Last day in Wellington

Today is my last day in Wellington.  Yesterday I flew to Nelson for the day (the weather here was crap but Nelson really turned it on, gorgeous sunny day).  I met up with an old school friend that I haven't since we were 18.  We didn't immediately recognize each other at the airport (although really she's hardly changed) so stood staring at one another for a while until we both clicked.....then it was off and chattering for the rest of the day.  Of course we each remembered different things from our teen years (although both vividly recall the amount of partying that was done).  Rebecca also had news of other school friends so it was interesting to hear what people have been doing.   Apart from sitting outside in the sun at this cute cottage in an old colonial home (eating lunch and drinking wine) we also went to the Wearable Art Museum.  This was very cool and cleverly set up so you sit down and watch the costumes/clothes roll past you....not unlike the actual show!
Landed back in Wellington and was picked up at the airport and headed out to drinks with a group of folk that informally come together every three weeks.  Great fun and met some old faces as well.  Andrea, Flis and I then went to diner and......karaoke.....this was hilarious.  Andrea can sing and belted out several songs.  Ended up being a very late night (or should I say early morning).
Mum and I are off adventuring today then I am off to a party this evening with another old friend.  Going to keep this evening quiet, in fact as of today back to the no drinking regime as I've been a little neglectful and will, undoubtedly, pay the price when I next see Case.
Auckland tomorrow, three days of adventuring then back to life as I round out my time at Cisco and launch myself into the next new thing.

Whirl wind of adventures

Queenstown was a blast.....the house was beautiful, in a lovely setting and a delight to stay in - made all the more fun as I brought the "cook" with me!
Of course adventures were at hand and this is me launching myself off the bungy at the top of the gondolas.  Dude told me to run at it and launch myself off the platform - seems I'm good at following instructions.  Can't fault the view, really is spectacular.

Also did this which is this very cool tour through the trees via a series of flying foxes.  Takes about two hours and along the way the guides give you a little eco lesson.  It was fun to do and grand to be up in the trees....bloody cold though, even though we were bundled up.
Did the Shotover Jet boats as well and soaked in the tubs overlooking the river.
It was interesting to be in Queenstown after all these years and amazing to note the number of non-kiwis working the tourist sites.

Travelled through to Arrowtown as well.  The Fall colours were lovely.  I can't say I really remember seeing Fall look like this as a child but it was definitely a gorgeous time of year to be visiting.
Back to Wellington and I felt so guilty about not having done any running that I took myself off around the bays and ran 16miles (nearly 26km).....the longest run I've done to date.  Had me feel so much better about myself!
Have continued to catch up with old friends and work colleagues., including a 7am breakfast this morning (what was I thinking?). Head to Nelson tomorrow for the day to see an old school friend....who I haven't seen since we were 18 years old.  She sent me an email a few weeks back and I figured since I was in Wellington I could swing a 35min flight for the day.
Got some other catchups between now and Sunday when I head back to Auckland.  Having a grand time and not yet thinking too hard about the new job!

Queenstown

So Wellington has been a whirl of catching up with folk and bumping into even more folk in the street that I am now planning lunches with......small town.  Out running met two people I know, even smaller town than I remember.  It was a lovely run, 22.5km so a big'un but all around the south coast and around Oriental Bay, really lovely.  Couple of hills to start but nothing unmanageable.  Heading out again for dinner tonight to a very nice restaurant that has been around for years and seems to survive the ups and downs of the economy.  Have drunk more wine since landing than I have in a VERY long time.
Fly to Queenstown on an early morning flight tomorrow (well 915 so not too early I guess).  Going to be roughing it of course!  There's a very cool video that takes you on a tour of the house as well.  The house is Karen and Brice's, they were building it when I was living with them in New Mexico.  Sweetly I look around and see all the furniture etc etc that I used to live with on the Ranch.....they shipped it all over when it came time to furnish.  Really looking forward to the trip.  In Queenstown for four days and will update on the adventures to be had in the next blog.
Started raining here today but weather is oddly warm.  Must get back to chores....stop avoiding packing!

Wellington

Arrived yesterday afternoon......almost had a bloody heart attack at the taxi fare from Grey Lyn to Auckland Airport.  Bloody hell!  Got on the plane, doors closed and so did my eyes, landed, doors opened and so did my eyes.  I love that flight Auckland Wellington, it's perfect cat nap time.
Mum and Kathy met me at the airport in the "truck" - seriously, K and J now have a truck that they can use to carry stuff (well the Saab isn't so practical for home renovation projects).  Quiet night in then up at 6am to go to the gym with Janine.  Cute little set up at the end of her street.  Of course was then challenged to modify my program to be kgs not lbs.....yikes I think Case got some of the conversions wrong because no way I could lift some of the weights he had written down (before I left we spent one of our sessions writing out a program for me to do while I am here, he is determined I don't go backwards and I know if I don't do it it will all just hurt when I get back!!!!).
Now I am lounging on the day bed at J & Ks, sunny streaming in the window, it's a long day when you get up at 6am.
Out for dinner tonight with a pal and been steadily filling the Calendar.
And wow, new job sent me a link this morning to a website that's for new hires to look around to prepare for the first few months with "the firm".  I'm quite impressed I have to say.  It seems like they do alot to give you the tools you need and set you up for success, then you just gotta do it.  It's also good to get some insight into how the next while will run.  I'm still amused that I've applied for a job, got it but then when folk so what will you be doing, where will you be working all I can say is "I'm not sure".  I definitely have a better sense of how the process works but won't know what my first job is for a while nor where it will be.  Just as well I deal well with uncertainty, it will all become clear, eventually!

Wellington bound

I head off to Wellington today having had a very pleasant time in Auckland.  Loved Yol and O's lil ranch, 10 acres I think with the biggest bull I have ever seen (which we herded into a new paddock....glad it was compliant as didn't fancy my odds if he decided he wasn't going to be happy).  Drinks out on Saturday were fun with many old faces there to chat too.  By 11 pm I was feeling shattered as it had been along day.
Sunday up early to head out for a trail run with Gwenda. This proved to be very lovely as we ran through bush (uphill and down) pausing mid-run to sit on the beach before turning around to head back to the cars. 10ks all up I think so a nice way to get the heart rate up without killing myself.  After that we went to a very lovely cafe on Takapuna beach, great views although very busy as it was mothers day.  The afternoon was spent watching a DVD and generally lounging around with Rose.....foot elevated, being waited on of course.  In the evening we headed out to Ingrid and Margaret's for dinner and interesting conversation.  They have bought a very sweet villa, very livable as it is but packed with potential and, of course, given it is NZ, plans are well underway around how to change things to make it even more livable!
Stayed up late with Rose chatting so having a leisurely morning with Poppy (Rose and Jo's dog) laying next to me on the bed.....she stayed in doors with me last night, special treat as usually she sleeps outside, and is continuing to indulge in sleeping on the big bed.

Landed!

Most uneventful trip although delighted to have had three seats to myself on the plane so that I could lay down and get some sleep.......most happy as I really could lay flat!
One notable moment was Rose arriving at the airport on crutches!!!! Apart from the fact it was 5:45am (now that's a pal) I hadn't registered that the sprained ankle has turned into a broken one.  Owwwww makes my joints ache to even think about it.
Anyhoo arrived back at Ms Peel (Rose and Jo's house) to have several cups of very strong coffee and Poppy (the dog) happily lounging in my lap (I hear you sobbing Michelle, she is as cute as ever btw).  Jo eventually surfaced and I chatted to her for a while before I headed off to the supermarket to spend outrageous amounts of money on.........not much.  Doesn't help that the nearest supermarket is at the pricer end of the spectrum, but wow either my tastes have got very expensive (yes yes I hear the laughter) or this town has - and that is saying something from someone who lives in California where the cost of living ain't exactly cheap. 
Pal Leah (who I haven't seen in maybe 7 years) came and picked me up and we headed over to "The Shore", chattering away before heading to lunch (yum sashimi).  Lovely to see her, not much changed and great to catch up on life.
Got home and headed out for a run.  Got lost of course, forgot cars DON'T have to stop for pedestrians except under very specific circumstances (i.e. traffic lights and ped crossings) AND look right then left before crossing the road.  Needless to say I got more than one adrenalin surge as I was reminded of these things.  I had to ask for directions twice (oh the bliss of only having to ask once and people knowing what the hell I was saying - never under estimate the ease of your native tongue).
Today (apart from clearly being awake at 5am - earlier truth be told but I stayed in bed as long as I could having stayed up as late as I could) off to breakfast with another pal then heading out to Odessa and Yolanta's lil "ranch" and then someones birthday drinks in the evening (I am the token "visitor from America".........I expect they will be most disappointed when they register I don't have an American accent and am not, at least for now, an American at all).  Tomrorrow, trail run.......followed by recovery I expect.

A fond farewell

Dear Santa Cruz

We are breaking up; it’s time for me to leave you.  We’ve had a strange relationship.  You with your beach town feel, surfing, hippy, tourist culture offset by that quirky university crowd and those very wealthy dotcomers (I am simply going to ignore the wasters…..there are more than a few of them, you really should think hard about who you hang out with).  I couldn’t fault your beautiful beaches, restaurants and some of the fab people I’ve met along the way.   Once I found it, I loved that gym too and my boys (Marc and Case), they might come with me, we will see.  But really, it is you; our time is done.  I was only ever visiting and need to head back into the big city.  You were very patient with me while I rebuilt my world, tried to figure out what to do next; finding me that little attic room tucked behind the hoarders house and with the most fantastic roomie.  Took care of me again when the little cottage arrived (well Michelle had a hand in that) and, of course that job, that unexpected job with the company I’d never heard of (Cisco wasn’t it?).  The cottage brought a new roomie too and the sweetest landlords.   Throughout it all I had my rideshare, I’ll miss her, but not the daily commute over the 17.  I’ve survived it all of course and the world looks entirely different than it did 3 years ago, yeah can you believe it, that’s how long it’s been. 

I do want to thank you though, I had no idea you were such a famous little town, everywhere I went people knew Santa Cruz (I hope you didn’t think me too mean always calling you Santa Crazy).

I am telling you this now because I want to give you time to adjust.  I am heading off for three weeks and when I come back there is going to be a lot of change.  I start my new job in June, I’ll stumble through the geography in the early weeks – yes I’ll be in the San Francisco office, too far to commute every day and then I might end up travelling four days a week, so I wouldn’t be seeing much of you anyway, even less than I do now.  I’ll have a new roomie so that changes too; brings new and different things into my world.  I’ll need to make more effort to catch up with the few pals that live here (well Michelle and Marcia, but things are changing for them too and that’s what social media is all about isn’t it?).

I guess you aren’t surprised but I’m glad we talked.  I at least wanted you to know that you’d been important in my life. I won’t forget you and might even come visit some time, the motorbike would enjoy the ride. I’ll never be able to visit nor think about you without feeling grateful you were here.  Life could have gone differently these past years.  Just goes to show sometimes all it takes is the right space and the will to keep moving forward One.Step.At.A.Time.

Nashville has been flooded out!

Country Music Hall of Fame pre. the flood.....

Country Music Hall of Fame post the flood.....

The angle isn't quite the same but you get the idea!  During the half marathon we ran down towards the museum then in front of it....so if we'd been running last weekend we would have needed waders!  Sadly too all the downtown honky tonk area is flooded too!   Glad I saw it when I did.

Nashville, new job and relocating

Been a busy few weeks.  Clearly I survived Nashville!  The run was tough, 

hot and hilly…….I really slogged it out.  Still came out in the top 25% for age and gender (these things matter……to me, at least) BUT took me over two hours.  Around mile two I knew it was going to be ugly and I never found the love.  That’s a lot of miles of feeling unloved I have to say.  Still I loved Nashville.  Around 34,000 people run in this race so the place was humming and the streets lined with spectators.  A pending thunderstorm meant organizers had to close the course earlier than anticipated so folks running the marathon who didn’t hit mile 11 within 2hrs 30mins got diverted to the half marathon.  Can’t imagine how devastating it would be to be running your first marathon and not be able to finish.  One very cool story……well two. The woman who won the half didn’t know it started 15 mins earlier than originally announced (once again trying to make sure folk weren’t on the course when the storm hit) – she was in the bathroom cue when the start gun went.  She raced out of the cue, jumped the fence onto the course (before the start line so her time was recorded) and sprinted to catch the lead runners…..she was just as shocked as everyone that she won!  Another woman who was running her first marathon got turned back to go to the finish line at a couple miles short of her being able to complete the full 26.2 miles so she crossed the finish line and found some guy with a Garmin gps watch and he ran around the race track with her until she had completed the full distance….way to go!

Saturday evening of the race I had dinner with the work pals family (having slept on her couch the night before we flew out of San Jose for Nashville……..6am 2hr flight to Denver then change planes for a further 2hr flight to Nashville).  Tried fried green tomatoes, yum and had several glasses of the most divine red wine (or maybe it’s just that I drink so seldom these days that all wine tastes good).

As well as the runners expo I went to visit the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.  This was really interesting……..got to see Elvis’s gold plated car……..ugly…..but gold nonetheless. 

I love this view on the right, the building in front was dated early 1800s, no prizes for guessing the date for the one in back.  This was very representative of Nashville architecture, a real mix.

On another note…….I have a new job.  Yuh it’s that time again.  I’m heading off into management consulting land going to work for Accenture as a manager.  Long story short it’s time for me to make a big career change, this is it!  Most likely I’ll travel 4 days a week and will, ultimately, be back to running teams.  Accenture is huge (170,000 employees globally) and has a fantastic learning culture.  They have their own training school just outside Chicago and and and – it’s a fantastic opportunity and if I can do a good job opens up many doors.  I almost can’t believe it, this is why I came to the US!  If I can do this well I will have the opportunity to work on a huge number of different projects, continue to work with fantastically capable, smart people and across a range of different organizations.  It’s exciting and scary.

Which also leads me to the other change – I am moving into San Fran.  Need to be closer to the home office and the airport.  I think I’ve found a very cool roomie who also has a dog!  She currently lives in Santa Cruz and is a lecturer at the University – she’s keen to move into San Fran so after my NZ visit we are going to start to look around for a place.  I think we will make a good team and it will be good to live with someone if I am travelling. 

In between all that I fly out for NZ on May 5 for 2.5 weeks......so as you can tell…….not much happening……..

Proof.....kind of

Santa Cruz half marathon, by Wilder Ranch......ummmm can't see my number, hidden, wrong colour, shouldn't be running with the big kids.....trainer made me do it, honest!

Hmmm not sure, mile 6 (9.6 km) maybe, not quite half way, windy but not unmanageable, well not a head wind at this point.  No rain, but a mighty stormy sea, rain and headwind came later!

Seriously....why would anyone do this?

Swine Smash - meat based cocktails

Santa Cruz Half, Nashville and Visiting NZ

Alright finally getting around to posting about the Santa Cruz Half.  Woke up to an overcast cold day with the promise of rain!  So no question that I would be wearing a jacket to run in, which was fortunate because as it turns out the colour of the numbers for the half versus the 10k was different and I wasn't actually registered for the half (registration was full but I ran it anyway).  Even though the weather was bad around 3.5 thousand people showed up on the day (pic on the left is the teeshirt logo, I thought it was kind of quirky and creative, I like it).  Cute at the start, they read out the places people were from (other than the US).  Turns out Australia, Sweden, Germany and New Zealand....couldn't tell if there were other folks there so might only have been me!  The course is really scenic taking you along the Coast and then out to Wilder Ranch (which I've mentioned before) - only this time we ran the coastal track, rather than the hill.  The weather being rough meant the sea was spectacular.  The last 4 miles were hellishly windy and the last mile it rained.  Somewhat meanly, I thought, we finished with a short beach run....very short but sand no less!  It really was a great race and I'd love to do it when the weather was fine too.  Of course now I realize if I ran that course from my house that would make for a very nice 15/16 mile run...between now and NY it's all about building miles.  
I was good and only looked at my watch for distance, not pace....unbelievably my chip time came in at 1hr 48mins....I find this very hard to believe but keep getting told "the chip don't lie".  So if it is true I would have been around 16th for my age group in a filed of 380ish.  Very credible but a little freakish.  Case, of course, was beside himself with it all.
Nashville is next weekend.  It will be very very different....hot for a start.  Around 20 degrees (please let it be at least that "cool"...my running buddy tells me temperatures have been around 26 for the last two weeks).  Oh and for the record I do live my life in fahrenheit and miles these days but translating to make it easier for the NZ folk.  Nashville will also have thousands more runners and, of course, bands every 2 miles or so.  They start the race in waves as well so this will be my first time doing something similar to the NY marathon.  Now I am staying the extra day I am even more excited to be able to do some additional sightseeing.  I am just going to focus on clocking the miles, enjoying the run and the music.  I am taking my i-pod just in case I don't like all the distraction - head off into my own country music concert.

Because I know just how dull all this running/marathon chatter can get for those that aren't interested I've attached a pick of my latest purchase.  If you pop it open you'll see the dude on the left is just yapping on marathon, marathon, marathon....guy on the right speaks for itself!  On the back it references the NY Marathon and I did get a running cap which mentions training for the marathon....going to wear that in Nashville as it is white so might offer some protection from the evil sun .... which is most welcome to be in attendance after the race, just not during!
NZ trip is all booked, including some catchups (although not all of them....I am starting to feel organized out).  Tripping into Auckland, Wellington, Queenstown, back to Wellington then last few days in Auckland. 2.5 weeks all up, which is longer than last year so I am making the most of it.  Queenstown is on the list as I want to go and stay at Karen and Brice's house, they were building when I was living with them on the Ranch so I feel like I know it but have only seen pictures.  It will also be nice to have some downtime...not to mention the Ledge Bungy overlooking Queenstown (this has been on my bucket list for along time now, the last time I had the opportunity the darn thing was closed....better not be this time!).

Changing plans and expensive teeshirts

Tomorrow I had planned to run the Santa Cruz 10k - I'd enrolled months ago and with Nashville on the 24th it seemed like a good idea.  On Wednesday Case announces that he thinks I should just run the half........so it is.  Although registation is full for the half I am just going to keep running at the turnaround point.  Seems hillarious to me that I've gone from barely being able to run 3miles to running two half marathons in a month.  I'm not going to run it for a personal best (although some have their doubts given, what appears to be,  my deeply internalized competitive streak) but just clock the miles......honest, I'll really try to suppress the urge to look at my watch too often.  It's a beautiful run along the coast but weathers suddenly gone all sad again so it might be a wet one - that could be kind of fun too.
I've also had to add an additional day to my Nashville trip.  Airline called to say I either flew out at 5am on the Sunday after the race or next best time was 3pm Monday.....ummm let me think about that for two seconds!  Of course adding a day adds a days accommodation.....this race really has proven to be very expensive (and all I get is a teeshirt!).  But then it is all about country music and Nashville!!!  On the upside I do get extra time in Nashville to do things other than run.  Lila and her family have invited me to dinner on the Saturday night then I'll use Sunday/Monday to do the touristy things.  I also think the extra day off work will be refreshing so while I sound a little whiny this is going to be one of those memorable moments that make for good story telling, particularly as no one I know likes country music like I do.

As at noon Wednesday April 7 EST

It's real.......this is the official official last word....they drew the lottery today - charity runners have automatic entry but still freaky to actually see it here, made my stomach lurch a little.....entry number 548409/26.2 miles/42.1km/$2620 to raise - it's all just numbers, really, isn't it?

Way to market and not.....

I don't think this quite makes it into the factoid bucket but was most amused to get the latest promotional material in the mail for the NCLR (National Center for Lesbian Rights) annual fundraising Anniversary Party.  You can buy one ticket or lots of 2, 4 and 10.  Why was I amused? The pitch for:

• 10 tickets: Couldn't decide which one of your exes to invite? Invite them all...and before anyone decides to get smart arse about it, no this was not specifically designed for me!
• 4 tickets: Skip a threesome, have a foursome! 

2 and 1 tickets wasn't wildly interesting - in fact the one for a single ticket was so wildly dull I thought it was a missed opportunity: Buy a single ticket or treat your family and friends to a night out on the town. As a single girl nothing about that sounded wildly fun!!!!  At 90 bucks a ticket this isn't a cheap night btw.  I've been to these dances for the last two years, not sure if I'll go this time and the sales pitch (or lack there of) isn't helping sway me!

Thinking outloud

So I'm kind of bored - shouldn't be, it's quarter end so lots of busyness at work, couple of staff "challenges", personal trainer twice a week, acupuncture once a week, running running running AND organizing NZ adventures for May.....okay bored is an overstatement, but I have to justify my current little obsession - noticing random, largely irrelevant factoids.  This weeks batch:

• President Obama used 22 pens to sign the health care reform bill into law. They are being given as gifts to some special folks who helped get the bill passed
• Oscar winners live, on average, 4 years longer than nominees who don't win.  Must be true the NY Times said so
• Muscle is not heavier than fat, it's all about density and volume (well maybe everyone knew this but I had in my mind muscle weighs more than fat, nope, wrong and duh, when I think about it of course it's wrong a pound of fat = a pound of muscle, cos it's all a pound - I hate it when I am stupid)
• The September 2007 issue of Vogue weighed a record breaking 5+lbs and was 840 pages.  I know this because I watched The September Issue which documented the making of the magazine by following editor-in-chief Anna Wintour (also known as Nuclear Wintour, because she is so cold and distant with people.....my 5th factoid)

While I fear that sharing this doesn't make me more interesting to anyone else it does, in reality, keep me hugely entertained and The September Issue was worth watching!

My year of books....

This year I decided that if someone recommended a book and it sounded okay I would read it.....it's leading me down some very interesting pathes.  One of the joys of the Kindle is that you can download a sample chapter, so when someone recommends a book I can, if it's available electronically, at least check it out.
This has lead me to some interesting books.  The Professor and Other Writings is a series of essays from a Stanford University Professor described as a "cultural scholar and essayist".  Not at all sure what that means but the essays themselves are very entertaining.  Given they are written in biography form she's more than willing to share details of her life.  Best of all (and most necessary) the Kindle has a cool function where I can look up all those words I don't understand.....given she teaches 18th Century English Literature this function comes in handy every other page!
One of the best reads so far has to be Don't Stop the Carnival. Written in 1965  "It's the story of Norman Paperman, a New York press agent who, facing the onset of middle age, runs away to a Caribbean island to reinvetn himself as a hotel keeper".  It sounds awful doesn't it?  It wasn't it was a great read and very well written.
I succumbed to the Twilight Saga too. Vampires are not usually my thing but I have and am really enjoying it.  It's really a love story focused on human's, vampires and warewolves.  Nice easy, entertaining read.
Here's another one I really enjoyed - Long Way Down.  It's about two guys motorcycling from Scotland to South Africa (follows on from the movie Long Way Round).  It's a fab story about perservarance and getting outside your comfort zone.
My heaviest tombe to date has to be Cultural Amnesia it's written by Clive James.  It's a compendium of 110 biographical essays of a whole bunch of different people (artists, politicians and intellectuals). This one I dip in and out of - it's a fascinating read.
The next two I picked up last year but are so worth mentioning.
Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise is a great read.  It's written by a woman who used to be the NY Times food critic.  It tells the story of how she used to dress in disguise and go out to various restaurants, with varying results, depending on how she looked.  I loved the way she describes some of the food as well.
Ultramarathon Man: Confessions of an all Night Runner - this, folks was the inspiration to run a marathon.  I'll say no more, check it out.
So there you have it, some proof that I do more than work, run and go to the gym!

Frog Fail

Not something you see everyday.

Old Friends and Visiting NZ

Rachel has been here for a week and it's been a lovely visit. In an unexpected turn of events it just so happened that while here she has had her 40th birthday! Low key affair with Rachel, Michelle and I having dinner at mine (ummm Rachel cooked, was that a bad thing?). Best of all Michelle organized the famous Princess Cake, which proved to be a hit. Over the week we have had lots of laughs and it's been a remarkably easy time. I've still had to go to work and did see Case and my acupuncturists (well crossing the finish line in NY won't happen just because I want it to.....and Rachel was very gracious about it, given we haven't had a lot of time together).

I did manage to, for the first time, schmack myself up in training. I missed the box when I went to do a box jump and gave myself a nasty shin scrap.....ow ow ow. Of course it was at the beginning of the session so I sucked it up and told Case we could keep going (it was my second jump and I had another three sets of 25 to go - no point dwelling on it, job to be done). Best of all was coming home and Rachel having some magic gel to put on it - my personal bathroom cabinet is a little light on these things!
Last week I decided I needed a break and, given how the work front is going, think that if I am going to visit in NZ it needs to be sooner rather than later. I'm heading back for 2.5 weeks in May. Auckland and Wellington of course and four days in Queenstown. Finally going to visit Karen and Brice's - really looking forward to that as I want to bungee off the platform at the top of the gondola. It would also be nice if it didn't rain the entire time I was in NZ (unlike last year) so May seems a good time. Honestly I am so tired I'd love to have a break in April but I have the Nashville half marathon on the 23rd. I really am looking forward to that!!!!
Despite our collective best efforts and the release having gone remarkably well, we are still in the final stages so I am co-ordinating daily messages.....and was a little startled to be reminded that the distribution includes a number of very senior executives, so the fact that I am over it shouldn't be confused with the visibility the messages have.
On another note, may have found a prospective room mate when/if I make the move to San Francisco. Waiting for a few other things to fall into place but think my time in Santa Cruz is done. Nothing to happen in the next two months but could move July/August....so will patiently wait to see how things fall.

Voice is back, release is done and visitors

My voice arrived back on Sunday so my near silent vigil lasted two days....much to the delight of my work colleagues. It really was the oddest thing. It's hard enough to be understood at the best of times (what accent?) without the added complication of being the horse whisperer. The room service guy told me he thought I was playing a joke on him, most embarrassed when he delivered to the room and realized I really couldn't speak. I gave him a tip anyway, he wasn't rude so much as giggly on the phone! The release has gone fine, with a few odd moments. I'm over it though, been there, done it, got the medal etc etc etc. I did get to watch movies in the hotel, which was nice - small compensation for only getting two hours sleep. Jill did arrive into the office at 2am with coffee and a Hershey bar - would I usually eat a Hershey bar at 2am (or any other time for that matter) or have a very strong black coffee at that hour???? No. Did I? Hell yes....it was soooooo boring I had to fill the time, it's not like I could chat to anyone - my voice didn't start to come back until later in the day. Hershey's bar....I had eaters remorse.
This weekend Rachel Rose comes to visit! I haven't seen Rachel (beyond Skype) for maybe 7 years!!!! We were at University together and, well, have a history (I know Rachel reads the blog so shall say no more). Rachel's now a buddhist nun and, frankly, looks fabulous in her robes. I think there is a certain irony in my now having long hair while Rachel has none.... It will be lovely to see her and she knows Michelle as well (well at one point we were all at University together) so going to be quite the kiwi reunion. I still have to work, which is a bummer, but might see if I can swing an "at home" day so we can hang out together some (even if she is reading a book while I'm on a call!).

Speechless....literally

No voice......reduced to a whisper, the "almost cold" has taken the words right out of my mouth. I am sure it's a pleasure for some but a little awkward given I am in communications and working this weekend. Oh well, lesson in patience I guess......other people's.

Almost colds and working life

All this healthy living has resulted in the "almost" cold! Everyone around me has been crushed by this hideous cold that's been going around (and at least two got stomach flu). I'm so full of vitamin C and whatever mysteries lurk in the chinese herbs that I seem to have some low level cold that doesn't amount to anything beyond being tired and having a gravelly voice. Oh well, not complaining so much as explaining.
Big release is this weekend ..... I'm so bored with it all. Spent the last few days "explaining", "repeating" and "revisiting" what we have been doing for two years! Off to stay in San Jose for Saturday night. One of my peeps is going to come onsite with me for the 11pm - 10am shift. Wants to see how it all runs - it will be a moment of disillusionment (and all my secrets revealed) but she has promised to bring "real" coffee, as I'm refusing to drink the coloured water that is usually available.
Michelle has a new job in LA (yay Michelle!!!) and we've just been out having a little celebration. I am also thinking about moving into San Fran. Santa Cruz feels a little over for me - need to move on to the next thing. It's been lovely living here but it's not really my town. Mostly I will miss my rideshare, we've been commuting four days a week for two years now - hard to believe. I will also have to give up Case, but he has finally got into his nursing course, although doesn't start until January next year. Really I just think somethings are going to change, seems inevitable given how my life runs.

Doin it for Charity - ING NYC Marathon 2010

I can't quite believe I've signed up for this, but I have. November 7, 2010 I'm hitting the road and running for charity in the NYC Marathon. Makes me feel nervous just typing this. I decided I wanted to run the marathon before my Marin race last year and, as it moved closer to putting in my entry, I found out more about options for entry. I started reading up about other people's experience of the marathon and realized that it would, indeed, be very cool to do it for a charity. The main charity is Team for Kids, which fights childhood obesity. You can read more about it if you check out my page, you can also make a donation if you want to. Basically I've pledged the full amount ($2.6k) and then I get to go and beg money from folks. I've never raised money for charity before - always having written cheques. Given I'm not much of a "joiner" it's novel for me to land into a community of folks all with the same goal in mind....running the marathon and raising money for TFKs. I figure it means I'll have some people to hangout with on the day too (unless I can lure some buddies to NY to hangout with the 2 million other folk who line the roads and watch!). I'm not sure exactly how many people TFKs aim to enroll but last year they got fully subscribed. It's early days and I think there are less than 100 of us at the moment. I am so freaky nervous/excited about it that I've already booked my accommodation! ING negotiated discounted rates but it's still ridiculously expensive to stay in NYC, but I figure if I'm going to run then where else would you want to stay but in Manhattan?

Groundhog day

It's quarterly release time, which means late nights and lots of grumping at people while we prepare for a Cisco wide IT release that sees all our systems go down globally. This time around we've added some new "tools" to our box of tricks so it's been beyond painful to get the information we need and we've had to engage with a whole new set of people. Best moment so far is when I contact someone who is funded to provide support to our project team and supposed to be my go-to guy when I have a problem:

Idiot boy to me: "okay well Jody if you can set up a meeting and invite ...."

Me to idiot boy: "I'm not your executive assistant, if you think you need a meeting you set it up, I'm escalating the issue to you to fix it and this is a courtesy call before I send the email letting everyone know that's what I've done. If you think it requires a meeting go and organize it yourself."

All this at midnight I might add and it didn't quite end there but enough to say HE did set up the meeting and I got a very conciliatory message from him. He also helped solve my problem (which was his job) - none of which excuses him from thinking I'm here to organize his meetings. I don't suppose he will ask again.
On a more "only in America" note. My landlords have replaced their very nearly new couch with a new couch and want to swap out my very old couch for the very nearly new one. All fine and dandy but in order to get the new couch through the front door they have to take off the door frame.....true story. They seem very happy to do it and I am very happy to have a new couch - nobody seemed at all phased at the logistics so I just nodded, smiled and said having a new couch would be nice, thanks. What are we doing with the old couch? Well putting it on the street of course, whatelse?

Chicago and life in general

Michelle and I had a great time in Chicago! While temperatures were below freezing, each day had clear blue skys and snow on the ground....quite a change from California. The Swissotel, where we stayed, was very near to downtown and not far from Millennium Park where we went to visit the bean. Delightfully when we went to use the hotel gym we discovered it had spectacular views both over Michigan Lake and downtown - making the whole treadmill thing way less tedious. Michelle's panel went very well and her presentation was a hit (pix below on the right is the post presso cocktail). It was interesting to hear the other presenters as well and I did manage to get in for free as nobody seemed to be checking! We were both pretty exhausted so spent the following day lounging around the hotel and generally lapping up the luxury.

Friday we went out for dinner and to a bar and Saturday we wandered around town.  I concluded I could very happily live in Chicago!  We stumbled across the Scuba Team as we were out walking (see pic below).  Given the temperatures my pick is you'd be long frozen to death before they dragged you out of the river, but then I guess that's not really the point is it.........
I am back into training with Case and have now extended my health regime to include not only acupuncture but chinese herbs.  Some special concoction he's put together to help with hydration etc etc etc.  Anyway, in my usual fashion I've happily said "sure, lets try that" and he's smart enough to know I really really don't need to know what each ingredient is, so much as enjoy the ride.  
Biggest change probably is that I have decided not to apply for my job at Cisco.  Had an epiphany and realized I'd done the job, why would I keep

doing it (for less money I might add) and I was aiming too low.....I need to be braver about the next role I go into - think bigger.  This has all been encouraged by people I've been talking to about what I should do next.  Boss at Cisco has been grand about it - she'd like to keep me as long as she can and is extending my role into a new area, although I think there are some better opportunities emerging elsewhere.  I guess nobody is surprised to read this.  It's been nearly three years at Cisco, about the time I always get itchy feet and look to make a change.  If I am really clever I will land a role that works to that timetable....they are out there, I just have to get one!

I did manage to watch Precious - now I get what people are raving about.  I had dreaded that it would be much like the usual hollywood/American tale - struggling kid in dire circumstances, heroic committed adult saves the day - it wasn't, it really is far grittier and deals with some very taboo subjects.

I'd recommend it, not when you are feeling down though, any sense of optimism you are left with is tenuous at best!

Done and dusted

Beautiful day, clear blue sky, cool and perfect.....if one feels the need to run 21ks!  It was lovely, 10000 people entered in the combined half marathon and 5km run (funny that they talk about the metric 5 and 10ks).  Looking at the results 6080 finished the half (7000 entered the half with 3372 women). Results: 1:59, overall placing 2457 and 863 among the women, age group placing 127 (but then I can't seem to figure how many women were in my age group!).  I'm well puffed up coming in under two hours. I gotta say the last mile hurt!!!  Official photos i.e. the sweaty shots posted sometime this week.  In the meantime.....me and Michelle the night before the race.

It's fair to say we had a different approach to
preparation but Michelle did get up to catch the shuttle with me at 630am for the 8am start....oh and she did know the most fab Korean restaurant we could go to for dinner.....we stayed in Japan Town so we were surrounded by the most devine eateries.  Second shot before

the start - I was cold so spent sometime draped in Michelle's very stylie jacket, trying to warm up, or at least not have my lips turn blue!  Michelle met me at the end (having gone on her own little marathon from the start line!).  Post the event we hailed a taxi (I so love that in America you can just raise your arm and not have to hike to some taxi stand and get in a que ......) headed back to the hotel where I got to have a long soak.  Along the way we had a vintage American moment.  The taxi driver was as startled as we were and took photos on his i-phone.  Never pays to question really, just to enjoy the moment.  Showered checked out we 

went out for a very lovely lunch. I'm not one for taking photos of food but I'd so earned this meal....and the beer was mine, all mine.

Then off to a local girlie bar to watch the Superbowl.  Home by 7pm, not a bad days work.

Countdown, tennis and Chicago

Less than 24hrs to go and I have that slightly sickly feeling....wondering why I am deciding that running 13.1 miles, possibly in the rain, is a good idea!  Then I imagine finishing at least close to my target time and feel all happy and excited again. Besides which, this is a warmup for Nashville!  Michelle and I head up to the city this afternoon, staying in a very nice hotel that offers a shuttle to the start line in the morning (cheap rates for racers so way better option that driving up from Santa Cruz at 5am in the morning).  Even so with 10000 people running this will most likely mean an early start...I'm not sure I told Michelle exactly  how early.  After the race Michelle and I are heading off to a bar to watch the Superbowl - at which point I will down a beer or a Bloodymary and most likely fall over (yes she is driving).
We fly to Chicago on Thursday.  On Wednesday night we are staying in San Jose and going to the SAP Open Tennis Tournament to watch a singles match with Andy Roddick and Fernando Verdasco.  Why?  Ummm well the University had courtside tickets and there is a small group going and, well, it seemed like a good idea at the time and and and......we are catching some god awful flight the next morning (like 615am) so staying in San Jose makes sense.  Michelle gives her paper  on Civilising Images: Violence and the Visual Interpellation of Maori Women" at the visual arts conference that afternoon (long day for her) then we get to play. If we can find interesting stuff we might go to some of the other presentations as well.  As geeky as it sounds the conference itself is actually quite a fun thing for me - this is all wildly outside my corporate life, so fascinating insight into other worlds.  Other than that we are planning to go dancing, see the sights and generally kick back and relax.

Don't Ask Don't Tell

I can't embed this and I'm not sure how long it will stay where it is but watch this: http://www.ktvu.com/video/22418151/index.html, put Alameda: Local Naval Commander Reflects on Senate Hearings in the search box and it will come up as the first item on the list, video will play from there (I hope!). Zoe is a key player in fighting Don't Ask Don't Tell and is the co-chair of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network.  She is part of the change team I work in at Cisco (she is also a keen runner so we have become fast friends.....even if she can run faster than I can!).  Given my passion for all things military and interest in Don't Ask Don't Tell it's been amazing to meet her and hear about the work/lobbying she is doing for SLDN.  She's a frequent media commentator but these particular Hearings are unprecedented......it's not if they remove the ban, it's when.

U.S. Suspends Haitian Airlift in Cost Dispute

Ugh - how do you suppose this happens?  All the more terrible because nobody is surprised "....It was not clear on Friday who exactly was responsible for the interruption of flights, or the chain of events that led to the decision."
Worse yet, Florida hosts the Superbowl this coming Sunday and 30 sec advertising slots cost around 3mil each.......do you think the networks could donate some of that revenue to the Florida hospitals supporting Haiti's injured?

Freak'n - in a good way

In the long ago past (as in 5 years ago) when I lived in Wellington I started getting acupuncture for pain in my ankle.  Long short story about near death motorcycle accidents, crushing ankles and breaking femurs on the Hutt motorway means that I have one gimpy leg that, despite the odds, serves me quite well.  Taking up running again isn't necessarily what everyone would recommend given the previous injury, so I decided that I wouldn't wait for the pain but go and get some preventative acupuncture.  I am not a scientist and don't have a scientists curiosity, acupuncture is magic.  There is a certain logic to how they think it works and that's pretty much all I need to be convinced.  Once a week I see (yet another) very sweet guy, who needles me.  Tonight he suggested that we might needle the scar I have on the front of my ankle; it's quite impressive but mostly goes unnoticed unless you look closely (and nobody does).   It's actually where the surgeon did his magic so is tidy but wide (I won't go into the gruesome details).  Given Marc was recommended by Case my immediate response was "....well it makes me a little nervous but lets give it a go" (with Case I leave out the nervous part as it just prompts him to greater excesses).   Actually the thought of it made me more than nervous, it freaked me out (at least on the inside).  As it turned out it wasn't quite as painful as I had thought it would be...not painful at all to be honest.  And now Marc is promising that I might actually see a change in how the scar looks and the needling will help with the other mysteries around how it interferes with the "flow" of something or rather that contributes to the occasional swelling I have around my ankle.  One of the high points of the whole adventure had to be the delight on Marcs face as he gazed down at his handy work and noted it was "quite a picture" - acupuncturists have their own unique view of the world I think!  Regardless of how this particular treatment goes the three things the acupuncture has already brought, 1. the best nights sleep I have all week is the night following my treatment 2. way less ankle swelling 3. knee pain gone (very specific treatment I asked for after I did "something" to it during a training session).  I live in the land of magic.

Changing things, 14 milers, adventures and working....

Busy week on all fronts.  For those that have noticed I've been playing around with the blog and added some things, most notably the countdown clock and the list of races I have registered for!  Maintaining two blogs just became too much and, given running has become my fav pastime I decided to dump it all in here.  One race that I can't yet add to the list is the NYC Marathon in November 2010.  Two ways you can get in, lottery draw or sign-up as a charity runner.  I've written to the official charity and asked for an application as I like the idea of both being able to run and raise money.  We shall see.........
Friday I ran 14 miles (22.5k for the kiwis), per Case's instructions.  It's a long way with the last two miles feeling particularly long.  I did manage to do it in 2hrs 13mins though, which made me quite happy.  It does mean I am ready for my half in February.  It's around Golden Gate Park in San Fran and Michelle is coming along to cheer me along - well most likely drink coffee and eat cake waiting for me to finish.  This race will be huge with 1000s entered, I think we can assume that I will be back in the pack among the minions slogging it out.
Weekend of Feb 13 (well the Thursday before) Michelle and I are off to Chicago, her to give a paper at a conference - me along for the adventure.  We are on the hunt for some fun things to do and trying to figure out where we might find the girls, well go dancing I mean.  While Chicago will be cold it will be fab fun and I have been before.  Fortunate for everyone I didn't get that job.
One fun, out of the box thing, at work this week.  I ended up presenting a case study to a perspective new client outside of Cisco.  I haven't pitched for work in eons so it was an excellent opportunity to dust off the skills and generally enjoy walking into the unknown.  It was for a very large global company and it really dawned on me just how much I've learnt in the last few years - I could honestly talk about the challenges of global comms.....having now been doing it for nearly three years.
It's Sunday, the rain has finally stopped.  I'm off to the gym to see Case.....simple life for me.

Bible References on Gun Sights

I've been following this one in the news.....here and in NZ.  Wow, this just strikes me as plain weird.  Weird in a way that only the US can be weird....and exactly how long have they been doing it? Trijicon, the manufacturing company originally issued a statement saying "As long as we have men and women in danger, we will continue to do everything we can to provide them with both state-of-the-art technology and the never-ending support and prayers of a grateful nation.".... then backed down the following day saying  they would remove the references given concerns raised blah blah blah....well actually given their single largest customer (US Department of Defense) probably said, stop it or no more contracts from us!
My bet is that every military inventory system around the world who has these sights not only has the serial numbers included but also has the biblical reference as well - when do you suppose somebody noticed?

Rain and running adventures

I'm always loathe to start out by talking about the weather but right now it's truly awful.  Big storm hitting California..... weirdly though every time I've had to commute on the 17 it's cleared and been event free, which is a near miracle given the chaos on the roads!  It's been raining for about 5 days, it never rains for five days here - it's reminding me of Wellington on those dark winter days, although the wind is less relentless here.  All this dreary weather is making me depressed, California has made me soft - where's my sun???

To cheer myself up I've signed up for the Country Music Nashville 1/2 Marathon in April.  What makes this fab is that all along the course there are bands playing....country music, signing up has made me ridiculously happy.  They have a rock equivalent but, you know, I love country music!  Even better I know people who are going (which finally prompted me to signup).  Lila, who I house sat for in San Jose last year and is on my team, her husband, daughter and a cousin are all signed up, so I will at least know some folks to have a drink with post the event.  I've spent the evening registering, finding a hotel and checking out flights....long way to Nashville!
My "other" race is also looming - Feb 7 is my first half marathon in San Francisco.  I ran 12 miles the other day and the half is 13.1 so I just need to do 14 this week and I will feel set to give it a good shot.  Case has done a fine job of preparing me and Michelle is coming along to cheer me on.  It's around Golden Gate Park and there will be thousands of people in it, so very different from my Marin 6 miler.  M and I are going to stay in San Fran overnight and I expect I'll be just as nervous as I was for Marin, but with a better idea of how it all works.
I've also gone back to acupuncture, trying to make sure my gimpy leg doesn't let me down.  So far it's been good and I'd like to keep it that way, acupuncture will help.

Adventuring with The Mother

Alright given The Mother has been staying with me I’ve been a little lax on the blog…busy busy busy.

Fun things we have been doing.  Went to my first Ice Hockey game.  20,000 people jam packed into the stadium and the local team (The Sharks) won in the last 58 secs, the place erupted.  It was great fun to watch and we had excellent seats.  It was cold though, poor mum was freezing and the food was terrible (surprise!).  It’s all very well put together though, huge TV screen hanging over the ice that gives you some real up-close and personal views.  One startling moment; gloves off two players started pummelling one another……which is what you expect but nobody intervenes, it goes on for several minutes, everyone just sits back and watches until they are done – oddest thing.  Well then they both get sent to the sin bin for 5mins.  That aside, it was fun and I’d definitely go back again.

Two weekends back we headed to San Fran to see Wicked.  This is a great musical that tells the story of the friendship between the two witches from the Wizard of Oz, before the actual Oz story.  It’s funny and a little dramatic, costumes were amazing and the singing fantastic.  We stayed over night given it was quite a late show.  Because I’d hesitated to get tickets I ended up going to a reseller site and was delighted to end up with center block, four rows back.  Had a lovely meal at the hotel we were staying in before we headed out and enjoyed 2.5hrs of great entertainment.  Highly recommend it.

Lots of shopping happened too and mum cleaning our my entire wardrobe....new me had to go and buy new clothes as mum decided my "big clothes" had to go.  Mum was very cynical when I suggested we put the bag of big clothes on the street and someone would pick them up!  Took maybe 4 hours and they were gone, including her broken handled suitcase!

I’ve been back at work for two weeks and immediately found myself recruiting for four new roles – yikes!  I don’t much like recruiting, all that chatting to try and figure if someone is a fit, but gotta do it, does have the team implode to 16 though.  No sign of work slowing down and I can’t complain given the economy here is still tight, although some signs things are easing.

Vegas: The Food

Once the foodies arrived eating out became a whole new thing!  Okay mum and I did enjoy a nice meal at Outback, which is a chain restaurant based on ??? Yeah Australia.  Challenge with Vegas is that it's either up market or low rent, not much in between.  Although I didn't know it was renowned for its restaurants with a lot of well known chefs opening restaurants (I say that like I would know who the well known chefs are!).  Anyway Outback is kind of in-between, nice enough for steak and chips and pretty consistent wherever you go....okay okay, cheap copout on my part. I did manage to have us go to one very nice place in the MGM Grand before the foodies arrived.  Emerils is all about cajun food and owned by Emeril Lagasse......if anyone reading knows chefs by name.  Food was very nice but portions massive.  The picture to the right makes it look a bit glitsy and trashy even....I don't remember it looking quite like that, in fact not at all like that!

Karen and Brice's arrival heralded some more upscale experiences including the Eiffel Tower Restaurant in Paris.  Now this was very fine.  Looking at the "Tower", which is exactly half the size of the real thing, the restaurant is in the base (the dark line you can see above the legs).  You take a lift from the Casino floor and it opens out into the kitchen!  That was pretty startling and fascinating to watch all the chefs at work.  We sat in a booth looking out over the strip and enjoyed a very lovely dining experience on Xmas eve, including a lovely glass or two of Tattingers (yes I did drink something over the break....not much, but something).

Xmas day was a whole different treat again.  Aureole is in the Mandalay Bay  Casino,  They weren't working Xmas day but this place features a two story wine "cellar"...well glass enclosure, where "wine angels" abseil up and down the wine racks pulling out bottles for diners.  I had the most lovely sashimi and fresh fish for my Xmas dinner....as odd as that sounds!  It's quite a stark atmosphere, very stylish.
The other place we went to that I loved loved loved was Julian Serrano's.  This place was tapas paradise and, for those that recall, that was something I loved about Barcelona.  The small plates here were fabulous - I would love to eat like that all the time.
Final note, as always, a good cup of coffee isn't easy to find in the US of A - Starbucks it was, if there was a better place we never found it!

Bodies the Exhibition - not for the faint hearted!

I'm going to write up Vegas in little chunks....so here's chunk one! Post Karen and Brice's arrival we had a a day of "forensic" investigation, part of which included seeing this exhibition. No, this isn't my video but it does capture the feeling....it's fair to say that Brice and I looked at everything but didn't dwell (unlike mum and Karen, who were fascinated!). Despite having been told that lots of people think the bodies look plastic I didn't think that at all - all too real was more my thinking. It was interesting to see, I'm glad I went but won't be going back, once was enough.
After Bodies (which was at the Luxor Hotel - the big pyramid) we headed back to the MGM Grand and tried out CSI: The Experience. You get to choose one of three crime scenes to examine and solve a case. It's not done on a computer, you actually work through a series of stands, taking notes and answering questions, including examining the crime scene, then toxicology, autopsy etc etc. Finally you enter your results into a computer and Grisholm tells you if you have it right. It was fun and an easy distraction - yes, we all guessed correctly, although we didn't all get all the clues right.

Mother has landed, new old friends & Tiger

The Mother has landed!  Arrived Friday - 45mins early.  How is it, do you suppose, that a flight with no stopovers can arrive 45 mins early?  Me, at the airport, all cool and calm as she walks into the arrivals lounge, looking like I'd been there forever - not so much, had arrived 5mins before only to glance at the arrivals board to discover "In Customs"!  On balance though at least the pilots remembered to land at the bloody airport.
Have been more than entertained in the last few days by un-PC who is a working example of just how tiny this world is.  Okay Wellington is tiny but still, in less than 24hrs connections were made, had me chuckle, alot!
I've resisted commenting on the Tiger saga for no other reason than I think folk are tigered out, there's been plenty of coverage.  Mostly I've been fascinated to watch how he's managed the media side of it (I claim professional interest).....either he's got the worst media minders in the world or the guy is just plain stoopid. American's love a good drama but can be surprisingly forgiving when someone calls mea culpa - but a press release just doesn't cut it!  Some say his private life should be his own - not me.  The man is a corporation, hundreds of people have their livelihood tied up in his brand, in my mind it's no different than any Company that taints its brand and is forced to front to investors, consumers and employees.  If he wanted his life to be all about golf then he should have stuck to golf, he didn't, he became the brand, time to front up - or as my work colleagues say "put on his big girl pants" (yeah well I'm not sure about that last reference either......).
Off to Vegas tomorrow!

Thunder, lightening, torrential downpours and The Mother

Sat around in my PJs this morning watching shallow, albeit entertaining, movies waiting for the weather to clear so I could hit the road.  My mission today was to run 9 miles....and so I did.  The first 6.5 in overcast but not unpleasant conditions, the remainder in a torrential downpour accompanied by flashes of lightening and thunder!  Not much I could do really I had to get home one way or another and it's not like I could call a cab (given I don't actually go running with money....cellphone.... ID....medical card....you know I think I can hear the big sis berating me.....I might need to re.think some of that....).  I felt strangely elated as the rain started to pelt down; started grinning even, I expect I looked slightly hysterical to passersby.  But hey, there were other crazy fools out there walking, now that's really stoopid!
The mother arrives Friday - yay.  Two reasons, it will be nice to see her and it will signal the beginning of two weeks off, including our trip to Vegas.  Sweetly too Marcia left me the keys to her car so that I don't need to hire one to go to the airport to pick mum up.  I love my Miata but she just ain't designed to collect international travelers from the airport, unless they pack light!  Now really I just need to get my head to small things like; clean the house, get some food in that mum might like to eat; including instant coffee I believe (and think is a crime against nature and the natural order of things).

No way to be glamorous about it.....

So I promised pics.....and here they are.  Really there is no way to look good running.....well not if you are me!  The shot on the left was taken

about 30mins before the run.  If it's not obvious I was freezing!!!!  I'd just watched the half marathoners take off and had been standing around for about 1.5hrs.  I'd wanted to arrive early as I wanted to see the half marathoners and had no real idea how all the parking etc would work.  Turned out I got a carpark really close to the race start so arrived with plenty of time.  There were tents set up displaying a range of goodies and people nervously milling about.  As you can see on the right, just after I crossed the finish line, I kept my running jacket on as I couldn't even contemplate the thought of running without it (and I had a long sleeved shirt on!).  All good in the end!

Case was delighted when I texted him with my results - he is so sweet, I gave him a tip at my training session and he gave me a hug, so cute.  He's been incredibly supportive and committed to my fitness/running - if not a little startled that I not only attempt everything he asks of me but also do my homework.  Games on again, of course, first half marathon Feb 7th, running around Golden Gate Park.  It's not far off and this weekend my task is to run 9 miles, the half is 13 miles or 21 km - yikes that sounds like alot when I type it out and not that many weeks to go.

Killed the hill....my race is done

Today I ran my 10k race in Marin.  It was amazing to be around all the hype and also to be running on such a beautiful course.  It was also bloody cold, so cold that I had to wear my running jacket as well as my long sleeved running shirt.  I stayed Friday night in Corte Madera, north of San Fran and just 15mins from the Marin Headlands.  Given this is a two to two and a half hour drive from Santa Cruz I decided it was just easier to stay close by.  On my way through I stopped in San Fran and picked up my "race bag" which, most importantly, has the race "chip" you attach to your shoe so they can electronically record your time and your race number......at this point it was all starting to feel very real!  The 10k was part of a much larger event so runners set off at different times.  The 50 mile (yep you read correct) left at about 5am, 50k at 7, half marathoners at 9 and us little 'uns at 10.  I arrived in time to watch the half marathoners set off.  Given I aspire to run one in Feb I was somewhat awed to think that the 3.5 mile hill I have lamented over is repeated (all beit different hills) three times for the half marathoners!!!  There really were folks in all shapes and sizes.  Stereotyping is interesting - I look at the lean, tall women and freak out - they simply look athletic in the way I think athletes look and in a way I will never look :-( !  Yeah well, so much for that, there was one shortish (these things being relative) woman who was  big and a very unlikely looking runner.  We had two hours to complete the course and she came in 2mins before her time was up and she wasn't the last btw.   So note to self:  size doesn't matter!  While I'd felt sickly nervous in the days leading into the event I got increasingly calmer as we actually reached the point of heading off.  It was grand fun - toward the end we link up with the half marathoners for their final leg - it's more than humbling to be passed by people who have already run 3/4 more than the distance you are labouring over......everything about running is proving to be humbling.  Not least of which the privilege of being able to run at all!
Anyway, final results 1.05 total time, 84th out of a total of 213 runners (men and women, yes a certain satisfaction was had when I blew off some boys on the hill stage....), 4th for my age group out of a total of 21 (yes yes age group 40-49....).  Oh and as a nice finisher I won a North Face fleecy jacket in a random raffle (sometimes you just need to show up!).  Pictures next week.