took all evening of Dan setting it up for me, re-installing patches, docs and software, but I’m back up and running, and I’m very happy!

I’m just hoping now that this new machine will prove as reliable as the one I had for eight years. Or that it will prove even half as reliable. Anything but have to muck around with all those cables again! Where do they come from? Why so many? I seem to have way more cables behind my desk than are actually required for all the things I do. They must be back there breeding new cables, or something, twisting around each other like spaghetti.

Anyone need an extra cable? I’ve got ‘em!

Recent Workouts
Sunday: 6 mile run
Monday: Rest
Tuesday: 4 mile run
Wednesday: 40 minute elliptical
Thursday: 4.5 mile run

Interesting...

A few years ago I applied for a position. Although it wasn't with the division I've worked in these past ten years, it was the type of job that was the next logical step on the career ladder in my profession. I made the final cut and had lots of great interviews, but they ended up bringing in an outsider.

It happens. And truth to tell, his qualifications were better than mine.

But now he's moved on and much to my surprise, the people who interviewed me last time called me and invited me to apply again!

Now, I'm not vain enough to think that they didn't call anyone else or that I wouldn't once again lose out to someone with superior qualifications. In fact, if someone else is the better candidate, I would hope they would get the job. My sense of fair play would be offended, otherwise.

But... how totally cool that they remembered me and asked me to toss my hat in the ring!

It's nice to be thought well of. Lots of warm fuzzies here today!

Another Rainy Run

I had a pretty good week at work, and was glad that having Monday off meant no late afternoon Monday meeting. I find late afternoon meetings annoying because since no one can end a meeting on time, these things tend to drag out interminably and stick me in the worst sort of traffic by the time I can finally make my escape and head home.

I continue to wade through my list of way overdue personal projects, and I’m happy to report that I’m now down to only two important ones: go see the doc to get my asthma meds renewed, and take the comforter to the laundromat so I can use one of the big front-loading washers. Too bad there's no good way to combine those two errands.

Other than that, I’m about done! Okay, I still need to find out what’s wrong with the a/c on the RX-7, but that project is penciled in for October, so it doesn’t really count.

In other news, I’m still without my new computer, in spite of Dan’s best efforts. Dell is sending me another one, so I hope it will be here Monday. All the more reason I’ll be pissed if our Monday afternoon meeting drags on forever.

Today’s run was supposed to be a relatively “short” long run, with a focus on speed at the end. It didn’t turn out that way because it started raining during the last three miles. Between the mud and reduced visibility, no way was a negative split realistic. But I finished the twelve miles feeling fresh and perky, and that was good. And I refrained from seconds when Dan and I went for Indian buffet, so the whole calorie thing probably worked out okay.

It looks like they’re forecasting more rain for tomorrow morning, so while I didn’t mind getting caught in it today, I think tomorrow could turn out to be an elliptical sort of day. I may be dedicated, but I’m not a glutton for punishment.

Recent Workouts
Last Sunday: 6 mile run
Monday: 90 minute elliptical
Tuesday: rest
Wednesday: 6 mile run
Thursday: 30 minute elliptical
Friday: rest
Today: 12 mile run

Bunnyloaf 

Saturday Update

Grrr… I’m still without my computer!

My husband has been too wonderful for words in his tireless dedication to getting my PC up and running. He even bought me a new hard drive, when all else failed. But it’s doing the same thing as the other, leading us to think we either have a bad copy of WinXP or else a bad motherboard. Dan is going to get another copy of Windows for me tomorrow, so we should know something definite by tomorrow evening. I’m hoping it’s the OS, because I really don’t want the hassle of having to ship the whole CPU back to Dell and wait for a replacement.

Considering that he does this sort of thing for a living (and is probably sick of it when he comes home) and that he has his own computer (it’s mine that’s crashing), he’s really going above and beyond. I could’ve done everything he’s done myself, but it would’ve taken me a lot longer, since I've been out of tech support for so long.

I’ll have to remember to be nice to him.

I had a really good run this morning – fifteen miles with no trouble at all. That’s due at least in part to Mary’s work on my legs Thursday. Nothing like a good massage! I also increased the electrolyte level in my sports drink, which I’m sure also helped. I’m still using a combo of Amino Vital, Endurolytes and pomegranate juice. Today it was borderline salty with the extra electrolytes, but I stayed close to water fountains, so it was all good.

Not much else is happening here. I must be getting caught up on my sleep because I woke up from my post-Indian-food nap much earlier than usual. With so many days off, I’m reverting to type and becoming a terrible night owl again. I’m always pretty bad about that, but I can become almost vampire-like in my day/night, sleep/wake reversal, when I don’t have office hours tying me to the rest of the civilized world’s schedule.

Going back to work on Tuesday will be interesting. Oh, yes. Fun times.

Today’s Workout
15 mile run

Ironic

You know, for eight years I puttered along on a little Win98 Gateway PC. My computing needs are very basic, so until recently, I had no particular incentive to upgrade. That little Win98 machine never gave me a day of trouble, either.

Last month I got a fancy-pants new Dell WinXP machine with wireless and all the bells and whistles delivered to my door. And tonight, it crashed. My husband is a techie, and I’m an ex-techie from DOS days, so we’re all over it. But at this point, we don’t know if the hard drive will be salvageable.

No worries in terms of my manuscripts, since I email them to myself each night, after making edits. And no worries on my photos and music, since we have all that backed up to an external drive. And I’ve got the laptop, so I’m not without resources.

But…

How ironic is it that my clunky old Win98 machine was such a reliable workhorse for eight years, and my new computer crashed in a matter of weeks?

In other news, I’ve been taking a few sanity days off from work so I can get caught up on personal matters. I did a little shopping, took some things to our storage unit, ran errands, tracked down some parts for my RX-7 and put the car in the shop, I got a massage (finally!) and took Tidbit to get her nails trimmed. We asked for French tips, but the vet tech just smiled and gave a plain old trim. Poor Tid. Maybe next time, sweetie.

Recent Workouts
Tuesday: 4 mile run
Thursday: 6 mile run
Friday: 35 minute elliptical

Hey! New camera! 

Productive Day

I sure got a lot of pesky tasks and errands done today! I went to the grocery store and pet store, bought a new digital camera and all the accessories, did some housework, including the once a week stuff, and topped it all off by paying the bills and coloring my hair.

I still have to do the ironing, and with any luck, I’ll finish the latest edit of my manuscript tonight, too, and get another query out.

Whew!

Today’s Workout
6 mile run

Bayou Run and Plans

I was up late Friday night and none too thrilled with my alarm clock this morning. I was even less thrilled to find that the cat managed to dump over his litterbox in the night—a first, and hopefully also a last.

So it was almost 7:30 before I was able to hit the trails, and so humid it felt like I was running through soup. I kept things simple, though. I ran the Bayou loop, including part of the downtown trail, and when I was done, I changed direction and ran it again. That made about 12 miles. I finished with a little-loop (Shepherd/Waugh) at about 10K pace, which wasn’t fun at all. Some clouds were moving in and a breeze was picking up, so that helped, but only marginally. It was still hot and humid, and I was tired.

But it was a surprisingly strong run, overall. My calves had been so tight the night before that I hadn’t expected much, but I think the hills on the bayou trail and the way I broke up the pace helped my legs. I was forced to use different muscles, rather than just punish the same ones for mile after mile.

I was thinking today that I might try to bring my long run mileage up to about 18-20 by the end of October and run the San Antonio Marathon on November 12. Yes, I’m registered for Houston in January, so I wouldn’t be running San Antonio as an A race. I would take it slow and walk frequently. I’ll wait and see how I’m feeling in October, since I don’t want to jeopardize my January (birthday!) marathon. I also would have to consider how doing a marathon in November would dovetail with my plan to do the Luke’s Locker Half Marathon on October 29.

But I’ve always wanted to do San Antonio. I lived there for three years as a kid and have fond feelings for the city. And with their new course route, it looks like fun. But I’m leaving my options open at this point, and I’ll make a decision when I get a better idea how my body is holding up. Last year’s hip injury freaked me out and I still haven’t gotten back up to my same long run mileage. I hope all these successful 12-14 mile runs followed by Sunday morning 6-milers are an indication I’m back on track and ready for better things.

In other news, I think I’m going to buy a new camera tomorrow. I don’t have the time or the right tools to muck around endlessly with our broken camera, and we’re about due for a new one, anyway.

This blog needs more bunny pictures!

Today’s Workout
14 mile run

Runnin’ in the Rain

Who would’ve guessed that today’s 30% chance of rain would all come pouring down at once, about an hour into my morning run?

I headed out under patchy, slightly overcast skies. I was glad for a break from the sun, and for the cool breeze. Such a rare and welcome relief in August! I trotted along the bayou trail toward downtown, through the art park and along the new trails past the aquarium and Wortham Theater. Very nice. I came back on the Allen Parkway side, and that’s when the thunder began.

It started as a low grumbling off to the south, where the skies were darkening and thunderheads piling up. But the sky to the north was still blue. I decided to keep running. I’ve seen systems swirl all around my part of town without ever dropping any rain.

I finished the bayou loop and started up Memorial Drive. I stopped at the runner-friendly Shell station for some cold water, and when I came out, the sky was turning black toward the south. More thunder. My plan was to run up to Chimney Rock and back, but if this storm meant business…

Oh, what the heck. I don’t much like running in the rain, and I won’t do it at all in cool weather, but in August? Might be nice. I continued.

When I got to the 610 Loop, I looked to the south and now the darkness was spreading out across the sky, full of mumbling thunder and punctuated by high flashes of lightning. It’s pretty typical though, for storms to hit one part of the city and not another. Maybe it wouldn’t make it this far. And if it did, it would pass quickly, right? Summer storms always do.

I went on, while streetlights turned themselves on and the first misty drops speckled my arms.

Somewhere around Antoine, the rain began coming down. It was a pleasant shower at first, and it was so nice to be having a cool run in August. What a treat! But then the skies opened up and it began pouring! Well, I was already soaked through, so I could see no point in stopping and seeking shelter. Sure, the thunder was crashing and booming all around and there was some high lightning, but the lightning wasn’t actually hitting anything. It’s a funny thing about inner-city lightning— it seems to almost never actually strike.

So I pushed on, splashing through the puddles, raindrops fogging my glasses, fully expecting the storm to blow right on through. No luck. I got to my turnaround point and headed back, and still no letup in sight. The dips in the sidewalks were filling with water and I was getting seriously annoyed at the way the rain just kept on coming. This was not 30% chance of rain. This was not a passing summer shower.

But hey, stopping would’ve only given me a chance to get chilled. Might as well keep moving.

The rain finally started letting up around the time I got back to Memorial Park. I had been running in a downpour for half an hour! But as the skies lightened and the rain dwindled to a light shower, I saw to my delight that Memorial Park was deserted.

10 am on a Saturday morning and I had the whole park to myself! This was definitely worth a drenching.

Three miles later and I was home, taking off my squishy shoes and socks outside the door. I was no more wet and drippy than I ever am after an August long run. But because it was rain and not sweat, I sure smelled a lot better!

Today’s Workout
13 mile run in the rain

Stinky

Dan and I have been running together in the evenings again. It’s nice, and the temps are usually cooler after dark. But tonight we stepped outside and the heat and humidity hit us like a wave.

“It’ll be better at the park,” I told him. “More trees. Less concrete.”

And it was a little better. But not by much.

I started at a conservative pace, but after my first stop for water, I found myself behind a particularly odiferous person, and by now a stiff breeze had picked up, wafting everything back to me.

Lucky me.

I picked up the pace and passed him. It was faster than I wanted to go for only my second mile of what would be a little over 4 miles, but with Stinky on my heels, I had no choice but to keep my pace. No way was I letting him get upwind of me again!

So I tried to be philosophical about it. When I first started distance running, I regularly had to contend with stinky people. In some ways they inspired me. Or they at least forced me to keep going when I was tempted to slow down. I became a better runner because of the motivation they gave me.

Tonight Stinky and I parted ways at about the 2.5 mile point, when I stopped for water and he went on. I was a little overheated by this point and dripping wet. 80% humidity will do that to you. So I finished my run at a more reasonable pace, fighting down a rare bit of exercise-induced nausea. I wasn’t exactly smelling like roses myself, at this point.

I can only hope I motivated someone.

Today’s Workout
4.25 mile run

NEWS!!!

The very first agent I queried about Tin Soldier has requested the first 30 pages!!!

OMG!!! I just know I'm going to print it out and immediately think it SUCKS!

(Yeah, yeah, I know it doesn't, but... you know.)

Now, just to keep things in perspective here, publishing is a business. Regardless of skill or talent (assuming I have any), an agent has to think s/he can successfully market my book. This is not ars gratia aris, here. I know that. And I'm totally okay with it. Really.

But...

My very first query ended up with a request for a partial!!!

I'm off to hyperventilate, now...

Looking a little ragged around the edges! 

Just Another Weekend

I’m rapidly reaching a point where I’m going to have to see my massage therapist. Of course, I also have no idea when I'm going to have time for it. It’s the end of the fiscal year, I’ve had lots of projects dumped on me, and it’s so hard to concentrate at work with people calling and dropping by all the time to discuss the reorganization that’s going on.

Last week I had hoped to take a day, or even a half-day, to work at home. I get a lot done on my projects when I can just settle in and work. But too many other things were going on. I think I’ll pull out all the stops to make it happen this week, and use my lunch break to go see my massage therapist, since she lives just a few blocks away.

Yeah, that’s the ticket.

I get way stressed out when I have so many “have to” things on my plate.

This was a pretty typical weekend, in terms of working out. I did a 14 mile run on Saturday morning, or at least I think it was about 14. It might’ve been closer to 15. Add “get GPS watch battery replaced” to my to-do list! This morning I did 6 miles and followed up with some weights and rowing machine at the gym.

We got my “new” printer set up this weekend. Yay! I now no longer have to feed sheets of paper one at a time into a persnickety little beast of a machine that would rather chew up paper than actually print on it. I say it’s a “new” printer because I got it at the garage sale last weekend for $10. So it’s new to me, although not new in general.

I continue to be very lazy about writing the third novel in my peak oil trilogy. Bad bunnygirl! I think I’m just a little overwhelmed. I’m doing queries and synopses of Tin Soldier to send to agents, I’m still coming off the high of finishing my second, as yet untitled, book, and writing the third in the series is taking a back seat to all that. Instead of a page a day, I’m averaging more like half a page.

I’m even considering taking a break to work on a totally different novel that has a highly marketable premise, but that I botched in the first go-round many years ago. My first version has some good elements, but I tried to do things with it that were: a) beyond my skill level at the time, and b) too clever, in a bad way. So I’ve been doing some pondering as to how I should approach a serious re-write. It’s too good a plot to just abandon. And I think I may now have the skill and perspective to give it the treatment it deserves. If not, well, it’s just another kind of training, right?

Do I really have to go to work tomorrow? Something tells me the answer is yes.

WeekendWorkouts
Saturday: 14 mile run
Sunday: 6 mile run, weights

Checking In

Not much is happening here. It’s a dull week, so far. I was lazy and didn’t work out last night, but I did update my writings blog. It now contains the latest edit of Chapter One of Tin Soldier, and a draft version of Chapter One of the sequel. I will add other writings from time to time, and I’ll try to keep the most recent edits up, instead of letting the posted version lag behind my word-tinkering.

A friend of mine started a new blog today, The Incredible Shrinking Man. I hope a few of my regular visitors will drop by, say hello and ask him to post more pictures of his new cat, Thor.

In the good news department, my new running shoes arrived today and the air conditioning in the gym at my complex has finally been fixed. So that means when I skip an afternoon workout to run with Dan at night, I have another workout option if he bails on me. I think I’ll still use the university rec center after work a couple times a week, though. The time seems to pass more slowly there, but they have a lot more equipment. I’d forgotten how much I missed the rowing machine until I used it this past Sunday. And the rec center has a quarter-mile indoor track!

And finally, my cousin Chris in El Paso wrote to me about the flooding they’ve been having. He lives and works on a side of town that was not affected, but he had plenty to say about it, nonetheless. Kind of scary to think that a dam in another country could wipe out a big chunk of your city. The flooding has been fairly widespread in southern New Mexico and the El Paso area. My father got stranded at a job in some little New Mexico town while he waited for the water to recede. But he says the worst of the rains have generally missed the family property. The arroyos are full, but no real flooding.

Water in the desert is always a fascinating thing, both blessing and curse.

Have a good week, friends!

Scheduled Workouts
Tuesday: ~4 mile run, unless it rains

My Weekend

Not a whole lot of interesting stuff to report this weekend.

I think the highlight was a Saturday morning yard sale, if that says anything. The seller was an acquaintance of ours from the university and we wanted to get there early because there are semi-pro yard sale shoppers who descend on these things like vultures.

So I rearranged my Saturday long run. I got up extra-early and ran to the George R. Brown convention center, which was on the way to the yard sale. Beyond this point, it’s not safe for a woman to be alone on foot, so Dan picked me up. He brought a towel and t-shirt so I could clean up, and off we went! I found a few cool little things for myself, bought a few things for my Romanian friends, and got to see some really great furniture that I just couldn’t think how to fit in my apartment and therefore had to pass up. I also picked up a combo printer/fax/scanner for $10 that matches the color of my new computer. This allowed me to give my old printer to the Romanians. So we are all happy now.

After we finished up at the yard sale, Dan dropped me back at the convention center to finish my run, while he took the Romanians shopping for school stuff for the kids and new shoes for himself. (The errand was really all about him needing new shoes. And pants. And underwear. He invited the Romanians to tag along, since they won’t be getting their car until sometime this week.)

I did some editing on my story last night, stayed up late and today I got up early for a run to Memorial Park and back. At the park, I ran into my friend Linnie and her husband, who is my ex-landlord. Linnie and I ran together for a couple miles, chatting about stuff. Her son and his wife had a fight and now Linnie is caring for their kid for awhile, so we talked about the seemingly endless capacity early twentysomethings have for drama. (I sure was glad to grow out of that phase!) And I mentioned the Romanian kids and she told me that there’s a lot of Romanians at the school where she teaches, which is the one we’re trying to get the little girl into. Apparently a lot of the rich families in the area adopt from Romania and Russia, so this particular school has a lot of experience with them.

After my run, I did a little grocery shopping and picked up some treats for my Romanian friends—gourmet coffee for the grownups, cookies for the kids. And then I went to OfficeMax and bought paper for the printer I was giving them, as well as an extra print cartridge and stuff like that.

I also priced digital cameras. Ours is broken and although I think I can fix it, I suspect I can get a new and better one for a price that makes the hassle of repairing the old one not worth it. I’m going to ponder this for a few days.

Then I took Catalin to the gym, and he shot baskets while I worked out in the weight room. He had been up late babysitting for a neighbor and I was feeling a little asthmatic, so neither of us was really in much of a mood for swimming or anything like that. I had my manuscript and red pen with me, just in case he wanted to do something that gym rules said required my supervision. But I was glad not to need it. I dropped him off at home, ran a few more errands and settled in for the rest of the afternoon.

Tonight Dan is trying to re-learn how to play the guitar. He bought an inexpensive starter guitar and instruction DVD this afternoon, and he figures if this new hobby sticks, he’ll upgrade to a nicer guitar once he gets his skills back. Many years ago when Dan lived on an ashram in Espanola, he met former Animals guitarist Vic Briggs, who gave him lessons. I’ve always found this sort of amazing. But that was nearly thirty years ago. I hope Dan continues with this new hobby. He's a creative sort, and it would be such a good outlet for him.

Weekend Workouts
Saturday: 13 mile run
Sunday: 6 mile run, weights

Tagged

Okay, Laura tagged both me and Tidbit, so I guess we'll play.

Here are the rules:

The player of this game starts with "5 weird things/habits about yourself ". In the end you need to choose 5 people to be tagged and list their names. The people who get tagged need to write a blog about their 5 weird things/habits, as well as state this rule clearly, then tag 5 more victims. Don't forget to leave your victim a comment that says "you're tagged!" in their comments and tell them to read your blog.

Me:

1. When I’m tired or stressed out, I speak Spanish and struggle with English, even though English is my native language.

2. My preferred sleep/wake cycle is to sleep twice a day. I wake up early, take a 2-3 hour nap in the late afternoon or early evening, then stay up until about 2:00 am and sleep again until 6:00.

3. I have almost no patience for “pure” entertainment. If I’m not learning something new or growing in some way from the experience, I prefer to do something else. I would rather do sports than watch sports, for example. I almost never watch TV unless it’s a classic movie or documentary. My books are all classic literature, history, or information of some kind. I don’t do it to be a snob. It’s just that I feel like I’m wasting time otherwise.

4. I’m slightly OCD when it comes to food. I’ll get hooked on a particular food and eat as much of it as I can, as often as I can. After a few months, or sometimes years, I wake up one morning and never want to see that food again. I then repeat the cycle with a new food.

5. I can solder and fix small machines and appliances. And I’m good at it, too! What’s really funny though, is that my husband doesn’t have a knack for mechanical things. So inevitably, I’m the one repairing bunny-chomped cables and electrical cords. I’m very particular to splice the individual wires at different levels, shrink-wrap them individually and then shrink tube the whole mess. When I fix something, it stays fixed!

Bonus: I hate household chores, unless they are clothing-related. I love clothes (I’ve got enough for at least twelve bunnygirls) and I’m all over any chore involving clothes. I enjoy washing, ironing, starching (including heavy starch), mending, alterations… the whole nine yards! And I love hand-sewing. I want to learn how to do fabric reweaving.


Tidbit:

1. I think cats are really cool and would cuddle with my cat all day if he would let me.

2. I don’t like cilantro.

3. I stomp my foot when I’m happy or want you to look at me, not just when I’m angry or scared. In fact, I spend a lot of time stomping. Thumper is my hero!

4. I hate my cage and will stop at nothing to destroy it if I’m locked inside.

5. I love chewing holes in Dad’s clothes, but won’t touch his socks. Wait. That’s not weird. That’s survival instinct!

Okay, I’m not big on tagging people, but if any of the following folks haven't done this one and have a few minutes to spare, I’m tagging: Wil, Bolder, and Nytro, because I know if they do this, they’ll make it a lot funnier than I did. I’m also tagging Spider63 and Riceman because they’re so good at writing posts that get me thinking. And I’m unofficially tagging GoldenLucy and anyone else who wants to share their quirks.

I hope no one feels obligated by this. It's supposed to be fun, after all.

Furniture Chewer. Only looks innocent! 

Sunday Stuff

Today I went for a six mile run, then went to the gym and lifted weights and did some swimming.

Yay, me!

I have determined that the chemicals in the pool at the university rec center are acceptable to my nose, so long as I don’t plan on sleeping within the following four hours or so. That means I could swim before work, at whatever point I’m ready to resume two-a-day workouts and/or get serious about my swimming again. Early morning swimming is always a bit of a challenge for me, with my distaste for cold and water, so I’ll wait for the motivation to come, as I know it will.

I did some more editing last night and now that the house is quiet I’m going to do some more. I’m also pondering an alternate ending to the draft of my second novel, which ended on such a dark note that it depressed even me. And I like unhappy and ambiguous endings! From a marketing point of view, I have a feeling I’d get nowhere with the ending the story has now. I can always keep the depressing ending in a separate version.

I’m a little worried about Dan tonight. He was feeling kind of run down all last week, and then tonight he had what he describes as a blood sugar drop, leading to chills and shakes until he ate something sweet. I’m suspicious about this. He ate a fairly big meal only a few hours before this happened. But he also ran three miles during the hottest time of the day today. He’s been slacking on running, and today was so hot that even I wouldn't have tackled a run at 3:30 in the afternoon. And I run regularly and have a high heat tolerance. So maybe it was a delayed reaction or something. He’s talking about going to the doctor for a blood workup and I sure hope he follows through. I'm concerned that there might be more going on here than meets the eye.

Not much else of note around here. I’m doing a demo tomorrow of a new hire orientation presentation. Ho-hum. And I’ve got lots of org charts and spreadsheets to work through this week. It will probably be even duller than it sounds.

Today’s Workouts
Sunday: 6 mile run, weights, 500m swim

Checking In

Okay, I’ve been slacking on blogging this week.

I have started querying agents and have had to step up my editing process accordingly. Page after page with a red pen. Not fun. This is the part of writing that really is work, and it’s terra incognita for me, since I’ve never sought publication before. Now I see why writers actually get paid!

Work is a mixed blessing. One of my bosses is gone, which makes for a phone that rings far less often. But I’ve been given some additional “Buck Stops Here” responsibilities, which is keeping me busier than I might otherwise be.

I slacked a bit on my workouts this week, due to issues of time, weather and laziness. I used to prefer evening workouts—come home from work, take a nap, then work out. But since I started writing again last fall, I’ve found it easier to work out right after work. That way I have my evenings entirely free for writing. But now that it’s almost August, even my high tolerance for heat and humidity is sometimes challenged by conditions at 4:00 or 5:00 in the afternoon.

So I renewed my membership at the university’s rec center. Yes, I know I have a YMCA membership. But I’m always daunted by the prospect of having to head downtown during afternoon rush hour. Traffic and parking are a pain, and the gym is full. So I’m going to try using the university gym after work on days when running outside is just not realistic. It’s only $25/month, taken directly out of my paycheck, so we’ll see how that goes.

I had a decent long run this morning, although the heat and humidity were getting to me a bit more than usual toward the end. And then Dan and I had lunch with our Romanian friends and some friends from work. It was very nice and sociable.

The plan for Sunday is to go for a short run in the morning, followed by a workout at the gym and maybe a bit of swimming. If the rec center pool doesn’t set off my allergies, I might decide to swim more often. I really want to get back into triathlon, it’s just that there are only so many hours in a day, and writing has hijacked a lot of those hours in the past year.

Today’s Workout
Saturday: 13 mile run

The Rabbit and the Romanian

This morning I arranged my long run so that the Romanian boy, Catalin, could join me. When I got to their apartment, the whole family was up and the girl was excitedly waiting for my husband to pick her up and take her to see our rabbit. Dan had told me the night before that he wasn’t sure if he would be up for dealing with a kid today, so I cautioned the mother that Dan was really tired and that they should wait for him to call, but the girl seemed unfazed by this news, confident she would get to play with a bunny today.

Whatever.

Catalin and I went up through one of the nice neighborhoods near Rice, did the loop around the university, back to Montrose and back to the apartment. The humidity got to him a little, which didn’t surprise me. It takes time to figure out how to run long in hot and humid conditions. I’ve been running seven years now and I think this is the first year I can truthfully say that I can run without suffering in all but the very worst summer conditions. But I’m not worried about Catalin. He’s fourteen. He’ll adjust to the climate in no time, if he trains consistently.

After running with him to his apartment, I went back to the bayou, did a loop and went home. By now it was quite hot, I was dripping sweat and seriously needed to use the bathroom. So of course I stumbled in the door, and there was Anna Marie, full of seven year-old energy and no English skills. Her first instinct was to fling herself on me for a hug, but I deflected that (come on, kid, I’m wet and I stink!), and hurried off to the bathroom.

That matter taken care of, I took stock of the situation. Somehow, we had ended up with sole charge of this tyke, the parents having decided they needed a little break, I guess. Dan hadn’t realized what he was getting into, and was already muttering about how glad he was we don’t have kids while trying to keep Anna Marie from decorating our new sofa with a marker.

Dude, never give a hyperactive kid markers! Never, ever!

I found her some colored pencils, but she soon lost interest.

Then I asked how Tidbit was taking to the stranger.

As it turned out, Tid had been friendly enough at first, but had grown annoyed at Anna Marie’s attempts to pick her up. After stomping and grunting at her, Tidbit had gone off to hide. I iced my legs, hoping Tid would come out and visit me, since hanging out on Saturday morning is one of our little traditions. But she was still sulking and wouldn’t come out. I finished icing and took a shower.

Feeling better now, I came back out to the living room to watch the Tour and make sure Dan wasn’t giving the kid markers again, and now Tidbit came out. I showed Anna Marie the correct way to pet the bunny and Tidbit seemed to let bygones be bygones. She nosed around the little girl, friendly as could be. For a long time, Anna Marie played with Tidbit, feeding her wisps of hay and using the stuffed bunnies to interact with her. She pretended to read The Runaway Bunny to her. She scooped Tidbit’s breakfast pellets into her palm and allowed me to show her the correct way to let the rabbit eat out of her hand. They both had a wonderful time.

I had always suspected Tidbit had been a child’s bunny, and from the way she behaved today, I continue to think so. She was friendly and patient, but stood her ground on things she didn’t like. She never got hostile, but simply removed herself from the situation if the kid got rough. Amazing. People pay big bucks to train their dogs to behave this way, and here’s this little unwanted rabbit from the shelter who does it by instinct.

You’re the best, Tidbit!

And you, too, Floyd! Great comeback—now go get that hip fixed, okay?

Today’s Workout
Saturday: 13 mile run

Working From Home

Well, the third world nation that is my office building was without power today. It was a scheduled outage to fix some things associated with the air conditioner. They said the power would be out from 9:00 to 11:00, but of course no one with any sense believed that. From the emails I got, it looks like the work began around 10:30 and power wasn’t restored until 3:30.

Good thing I can work from home!

What’s kind of scary is how much more I can get done at home than at the office, at least when I’ve got data-intensive projects going on. I finished one project that had been dragging on for awhile, and completed a new one that I had said probably wouldn’t be ready before Monday. But hey, with no phone ringing and no other distractions, I was able to dive right in and get it knocked out.

We expect to have no other a/c or power-related problems tomorrow, and with these two projects off my plate, it ought to be a good day for catching up on the types of little things that really can’t be done from home. Nice.

I’m beginning to think that I should work from home more often, at least when I have big projects to complete. I got more done at home today than in a typical day of workplace distractions, and this was in spite of going for a morning run, taking down some trash, taking some things to the dry cleaners (located here at my apartment complex), doing the laundry and loading the dishwasher. Of course, I also didn’t have to open doors for people, take phone calls or deal with people dropping by my office distracting me with random questions and chit-chat. Sometimes my boss calls me half a dozen times in the space of an hour, and it completely wrecks my concentration. Nothing like that here at home!

So I’m feeling a little spoiled tonight, wishing I could spend Friday at home too, and start things fresh on Monday. But I guess I’ll just be grateful for the little break that I got. I should learn not to complain so much about working in an old building on leased property off campus. Sometimes it really does pay off!

Recent Workouts
Monday: 30 minute elliptical
Tuesday: 6 mile run
Thursday: 6 mile run

Happy Rescue Day, Tidbit! 

Underclass

I got to work this morning, opened the door to the building and was hit with a wall of hot air. It got hotter and hotter as I walked toward my office at the end of the building. I checked the thermostat. Mid-nineties. Ugh.

I nosed around and finally found the HVAC guy, who explained that the a/c had failed over the weekend, but that we had a backup chiller and he had turned it on. He said we could expect cool air shortly.

I waited. And waited. The temp came down to the high eighties.

I thought about working from home, but I had to finish a project for an afternoon presentation and I needed feedback from a key person. So I waited.

The temp dropped to a bit below eight-five.

I continued to wait.

Then the temps started climbing again.

I got the phone call I was waiting for so I could finish my project, and I also got the phone call I had been dreading, that HVAC could not guarantee a fix on the a/c by the end of the day. Great.

By the time I finished up, it was nearing ninety again, and I had to get out of there. I sent out the presentation, locked up and left.

Two Mondays ago, no water. This Monday, no a/c. Sometimes I swear I work in a third world country.

An Embarrassment of Riches

On Friday night, we took the Romanians grocery shopping. What usually takes us an hour, took nearly four, by the time we picked them up, tried to explain American food, chased the little girl all over creation, then took the them home, showed them how to use their electric oven, etc.

Then on Saturday, Dan went to help a professor friend move some furniture. It was sweat equity in exchange for use of his friend's truck to pick up some furniture we bought from some friends of ours. Problem was that the truck was too small. So a job that should've taken 3 hours, turned into all day.

Meanwhile, I went for a 13 mile run, then went to tell the Romanians that Dan wouldn't be by with their sofa (our old one) until much later in the day. I ended up taking Camelia and the kids to the library and then to Hermann Park to see the ducks. When I dropped them back at home, I felt so bad for the kids (they were bored silly) that I went out and bought them a TV. (Yeah, I'm an old softie sometimes.)

By now it was almost 3:00 and I still hadn't eaten after my big run, except for a cup of yogurt. So I went to Central Market and got some goodies from the deli, but had to stop off at the pet store on the way home and get bunny food and litter. And as luck would have it, there were two cashiers on duty and at the head of each loooooong line was some fool with a complicated transaction involving returns, coupons, rain checks, Golden Tickets and radioactive waste. Why I'm not still waiting in line is both a mystery and a miracle.

I got home, grumpy and shaking with hunger, only to field a phone call from the hubby telling me to clear the entryway and lock up the bunny in the bedroom so she wouldn't be underfoot when he and his friend delivered our furniture. That required an additional fifteen minutes of work, primarily in finding things to block the bunny from going under the bed. But finally I settled down to eat my now-cold lasagna, which I ate so quickly I don't think I got a chance to taste it. Then I put in some earplugs and took a nap.

When I woke up, we had gorgeous new furniture! Yay! But it was so much bigger than the old stuff, that now the living room was all out of proportion. So we moved furniture around until midnight. We raised up just enough old dust and bunny fur that I developed an entertainingly serious asthma attack that didn't respond to meds and required a boost from a couple cups of strong coffee.

Oh, yeah. Coffee at midnight. I was up until 4:00 am!

I thought today would be quieter and I'd be able to get some writing done, but after a morning run and lunch at our favorite Indian restaurant, we dropped by the Romanians' apartment to drop off a DVD player we no longer needed. They were so obviously eager to get out and do something, that the next thing I knew, we were driving them around town. We showed them how to get to the nearest Social Security office, then showed them some of the local sights and ended up going out for coffee. We lingered for awhile, then took them to a park so the little girl could run around a bit. I hung out with the boy, Catalin, and found that he's just a step away from being a triathlete-- he likes swimming and mountain biking, and distance running. I made arrangements to do some Saturday runs with him, and promised to take him to my YMCA on Sunday mornings. I figure once he starts school, he can join the cross country team.

It was nearly 6:00 before we got home, and meeting my parents for dinner was just not in the cards.

I don't know where my weekend has gone!

But I've been really impressed by how nice people have been to this Romanian family. Dan's professor friend gave them a table and two bookcases. A friend at work promised to get radios for them and pay for six months of basic cable TV. Another friend offered to take them to dinner. And one of their neighbors gave them a desk and a set of chairs.

This has been an opportunity for me to see some interesting things about American culture through other eyes, and one thing that I'm really struck by is how rich we are, even those of us who are poor by the standards to which we aspire. In Romania, this family was solidly middle class. He was an electrical engineer, and she was a nurse and published writer of children's books. But they didn't have a refrigerator, freezer, air conditioning, microwave oven, or a dishwasher. In America these things are common among all but the very poorest.

I've been struck for the second time since Hurricane Katrina by how generous we are in this country. But I'm also starting to really understand how rich we are, even those of us who can recite a litany of ways in which we have failed to keep up with the Joneses. If you're reading this blog on a computer in your own home, if you have food in a refrigerator, clothes you never wear, furniture you never use, an air conditioner cooling your home and a running vehicle or two (or three) in your garage or driveway, you're richer than the middle class of all but a handful of nations.

Rejoice in your riches, friends!

Recent Workouts
Saturday: 13 mile run
Sunday: 6 mile run

The Romanians and Me

Wow, what a week!

I spent two days buying stuff and getting an apartment lined up for my Romanian friends. (The apartment is better than my own and cheaper-- am I a fool, or what?) Today, they were supposed to catch the bus at the airport, and I would meet them at the downtown station.

Well, by the time they called, exhausted and jet-lagged after more than twelve hours of air travel and two hours clearing customs and going through their final immigration interview, they were beyond being able to figure out how to get to the correct terminal and find the bus. So even though it meant heading outbound at almost precisely 5:00, and even though I was tired, hungry and cross-eyed from spending all day in front of a spreadsheet, Dan and I decided we'd go pick them up.

The trip required both of our vehicles, and it was a hellacious bumper-to-bumper smogfest getting out there. And then I had trouble finding my friends, but we finally figured that out and got them to their apartment.

Lots of unloading and unpacking of stuff ensued. My friends' little girl speaks no English and has enough energy that I'm thinking they could probably just skip looking for jobs and instead hook her up to a few wires and sell the energy to the electric company. She's a sweet little thing, but exhausting. The boy is fourteen, with a subtle sense of humor and a way about him that gives the impression he never says everything he thinks. Thankfully his English is quite good. I had been worried about how he would do in an American school, but I'm not worried at all any more.

We were busy getting them settled in until nearly 9:00. This included a run to the grocery store, where little Anna-Maria was hell on wheels, or rather, hell with wheels. She took charge of the shopping cart, completely oblivious to the fact that other people might be in the aisles. I spent a lot of time hanging onto the cart and getting only a big smile for my efforts to communicate before she was off again. Oh, my. Enough energy in that girl for at least three more just like her.

They're a very nice family and I'm looking forward to doing more with them this weekend. But I sure am tired! Not nearly as tired as if I'd spent over twelve hours on planes today, though. Thank goodness for that!

Recent Workouts
Wednesday: 5 mile run
Thursday: n/a

Jury Duty

For whatever reason, the county saw fit to call me for jury duty for the second time in as many years. Lucky me.

But I made the most of it. I parked across from the Y and walked to the courthouse. It's about a mile, but I was dressed for warm temps and I figured if I got cut early, I'd be glad to be parked right there close to the gym so I could get in a workout. Besides, I worked downtown long ago and it's always nice to get reacquainted. I've never minded walking a little bit.

I took a manuscript printout with me and got in about 2.5 hours of editing in the jury assembly room, going a bit crazy with my red pen, but hey, that's what editing is all about. At one point some alarms went off and a recorded announcement said for everyone to evacuate the building. We all looked at each other, murmuring questions and concerns, while the people working on our assignments at the front of the room carried on. I guess fire drills, bomb threat drills, etc, are par for the course in a county courthouse.

The bailiff my panel was assigned to was a cute and funny young lady. And we had some funny folks in our group too, which helped keep the process from feeling quite so much like we were cattle being herded to slaughter.

The lawyer for the prosecution seemed a slimy sort, and I was lucky to be able to truthfully give all the answers he didn't want to hear during the selection process. Yay, me! So I was cut around noon and made my way back to the Y.

My legs were a little tight, so it was an elliptical day. I wasn't in much of a gym workout mood, so I broke up my 45 minute workout into three 15 minute sessions, walking around between sessions. I changed machines at one point and found mysself in front of a TV set to the History Channel. They were showing a program on Roman engineering, which told me little that I didn't already know (I took a lot of Roman history classes in college), but it's nice to actually see the places and things I read about. And it helped pass the time.

When I got home I had a nice big salad, full of feta, olives and other good things, with a bit of hummus and pita on the side. And then for some reason I was exhausted. Nap time!

In all, not an unpleasant day.

Oh-- I forgot to mention this earlier, but the footbridge I use to get to the bayou trails has been tagged by Knitta!

Recent Workouts
Sunday: 90 minute spin
Monday: 45 minute elliptical and about 2 miles walking downtown

Chicken Run

Seeing that weather.com was predicting humidity in the 90% range for the early morning and temps rising quickly into the 80s, I bravely sacrificed my usual absurdly late Friday night writing session for an earlier bedtime and earlier wakeup call. How boring of me.

But I was rewarded with a cool, if very humid, run. After doing a bayou loop and scaring the baby bunnies, I ran up to Rice University and did a loop on their nice tree-lined trail around the campus. On the way up to Rice, I went past a house where I have sometimes seen a chicken poking around the front yard. Sometimes it's in the front yard, sometimes on the side, near the sidewalk, and sometimes it's even across the street. (Yes, one wonders why the chicken crossed the road.) The really odd thing about this particular situation is that it's on a pretty busy street, right in the inner city. It's totally not where you expect to see a chicken roaming around loose.

Anyway, on a whim I stopped at the house where I'd seen the chicken before and went looking for it, making clucking noises. (No, no one else was around. I'm silly, but not stupid.) I found the hen in the front yard and walked part-way up the path to get a closer look. Just an ordinary chicken, but still… very odd for the front yard of a house on a busy street in a wealthy neighborhood.

And that's the sum total of my adventures for this particular run.

I expect to finish the draft of my current novel this weekend. It's the second in my Peak Oil trilogy, and it's sort of an adventure story, backgrounded in the political consequences of severe economic crisis. The third book will focus on the rebuilding of a society that has gone through troubled times, and there will be a strong environmental element, since my main character will be a young civil engineer who specializes in water management.

My goal for this month is to begin querying agents for the first novel of the series. I've finally gained enough mental distance to go back in and do major edits, and what a chore that is! I've cut big chunks of the narrative, streamlined a lot of things, etc, etc. It hasn't been fun, but it's been instructive. Although I've written other novel-length fiction, I've never considered seeking publication before now. Consequently, I've never had to edit with agents and publishers in mind. It's very different than editing something that will forever be for one's own entertainment. But it's all good because I can already see a carry-over into how I work on my current draft, and how I conceptualize the next.

Well, I guess I need to quit dilly-dallying and go kill off a favorite character. I always dread these moments, but sometimes it has to be done.

Today's Workout
12.5 mile run

Third Time's the Charm

I left work today thinking I'd like to go for a run. But it was pretty hot and humid, so I decided to do a gym workout instead.

I was in no mood for a gym workout, but I was game. Until I got down there and found that the a/c was on the fritz and it was just as hot in the gym as outside, but with less of a breeze.

Suddenly the run didn't seem like such a terrible idea, after all. That is, until I realized that heavy black rain clouds were moving in fast. I almost went ahead with it anyway, but these clouds looked like they meant business!

By now I was pissed. I went back upstairs, endured the looks of annoyance from the pets (Okay, okay, humans are indecisive too, sometimes!), set up the bike and did a spin session. Thankfully, nothing went wrong this time.

Sometimes the hardest thing isn't the workout, it's getting to do the workout at all!

Recent Workouts
Sunday: 90 minute spin
Monday: 5 mile run
Tuesday: 30 minute elliptical
Wednesday: too lazy
Thursday: 45 minute spin

Happy Fourth! 

Saturday Run and Scouting Mission

I headed out the door with a route in mind, and as so often happens, got a sudden notion to do something different. I have friends from overseas moving here in a couple of weeks and I had reason to believe that there was a perfect little neighborhood for them that would offer everything they were looking for. So I decided to check it out.

But first I ran most of the bayou loop. Although the temps were only in the low 80s, the humidity made it feel like soup, and I was soon leaving my own little drippy trail. As I neared downtown, I saw two fenced-off areas where fireworks had been staged. The second spot covered the running trail (thanks, guys) and there was a detour sign pointing to a trail I had never used.

Odd, that there should still be a trail on Buffalo Bayou I hadn't run, but there it was. I had never bothered with it because I thought I knew where it went. I was both right and wrong about that, but it was a nice change and I'll be keeping this detour in mind for future runs, since it will allow me to avoid a spot that always has bayou silt several inches deep after major rains.

I came up the Allen Parkway side of the bayou, crossed the street after the bat colony and headed into the neighborhood. I ran up to South Boulevard and headed toward Montrose. I love the little neighborhood along North and South. It's a wealthy area, with trees that meet overhead in a sort of tunnel over a brick sidewalk on an esplanade. I got to thinking about the first time I found this little gem, 20 years ago, back when I was just an ignorant suburban kid who had no clue that such places even existed in Houston.

Next I ran through a slightly less expensive neighborhood, where I lived for a year in the late '80s. And then I crossed Montrose and headed into the area I wanted to check out. It was just as I remembered it-- an easily overlooked little rincon of older homes and brick fourplexes. There was some new construction, but most of what was back there was just as I remembered-- slightly run down, but in a charming and human way, with twisting streets, crepe myrtles, oaks and pecans. I stopped to talk to a man watering his yard, and he confirmed my memory of the neighborhood being quite safe. It's only a few blocks from the light rail and major bus lines, it's surrounded by churches, museums, parks and cafes, and the rents appear to be reasonable. I found myself sort of wishing I hadn't signed another lease where I'm at now, because I've always loved the area near the museums. I resolved to return over the weekend, get some phone numbers and make inquiries for my friends.

And then I ran toward home, giving myself an impromptu tour of some of the Montrose neighborhoods and eventually ending up back on the bayou where I completed the loop and added another couple miles for good measure. Although it was past 10:00 by this point, it still wasn't terribly hot out because of the growing threat of rain. I frightened a baby bunny, but didn't phase an older one who knew a runner and bunny-lover when he saw one.

I took my stinky, dripping self home after that, wrung out my running gear (how disgusting is that?), iced my legs and then took a shower. It was time to get cleaned up and reward myself with Indian food!

I sure do love my Saturdays!

Today'sWorkout
12 mile run

Better!

Well, I wouldn't have expected to have a good run today, after yesterday's slogfest. In fact, I initially planned to hit the gym instead. But even though I woke up late and my quads were a little stiff, I felt like giving it a try and I'm glad I did! Six miles with no real troubles until the last half mile, when I started to feel a little tired. Compare that to yesterday, when I was suffering from the very first mile.

Just goes to show that sometimes you're on, sometimes you're not. And there's not always an obvious explanation for it.

Today'sWorkout
6 mile run

Tough Run

In many ways, it had all the earmarks of an excellent Saturday long run:

• I mixed up a great new summer sports drink of Lemon-Lime Amino Vital plus concentrated pomegranate juice. Yum! (CarbPro and/or electrolytes can be added as appropriate.)


• Weather was not too hot, although the humidity had me dripping a trail by the end of five miles.


• I saw the Fourth of July preparations under way along the bayou-- tents, platforms, etc, already set up. They haven't staged the fireworks yet, though. Some year they have them out pretty early, but I guess with all the rain, they're h olding off.


• I met a duck and her duckling. I had stopped to contemplate my options where the bayou had overflowed my trail and the duck and her fuzzy baby waddled right up to me looking for a handout. Made me feel like a real meanie for not having a Clif Bar on me.


• I saw Jack Russell Terrier guy and his two little cuties.


• I saw a mother cat and her kittens crossing the road together in the residential neighborhood.

But in spite of these very fine things, it was a lousy run. I couldn't get my lungs to clear, so I struggled with my breathing the whole time. My legs were tight. And I felt "off" and tired throughout, like I just didn't have enough energy.

I don't know if I'm still adjusting to being back home or if it just wasn't my day, but I ended up cutting this workout short and going home.

They can't all be good, folks.

Today'sWorkout
10 mile run

Bunny Run

The predicted rain did not make an appearance today, other than a few showers. So even though there was still high water in the underpasses and debris all over the walkways around my building, I got in to work without much trouble. It was a pleasant day back, with people being nice to me and all. Ha! Wait until I've been back a couple days!

Anyway, it was sprinkling a bit when I headed home, and so nice and cool out that I decided to go for a run. By the time I got outside the rain was completely gone, and it was pleasant along the bayou.

It was turning out to be a totally uneventful run when I came across some bunnies! They're not usually out in the late afternoon/early evening, so I'm thinking they were probably hungry after being rained in for so long, and with the cool temps and absence of people walking their dogs along the bayou, they felt brave. It was great seeing my little friends for the first time this summer. An unexpected and welcome treat.

Today'sWorkout
45 minute bayou run

Monday Morning Adventure

I was not particularly looking forward to work this morning. It seems like vacations are never quite long enough to renew the desire to return to the office. You go off and do lots of fun things, come home, and it's right back to the daily grind. A real work-inspiring vacation for me would leave me so bored that attending meetings and mucking around with spreadsheets would look exciting by comparison.

But I digress.

I was up late trying to get reacquainted with my writing and then I kept waking up every hour, so by the time the alarm went off at 6:00 I hadn't slept well. And it was pouring outside. By the time I needed to leave, the rain showed no signs of slacking off, so after Dan and I sat on the couch and watched the flooding on the news for a bit, he decided to head in. We work at the same place (different buildings, though) and he drives a truck, so I told him to call me when he got in and tell me how the water levels were.

Well, he called and said everything was fine, darn it. So I headed out. By this time the rain, which had been slackening, had returned in full force. I could barely see to drive, and what few cars were out there were just creeping along. But I live in an area called the Heights, and they don't call it that for nothing. We get street flooding at the side of the road, but we almost never flood. And most of my route to work is on elevated freeways. So after poking along in low visibility for about twenty minutes, I found my exit clear and thought I was home free.

Big mistake.

My office building sits off-campus, and to get there one must go up a sort of elevated overpass, then dip below ground level to go beneath a series of railroad tracks. As I started up the overpass, I saw a big pickup truck heading the wrong way with its flashers on. Then a tow truck zoomed past (going the right way) with its lights flashing. Then another pickup, also heading the wrong way. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what was going on. The underpass was flooded. I waited until the oncoming trucks had passed, then did a u-turn and headed back down.

I turned toward the campus, thinking I would house myself with the nearest IT department and beg a cube and computer from them, since a lot of people were flooded in at home and there would be plenty of space available. But then I thought better of it. I would have to re-build my profile on a strange computer, and unless someone who knew the names of my hidden mapped drives was around, I wouldn't be able to access my data, anyway. I don't keep the names of my hidden drives in my head, after all-- why should I? But my computer at home was all set up and mapped, with virtual private network enabled and all the bells and whistles.

I was going home.

Once back at home, I set up the laptop and emailed the appropriate people. Soon I got unofficial word from my boss that the university was closing. It took another half hour for official word to come out, and then I got it via an IT emergency notification system. The main university notification system didn't let me know until several minutes after that. Efficient? Us? Don't bet on it!

But hey, I ended up with a free day! How sweet was that?

They say we'll have more rain and possibly more flooding tonight, but I see no evidence so far. I have a feeling I won't get off so easy tomorrow.

Recent Workouts
Sunday: 60 min elliptical

Nice vacation! 

Home Again

After getting into town last night, I did as much as I could to clear out the weekend for a bit of relaxation. I just knew I wouldn't want to spend Saturday and Sunday unpacking, doing laundry, shopping and all that other stuff. It made for a very late night, but I knew I'd be glad I did it, and I am!

I went for a late run this morning, since I was completely unable to rouse myself before 8:00 and even that was pushing it. It had been awhile since I had run in the humidity, and my calves were hurting from under-hydrating when I worked out in El Paso. I'm used to having sweat stick to my body in the humid Gulf Coast air, so when my sweat evaporates, I don't know how to gauge my rate of fluid loss. I force myself to drink water in the desert, but I don't have the experience to tell me how much is enough. The result was tight, locked-up calves that still hurt. Until I get warmed up, I walk sort of like Frankenstein.

Anyway, I wasn't going to let that stop me. I planned on a short, six mile run followed by some elliptical, but changed my mind and made it about 11 or 12 miles. It wasn't that I was feeling all that good, just that I wasn't feeling terrible. I slogged along, my skin loving the damp air, but the rest of me hating it. But things got better when some clouds moved in and I got caught in a pretty good shower about 3 miles from home. I don't really like running in the rain, but when the day is hot and the rain is cool, it can be refreshing if it doesn't last too long. And that far from home, what was I going to do anyway? I was already wet. So I trotted along home in the clearing rain, figuring at least I'd get home smelling better. There's a bright side to just about everything.

We went and had Indian food for lunch, driving out in the pouring rain. We hadn't had Indian food in two weeks and we certainly weren't going to let a little water stop us! And the rain made for nice afternoon nap weather.

I've been playing catch-up this evening, trying to figure out the news, friends' blogs and that sort of thing. I hope to settle in and get some writing done tonight, too. I did a little while I was gone, but certainly nothing like my page-a-day minimum when I'm here at home. I had a lot of good thoughts and observations that will be useful for my stories though, and that made it worth it. And it's a good idea to take your brain off the hook now and then and just enjoy the world.

Today's Workout
Long run - about 11 or 12 miles

Heading out, looking for adventure! 

Almost There!

Well, I hate to say it but I'm glad I didn't try to do a long run this morning. I'm clearly no longer sick, but there is just so much to do to get ready to leave tomorrow! I've been going pretty much non-stop, except for a break for Indian food and an afternoon nap. It's frustrating how for everything I cross off my list, I can think of something else, so the list never seems to get any shorter.

But I think we're just about ready. I got dialup working on my laptop so I'll be able to blog and check email even at my Dad's place (no DSL or wireless), and I'm trying to get set up so I can post pictures from my laptop, too.

In other words, I'm trying not to have a repeat of any of last year's mistakes.

Since this is a bunny and endurance sport blog, I'll be posting daily or near-daily updates of our two-week adventure on my vacation blog. (Linkable through my profile, if you forget.)

Drop by and share my adventures, and look for me back here in two weeks!

Oh, one other thing - I don't know why I keep forgetting. I'm all signed up for the Houston Marathon, being held on my 40th birthday, January 14, 2007!

Prelude to a Vacation

Well, I made it through Friday, although of course things got weird toward afternoon and I ended up working frantically, and much later than I wanted to. Oh well. It's over now.

The petsitter is coming Sunday morning to pick up a key and meet Tidbit. Our plan after that (always subject to change) is to head out around noon and hit Oklahoma City by dinner time. We hope to overnight at a B&B in nearby Arcadia and head out first thing Monday morning for Tucumcari, and stay at the historic Blue Swallow Motel. I've read that it's fabulously retro, down to the TVs and the rotary dial phones. I was going to make reservations today, but Dan thought he might be picking up my cold and I wanted to make sure he was still going to be able to head out this weekend. He seems to be okay tonight, and other than a slightly scratchy throat, I'm okay too. So I'll make hotel reservations tomorrow.

I figure it'll take us all day to get to Tucumcari, since we won't be driving straight through on the interstate. No, siree! We're taking Route 66 and stopping at anything that looks interesting. I suspect we'll find a lot of shops and museums closed, it being Monday and all, but I'm really more interested in the things you don't have to pay for, like semi-ghost towns and overgrown abandoned things.

On Tuesday, after overnighting in Tucumcari, we'll head down to my Dad's place in Bosque, just south of Belen. And from there, who knows? Our agenda includes, but is not limited to:

• Sightseeing on Route 66!
  


• Horseback riding in the arroyos near Santa Fe
  


• Hiking to Lake Catherine
  


• Camping in our new tent
  


• A visit to Pie Town and the ghost towns in the vicinity
  


• Tour other ghost towns or Indian ruins
  


• Visit relatives in Albuquerque
  


• Relax on my family's property near Belen (south of ABQ)
  


• Anything else that strikes our fancy
  

We haven't yet planned our route for the return trip. The quickest way would probably be to cut through Big Spring, but we might go via El Paso instead and visit a cousin who lives there.

I'm thinking of blowing off my Saturday long workout, or else doing a fairly short one of no more than an hour. That will give me more time to do things, and there's so much to do! And as luck would have it, I've just broken through a block in my writing where it was a bit of a struggle to keep churning out the pages. So now I want desperately to write but I need to be cleaning house, packing, buying last-minute stuff and all those other things one has to do before heading out the door for two weeks.

Thank God and Dell for laptop computers! I can keep on writing, even if I'm at a hotel somewhere!

I'll be blogging, too, and hopefully posting pictures. More on that tomorrow-- I've got fictional characters I need to torment tonight.

Getting Better All The Time

I felt a little better this morning. My temp was down, although still a low-grade fever. My sinuses hurt so bad I was dizzy, but other than that I felt a whole lot better. I went to work expecting to only do another half day, but to my surprise I felt better and better as the day wore on. So I stayed for the duration and finished getting some things in order. Unless all heck breaks loose between now and close of business Friday, I'm about to be on vacation!

I'll be posting an itinerary soon!

What I Did For Love

I woke up this morning to pouring rain, stuffy head, ringing ears, a slight fever and body aches. And no one but me to open up the office and unlock the conference rooms.

Dammit.

Since nothing felt good against my skin, it would have to be a casual day. Or what passes for casual with me-- my softest boot-cut jeans, a silk polo and my favorite Ann Taylor jacket. No heels. No way. I sent my scout (er… husband) out into the rain and waited for his report. Once I heard the roads were passable, I made my way to work, did all the little things my vacationing assistant would normally do, then settled in to wrap up a few projects and address some new issues that had come up.

I felt okay at first. I had lots of cold symptoms, but they felt like they were all on the surface. Underneath the aches and annoyances I felt, if not great, at least okay. But by noon I was getting chilled, everything hurt and luckily we had finally, hopefully, gotten past a major impasse on a critical project.

I went home.

But now here's the tricky part. Tidbit was out of hay and it was supposed to be delivered that afternoon. I set my alarm and laid down for a nap. At 5:15, it was pouring rain. The hay was in the leasing office, which would be closing in fifteen minutes. Rain or no rain, I needed to go get it.

So I splashed my way down the flooded walkways, trying (and often failing) to find paths around the mud and puddles. My temp was back up and the rain hurt, holding the umbrella hurt, even my clothes hurt! And then I had to find a way to get the 18"x30" box back across the complex and up to the third floor while carrying my ginormous umbrella. Not so easy when I'm feeling good, but today? Everything that touched my skin was either too hot or too cold, and all of it felt like it was leaving bruises. The box felt like it weighed fifty pounds (it was 9 pounds), and the umbrella dug into my shoulder and caught on just about every small tree in the complex. My feet got wet, my cuffs were soaked, and I swear I've done speedwork that left me less winded than those stairs did today! But I finally got back home, feeling like I had achieved some great victory.

I opened up the new box of timothy hay to happy little bunny grunts and binkies.

Oh, yes. It was worth it.

Don't ever think I don't love you, Tidbit.

A-choo!

There's nothing like realizing what you thought was allergies is actually a cold. Less than a week to wrap things up at the office and get things ready on the home front if I'm going to hit my preferred vacation departure date, and I've got post-nasal drip that just won't quit. Not to mention sneezing, stuffy ears, the works. Past experience has taught me not to take anything to dry this up unless I simply can't sleep any other way. That's a good way to get stopped-up sinuses and a nasty headache.

So it looks like the Kleenex box will be my best friend for a few days. Lucky me.

Just Another Saturday

I had a light workout week, due largely to my inability to decide how I want to restructure my schedule, now that the days are too warm for afternoon runs. I need to make some sort of decision, but I haven't yet gotten over the fact that I don't like any of my options. I'll bow to necessity soon, and in the meantime I'm trying to be patient with myself. And backing off a bit this week was helpful, because I felt a lot fresher than I did last Saturday.

I'm still trying to keep my "long run day" cardio level at my old levels as I back off on the running to let my hip get better. So I started with what I thought would be an hour in the gym, but turned into an hour and a half on the elliptical trainer, broken into 30 minute sets with breaks in between.

Then I changed into dry clothes and hit the trails.

It should be noted that this was my first midriff-baring day of the season!

By the time I got out on the bayou trails, temps were in the 80s-- warm enough that I probably would've needed to carry water with me, had it not been for some cool breezes and occasional cloud cover. Since the Fuel Belt seems to make my hip problems worse, I was glad to be able to run without it.

It was a rather dull day on the bayou. The sidewalk artist had completed her project in front of the Sabine Lofts, so I didn't have to make a detour on my way into downtown. On the way back out of downtown, I noticed someone had strung a clothesline down near the water and hung some shorts and t-shirts. This was odd on a lot of levels, not the least of which is that the bayou water is so filthy that I can't imagine anyone would use it for washing. So why the clothesline?

There were no races, no walks, no nothing going on. In fact, there weren't a lot of runners out on the trails at all. Too hot? Doesn't seem likely. Anyone who runs in this town has to acclimate or take up a different hobby. One of the oddest things I noticed when I did the IronStar Half-Ironman a couple years ago was the way everyone was reacting to the heat on the run course. Given that it was a mostly local field, I just couldn't understand how so many people had failed to learn how to properly fuel and hydrate for such conditions. It was sort of bizarre. How can you train through the summer months in this town and not learn how to handle heat and humidity?

In other related news, registration for the Houston Marathon opens on June 1. I've decided to go ahead and sign up early. The race actually filled up this past year and I don't want to take a chance on waiting. After so many problems over the past few years-- tendonitis, bronchitis and now hip and IT band troubles-- I'm pretty skeptical about this marathon. But since it's on my birthday next year, maybe that will be the charm and things will all go right this time. The last time I ran it was on my birthday too, so what could go wrong?

Please don't answer that!

Today's Workouts
Saturday: 90 minutes elliptical, 7 mile run

Wicker bunny tunnel 

Vacation Preview - Route 66

For the amusement of my friends -- great site about Route 66. Scroll down to the bottom and click on the interactive map. Enjoy, and don't blame me if you get nothing done for the next two hours!

Quickie Mid-Week Post

Just a quick update, since I'm such a slacker...

I'm tentatively scheduling my vacation for the weeks of June 5 and 12, pending completion of various urgent projects here at the office. We're hoping to do a lot of hiking and camping, but I've read some speculation that NM will be putting some restrictions on park use due to drought conditions. So I guess we'll see how that turns out. I'm looking forward to travelling Route 66, though. That's a big part of this year's plan-- it'll be a serious road trip this time!

As for my biggest and most urgent work project, I'm about to face serious Vendor Wrath for having figured out why we do not owe a major software vendor $800K. My boss is very pleased, but... oh, let's not even start on the fallout from this one when a certain big corporation realizes we've trumped them with their own vaguely-worded contract!

Lessee... my work on my new novel has slowed down a bit. My main character must've figured out I plan to kill her off or something. But I've finally put enough distance between myself and Tin Soldier that I can do some constructive editing. That makes me happy. I hate the "can't see the mistakes" phase, which is typically followed by the "this is a load of crap" phase. Gotta get through both of those in order for good things to start happening again.

My hip hasn't been any trouble this week, although one of my longstanding weird little ankle pains has cropped up again. But this is a known entity and not of any major concern. I'm just disappointed that it's now too hot and humid after work to go for a run outside. I'm going to have to start going to Memorial Park at night, I guess. It's either that or the dreadmill.

And finally, YES, I do have more bunny pics! I'll try to post tonight or tomorrow. I've been seriously behind schedule and Tidbit wants it made clear that the fault is not with her, but with her slacker owner.

Recent Workouts
Sunday: 7 mile run
Monday: 30 minute elliptical
Tuesday: rest
Wednesday: 45 minute elliptical

Saturday Run

I sure am glad it's the weekend! Work has been totally insane, but it's a good feeling to be steadily ticking the most troublesome items off my To Do list. And with both of my bosses out of town on Monday, I'm not really dreading the start of next week too much.

I really need a vacation, though. We're working on that.

In the meantime, I'm still in trying to get myself back in shape so I can train again and not just work out. My hip has been clicking a bit, but wasn't too troublesome this week.

Today I did an hour on the elliptical machine, broken up into two 30-minute sessions. Then I went out for a bayou run. The plan was to take the trails past Sabine and into downtown, cross over at the Wortham Center and head back. This worked out fine, except that there has been a sidewalk artist at work just outside the Sabine Lofts all week, and there's no good way to run around the area she has roped off. The grass is thick and squishy, perfect for turning an ankle, so instead I made a detour that added a few tenths of a mile, but at least kept me on asphalt and level ground.

Coming back up Allen Parkway after turning around at the Wortham Center, I came upon a group walk of some kind. Although there were some signs posted along their route, I still couldn't make out what the cause or occasion was. There were a lot of walkers, though, and they had special shirts, cardboard fans and all that. But no water stops. Odd, considering the weather report was predicting a high in the low 90s.

Overall, I had an okay run, but not one of my better ones. My legs felt tired. Maybe it was the hills or the lack of sleep. I don't know. But I was glad to get home and ice down with my sweet bunny by my side.

My plan is to run again in the morning, but on a flat course this time. We'll see how that turns out. I'm kind of liking these shorter runs, but I miss my long two and three-hour running adventures. I wish my hip and IT band would hurry up and get better.

Recent Workouts
Thursday: 25 minutes treadmill (too hot to run outside), 20 minutes elliptical
Friday: Scheduled rest day
Saturday: 60 minutes elliptical, 7 mile run

Meetings, etc.

I got called into an end-of-day meeting today that ended up being pretty nice. It lasted only an hour. It started on time, ended on time and stayed relevant throughout. About halfway through the meeting, a nice-looking young man showed up and gave us all cookies. Now, why aren't more meetings like this? All we needed was for someone to come and massage our feet, and it would've been perfect!

Things are maybe getting a little better at work. I'm starting to see some a dim light at the end of the tunnel. If all goes well tomorrow, I can probably have all the most urgent matters wrapped up by the end of this week. I do hope our planned reorganization happens soon. It would mean that the next time a convoluted contract-related matter like this comes up, it won't be my problem. And next year's budget cycle wouldn't be my worry either, except in a peripheral way.

In other news, I went for a bayou run yesterday. The weather has been so nice that it would've been absurd not to do it. It was my first time on the trails in awhile, and it was a lovely day for it, with temps in the low 80s and a nice breeze. I have a feeling we won't see temps like that again until fall, so I'm glad I got out there and enjoyed it.

I would have liked to have done the same thing today, but for some reason I was just really tired. I feel like I'm fighting off a cold, although I'm hoping it's just allergies. Normally I wouldn't mind an excuse to stay home, but there's just too much happening right now and I'm too close to being done. If it turns out I am sick, maybe I'll make a point of sneezing and coughing on the people who are annoying me. Then they'll stay home and I'll get my work done faster.

Recent Workout
Tuesday: 5 mile run

Sunday Run

I wasn't too sure about this morning's run at first. My foot was feeling better, but my hip and IT band were tight. I stretched a little and walked a bit, then decided I might as well go ahead and give it a try. To my surprise, I felt much better than I would have expected. I ran up Blossom Street to Memorial Park, followed the trail to the tennis courts and then continued on toward Memorial Drive, where I turned right to follow the trail that continues on to the 610 Loop. A train was stopped on the tracks, so I had to go underneath the trestle, but that was okay. Better safe than sorry. I'd feel pretty silly if I got hurt because I was walking between the cars when the train started moving.

I went up to the Loop, then turned around and came back. Once I was at the park again, I ran into my ex-landlord's ex-wife. She was walking the other way, so I stopped and walked with her for a bit. She told me she was back with my ex-landlord, which didn’t entirely surprise me. And she told me about some of the tris she has coming up. Then we ran back to the tennis courts and I continued on, now retracing my steps, to where the trail came back up to Memorial Drive. From there I ran home without any further incidents.

In all, it was a very pleasant little run. I had initially planned to run six miles, but the extra bit up to the 610 Loop added a little over a mile, and running with Linnie added another mile, so it ended up being a longer run than I had planned. My foot didn't give me any trouble until around mile five, and my hip and IT band didn't start nagging until about the last mile and a half. So it turned out pretty well, I think.

I called my mom this afternoon to wish her a happy Mother's Day. She wasn't too interested in going out, thank goodness. Mother's Day is pure Amateur Day in the restaurant business and is always a zoo. We're looking at maybe doing something on Memorial Day weekend, which isn't entirely sane but at least isn't insane, either.

I'm so not looking forward to going to work tomorrow and facing these silly crises again. But I think we're very near some solutions, and we're ordering box lunches for the meeting we're calling. The box lunches contain cookies. I suppose any day you get a free cookie can't be all bad.

Today's Workout
8 mile run

Bruises and Bargains

Today was gorgeous running weather, so of course I managed to hurt my foot yesterday and couldn't run today. Isn't that just the way of it? What made it even more annoying was that today was the Art Car Parade, so I missed my annual opportunity to run up Allen Parkway and admire all the cars lined up to head into downtown. If I had remembered about the parade, I might have just decided to run the bayou trails anyway, so it may have been for the best that I forgot. If I don't do anything stupid tonight like go blundering into the furniture, I think I can try a cautious run on level ground tomorrow morning. Running the uneven, hilly bayou trails today while gawking at art cars would have probably been a recipe for disaster.

After lunch today, Dan and I went to our LBS to wish the owner well. This was his last weekend. He's closing up shop and moving to Galveston. We met the new shop owner and browsed what was left of the current inventory. Everything was 50% off and much to my delight, a Louis Garneau jersey that I'd had my eye on for the longest time was still there! At $70, there was no way I would've bought it. Not when I already have plenty of bike jerseys. But at $35 it was a steal and like I said, I'd been admiring it for a very long time. Now I just need to quit being so lazy about getting that rear wheel looked at, so I can go out and ride.

Man, what a week I had! It's funny how things can putter along at the office for weeks at a time without much excitement and then suddenly all heck breaks loose and I'm really earning that paycheck. Several projects and crises came up at once, but by the end of next week the worst should be over. In fact, it could even be that the worst has already passed. I stayed late every day this past week, did some work from home, and spent a lot of time on the phone and in meetings with people so I could hopefully get ahead of the game. We'll see on Monday how that turned out.

Today's Workout
90 minutes elliptical, 30 minutes treadmill (nursing a very nasty bruise to my foot)

Friends in the window 

Mid-Week Post

There's nothing like getting an invoice for a completely ridiculous sum of money to make my day at work interesting. The company that sent it has been impossible to work with this year, sending us vaguely worded, generic invoices and then denying any ability to create better ones, even though they are in the business of supplying software solutions. How can they not give me an itemized invoice on a license renewal of over half a million dollars when I can get the balloon shop up the street to provide an itemized bill, no problem? And now we have this latest invoice, based on who knows what, seemingly in violation of our contract, and that they say we must pay within fourteen days or else.

Don't they know they're dealing with a state institution? I'm lucky if I can order a box of Kleenex in under fourteen days.

Anyway, it will all be resolved soon, but it's just one of many things keeping me at work late these days. At least I can't say I'm bored. This week has been flying by!

That's about all the excitement around here, and it's not very exciting at all, is it?

Well, here's a recap of some of what's happened around here lately:

• Our betta was sick but is responding to his medication and seems perkier now.


• I got the heels of my favorite summer pumps re-capped.


• I thought I liked my new shampoo, but now I'm not so sure.


• I have several new books to read.


• One of my new books is about world water issues. It's research for my next novel (which will complete my Peak Oil trilogy), where I have a main character who is interested in environmental issues, particularly water rights and usage.


• My writing has slowed down lately because one of my characters is copping an attitude. After what I've put her through, I can't say I blame her.


• My sister and father both had birthdays recently. With Mother's Day just around the corner, I'm about to hit the trifecta, don't you think?


• I still haven't gotten the rear wheel of my bike looked at, but I have seriously considered just getting a whole new bike. Makes perfect sense, doesn't it?


• Peanut Butter Puffins cereal bars RULE.

I think we're all in the doldrums here. The weather has been hot and so humid lately that when I leave for work in the morning I can feel my makeup being steamed into my pores. In the afternoon I come home to a mailbox full of soft, soggy bills and magazines. Everyone I know seems to be counting the days until they can take a vacation. I know that's all I’m doing.

It's been nice reading other folks blog about their training and races. Until my hip quits hurting, racing is out of the question, so it's fun to read what other people are doing.

Another Rainy Morning

This morning's storm arrived at the same time my alarm clock went off. Thunder, lightening, the works. Okay. I reset for half an hour and went back to bed. Thirty minutes later, it was still storming. So it was another long workout at the gym for me.

This time I took a change of clothes and an extra towel. Everything went pretty well, and no one showed up with out-of-control kids, which was nice. For some reason I couldn't get CNN on the television, but someone else turned one of the TVs to the Food Network, so that worked out okay. I wonder though, about people who feel the need to cut perfect circles out of pieces of bread.

The plan for tomorrow is to go for an early run, then hit the Y for some strength training. If time permits, I might also try to get in some time on the bike.

Not much else is going on. It's budget time at work and there are other projects going on as well. Everyone seems stressed-out and just not in the mood. I think we all want to go on vacation and are counting the days. But until they give us some firm dates for when the budget cycle will end, I can't set a date for my own vacation, which is probably fueling some of my angst and ennui. And so I try to slip out for a little walk at mid-day, or take a break to read some blogs, or schedule meetings that will end before I would normally go home, but not so early that it makes sense to drive back to the office. One does what one can.

I believe my financial advisor said I have sixteen more years of this to meet the state's retirement qualifications. Joy.

Recent Workouts
Tuesday: 6 mile run
Thursday: 45 minute cardio: 15 elliptical, 15 stairmaster, 15 treadmill
Saturday: 3 hour cardio: 45 elliptical, 45 stairmaster, 45 treadmill, 45 bike

Tidbit and a friend