More birthdays

Lucas and his edible arrangement....






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Woohoo

No stress fracture and no serious injury! 1 x very painful cortisone injection into the joint of my big toe, Anti inflammatory and maybe orthotics.....happy beyond belief!


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A tentative 8 miler

Over the past few days I've been doing some fairly extensive stretching/icing of my foot to try and alleviate  whatever is going on.  I don't know if this has taken off in NZ but on a daily basis (and depending on what you subscribe to) a bunch of "discount" offers land in my inbox.  A few weeks back I got one for a spa......basically offering an $80 treatment for $39 - pretty good!  So took it up and ended up doing THE most intense massage session I've ever had!!!!! OMG it was totally amazing in that it really got to some of the heart of the pain points I have as a result of running so much, it also made me increasingly optimistic that I don't have a stress fracture.  Massage done and 4 days of no running I tentatively headed out for my 8 miler.  What a relief.  By no means 100% it seems the stretching/massage has had a significant impact.  Running has become such a huge part of my world I can't explain the sense of relief I felt to be out there and having more confidence that this injury may not be the end of the Milan Marathon after all.  Still have my appointment with the podiatrist tomorrow - see what insights he may have.......in the space of 4 weeks I've shifted my world to having a GP, acupuncturist (yes, I still think prevention is better than cure and I am a total believer that this really helps my circulation and to deal with niggly things before they become big things), masseuse (not the one from Saturday but a little closer to home) and podiatrist.  I'm also toying with the idea of getting a nutritionist to help me with the 50 miler prep.  What a strange and unexpected world I have created for myself.......

Slacking.....

On the posting that is.  Not because nothing is going on but because I am waiting to see what is going on!  Hmm over the last week I've developed some kind of foot injury.  I've been doing all the "interventions" recommended but have now conceded and booked a podiatrist appointment (no small feat when you want one today.....well got one for Monday).  I am not sure what is going on, I am thinking tendons (please be tendons) rather than stress fracture.  I only ran once this week (8 miles) and am continuing to rest and try not to be too despondent.  Sadly I am feeling really fit and will no doubt be sad if this means time off running.  I know I know, I've been incredibly lucky on the injury front and I'm not being a total downer about it but but but....
Other things - last weekend went to dinner and to see Mama Mia with Irene and her folks.  Mama Mia is quite the trip.......really I just don't know what to say about it.  Irene and I laughed a lot and it's definitely designed to have you laugh in parts but the scripting is sooooo terrible with no segue-way into the songs. Really just plain odd and I honestly can't recommend anyone see it.
Quiet weekend, same ole same ole......although perhaps minus the running........

World views

On the left, my view of my world. On the right Irene's view of my world....the blackboard never lies....it just gets a little smart arse every now and then...


PS ran the fastest and best 8 miler I've run since I started the training program in January. Apparently what gets measured not only gets done but also makes a difference!!!!


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Back from LA, fun adventure

Flight delayed out of SFO but such is life.....Michelle picked us up from the airport and we headed back to her house.  She is newly minted as Faculty in Residence at UCLA, so has a very cute on-campus apartment (about three times as big as her old one).  Saturday I had to do a 17 miler to stick with the plan so Irene and Michelle dropped me at Redondo Beach.

Dr E and I just before I start my run

They then headed off to do arty things and I made my way up the coastline to Santa Monica Pier.

Most of the path is paved......well actually now I think about it, all of it is....and I travelled under the LAX flight path (needless to say those parts of the beach were empty), through Venice Beach and ending at the Pier.  Lovely run and, given it was all flat, done in under three hours.  Although I was happy with the time overall I do have to keep working to get my mile pace down if I'm going to get to my ultra time goal.....not complaining though, total delight to run a new path and see new sights.
Girls picked me up and we went to lunch a little further up the coast, back to the house then headed out to the Hollywood Hills to have dinner with a friend of Michelle's.  Okay so HWHs is rather fab in terms of housing etc BUT traffic in LA is about as bad (if not worse) than you can imagine, both Irene and I not wildly impressed by travel times and arrogant driving.  That said, dinner was lovely and full of laughs and, wait for it.....I drove us home as the "sober driver".  Not that anyone was trashed but I didn't drink at all (still keeping to the no drinking regime).  Now feel I have another little badge of "drove in LA".....always a little nerve-wracking to drive in a new city (the left right thing doesn't much bother me any more so much as the different driving styles you have to contend with in each city).
Sunday I headed out for a six miler around and through the University campus....so beautiful.

Afterwards we went out for breakfast then went on one of those open van "Tour of LA sights and Stars Homes".  All quite funny as the stars homes weren't exactly a picture of architectural flare.  It was also incredibly cold.....

Irene and I look like we have joined some cult while Michelle seems blissfully unaware.  By the time the tour was done we had to get to the airport, back to SFO then down to Santa Cruz to get Lotte and home around 11ish.  Presidents day here so I have worked a half day and now gearing up for an 8 miler.

Virgin Airlines

Hanging in the lounge waiting for the flight to LA to board.



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Friday randomness

My new blackboard now has my training program on it....what gets measured gets done and when it's in your face there's no hiding...



I got this book for Xmas, it's an excellent read as it combines both design and politics...who knew how images for NZ coins came about and the controversy behind them? Rob Muldoon's name seems to come up alot....



Off to LA for the weekend!

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Check it out

From this........

Add a little bit of creative thinking and talent.....

Can you guess........

Where this is going?

Blackboard art!!!!

Finished the dining room, from this.......

.....to this, painted, mat, curtains and art!

And I finished painting the bathroom, ran 15 miles Saturday and another 5 miles today....weekend, done!

Saturday morning procrastination.....

I should be out running, 15m/24km on The Plan.  I know I'll go but in the meantime still putzing around finding excuses.  By the end of Sunday I will have run 40 miles in total.  Overall to train to run 26.2 miles I will have run 509m/819km.  I will have to do many many more miles to run 50 in September.  I am excited and nervous about the thought of running 50 miles but feel hugely motivated and inspired to imagine actually doing it!
Work has been busyish with new opportunities to do what I do best ..... release comms.  Odd to think four years ago I wrote about having no idea what I was really doing in High Tech, never having done anything on this scale nor in the land of IT.  Now I have become somewhat of an expert, able to bring a lot of practical experience to the table and offer advice and guidance along the way.  It does get tedious as, for me, it is the same cycle with a different crowd.  In the end though I know there will be a huge sense of satisfaction as the machinery falls into place and it all takes on a life of its own that no longer requires my presence nor input to keep it going.  At that point it's easy to let go and have it work as it will, in the interim, many debates, arguments and frustrations to be dealt with.
It's also our mid-year performance reviews.  I have given mine to my team and enjoyed the discussions and thinking process around having the team grow their skills.  I am still so new to ACN that I'm also learning how these things go and how to offer the best guidance.  I also have a "counsellee".  Every employee is given a career counsellor and you have the option to change them out if it isn't working for you.  As a manager I can also take on counsellees. One of my peeps asked if I would be theirs - so I am helping him plan his career and guide him to good choices.  All new again.  I'm also a "coach" for two analysts who are  the leads in an initiative ACN have to create a community of analysts, organizing learning events and helping them build networks (coaching the Comms Lead and the Inclusion and Diversity Lead).  Smart, engaging College grads who, mostly, just need to learn skills around being in the workforce and how to organize their work.  None of it takes up much time so I'm okay with it.
Almost done with painting the Bathroom (today probably) then I can rebuild that and the dining room.....pics to follow!
That's it really - off to LA with Irene to visit Michelle next weekend........awesome to be able to hop on a plane and 50mins later be in LA......equivalent of Wellington > Auckland!  Milan looms large and I have bravely gone to the doctor, had a full checkup (had to say how much I hate going to the doctor).....all on the back of needing a medical certificate that says I am fit enough to run the marathon.  Alot of European races require one.  Funny the U.S they just let you run, no questions asked but saftey measures and waivers abound.  Europe it seems often requires one but safety measures not quite so apparent!
Okay, gotta run.......

Little slice of NZ

Just before I went to NZ at Xmas the story about the "giant" wetas featured here. Lucas (the analyst that reports to me) asked me to bring him one back, so I did. Sits on his desk....or at his "work station"



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Busy weekend and week

Been a bit slack on the updates!  After my terrible week of being ill.......seriously not felt that ill for a long time....I bounced back over the weekend.  Saturday was low key and included painting my dining room!  Will add pics when it's all prettied up.  Sunday Irene, Lotte and I headed out to Mt Tam, which is across the Golden Gate Bridge.  It's really very pretty and while Irene and Lotte went off on walking adventures I tested my fitness by running up the mountain 6 miles, turning around and running back.

The glamorous life of a runner!  While I was still heading up the trail I bumped into Lotte and Irene so got Irene to take this shot.











Some shots of the trail, all rather pretty.

Lotte enjoying the trail.

Views along the way quite spectacular

Random shot of the city from Bernal Hill, near home

This weekend......run alot and paint the bathroom!

Bobble bottle!

Meet BB, my latest attempt to live healthy and drink more water!!!!!



The filter is built in so I can have filtered water anywhere. Needless to say this is all part of the Ultra Campaign!

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Speechless and perhaps a little insane

Speechless and insane may not necessarily be related....but they could be!  I am speechless because I literally am speechless.  That cold/flu travelled rapidly downward to my voice box and I am down to a whisper.  Based on the blog history I have lost my voice 4 times in the last two years.  I am not at all sure what that means but a consultant without a voice is a little ironic.
Insane as I have registered for the 50 miler, going against some of the advice I have been reading about the type of race to choose for your first.  I've chosen the Tahoe Midnight Express Ultra (check it out on the right).  Actually it's really just a "bit" player inside the 72 miler and a whole bunch of other activities happening over a three day period.  Some key facts:

• Held at Lake Tahoe: in context Tahoe is 72m/115kms around the rim as compared to Lake Taupo which is 119m/193kms
• Elevation ranges from 6300ft - 7000ft: so start high and go up, then down and more up and down
• Night time road running - starts at 10pm so you run through the night
• No aid stations until mile 46 - I have to have my own support van with all my food etc etc etc

I don't think it's the easiest race to have chosen but it appeals in a bunch of ways.  Like the idea of running at night and like that it's roadway.  Like that my peeps are with me the whole way.  Like that it is small (seriously around 20 started the 72miler last year and only 8 did the 50miler.  We all start at the same time but my expectation is I'll be about last in the pack.......start slow and taper......
Now I have my heart set on it I just have to do the work to achieve it, one step at a time.

Sad.....

This is a sad post so if you aren't up for sad today skip on by.......
Last year when mum was here we travelled up to Folsom and I spent a day volunteering at the Rock n River 50 Ultra Marathon.  It was an awesome day and at the end of it I decided that this was the race I would choose for my first ultra.  The race directors were Robert and Linda Mathis. About a week ago I emailed Linda and got no reply, I thought it was odd.  Today I went on to the race site to check out registration and saw this:

We are sorry to announce that this race is cancelled until further notice. Sadly, Robert and Linda Mathis (race directors) were tragically killed on Friday, December 30th. 


Needless to say, more than shocked.  I googled to discover they had been hit by a drunk/drugged  driver while crossing a road on a pedestrian crossing.....not out running, not doing anything remarkable, just doing their business in their home town.  They were legends in the ultra community and I really enjoyed my day with both of them.....particularly Linda. They ran their race with integrity and a genuine caring for the runners, that's why I had wanted to run it as my first.
The whole thing has just made me more determined to do a 50 miler.  If some drunken arse can take it all away so quickly then best we all think hard about what it is we really really want to do while we do all those other things like paying mortgages etc etc.
I have new plans for my race, but will save it for another post as this is not so much about me as tipping my hat to some inspirational people who have undoubtedly helped many aspiring runners achieve their dreams.  A sad loss.

Getting all homey

Very successful Ikea visit. New lamp for the lounge.



Combined with some shuffling of furniture.



Has made for a very comfy nest.
New rug and curtains for the, about to be painted, dining room where my newly acquired NZ wall hanging will be hung.



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Adventuring....

Two days indoors, home sick.....bleech.  Ventured out today though.  Off to Ikea buying homey things then Fort Funston after a very wet stormy night.

The "Grand Canyon"......Irene taking me and Lotte a little off the beaten path!

Arborist

Had some "pruning" to do.



Brave, sweet French guy climbed the ladder in the rain.



Did an impressive job.



And sorted this weirdness....






Schweet.


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Martin Luther King Day

9 miles done! Cool crisp SF day. Back to my old stomping ground.



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More holiday stuff

Irene arrived from Australia on Boxing Day and we hang out in Havelock for another two days, checking out the Napier Art Deco and Irene river swimming while Janine and I watched followed by a yummy lamb chop dinner.

Cruising in Rose's car we then headed back to Auckland via Taupo and Rotorua.  This was fun as it's always interesting to see the country through the eyes of someone who has never been there before.  We stopped at Huka Falls.  I haven't been there in about 15 years I think.  All still rather impressive I have to say.
As we travelled a couple of things I really noticed; how clean the country is, very little trash at the side of the road and the lack of roadside advertising, even as you approach small towns; a general air of well being, really not a lot of "rundown" or poorly maintained farms or houses in evidence (it all felt much "wealthier" that I remembered); good roads, really good roads, startlingly good roads; good driving, seriously I expect most NZers wouldn't think so and the road toll was horribly high for the xmas period but I saw very little bad driving and people mostly kept to good speeds without going crazy (of course it only takes on person to stray across the line and it's carnage.....).  I wouldn't say there was no traffic but it was pretty low stress.  I think I'm immune these days.  Everyday I battle the freeway to and from work - that's alot of traffic, so NZ did feel relatively light weight on the traffic front.
Arriving in Auckland we stayed at Rose and Jos (both out of town so just us) and went out to dinner with Gwenda (I had stayed with Gwenda and Karen my first night/day in NZ so it was an additional bonus to spend time with G. again).  We went to Soul Bar which has been around for ever it seems.  The Viaduct it self looked amazing, clearly benefiting from the Rugby World Cup in terms of it's development.

While not in this shot (which I didn't take btw), there is a whole new area that has been developed, also full of restaurants and street art.  A small area but all quite impressive.
Following day we headed up to Rawhiti to meet "the girls" and enjoy a new round of adventures!

13 Weeks to Milan

Yikes, I just did the numbers on training days between now and the Milan Marathon in April......those days, weeks and months tick past fast!  Official training program starts tomorrow.  It also happens to be Martin Luther King Day - given the client takes it as a holiday (we don't), most of the team are taking PTO, me included....yippee three day weekend.

Meet the peeps

.....known these folk 20+ years.  I came out to these people, they were there, they'd been around, out long before I even thought about it.  I didn't need "It does get better" because  they were there and all mighty out when I came out......they were my people that told me it was okay.....and so much more!
We've all kept in touch, we are all friends but this New Year was the first time we've all been together in 15yrs.....before that Andy's 30th.  All of us have kept in touch individually and in random groups.  So much history.  It's kind of amazing and I gotta say I never did think I was even one centimeter shorter than the rest......I might have been though.....just a millimeter or two........

Andy, me, Rose, Michelle, Ruth

These are the people I've known since I was 22.........they've tolerated the best of me and the worst of me, they've laughed at me, celebrated with me and cried with me (well we've all kind've cried together at different times).  
P.S my mum told me recently if you have even one good friend you are lucky....you know I have these four and a couple more (at least one or two who read this blog).....talk about them/you later......no limit to good friends who I think have my back and I have yours......"It does get better".

Back in the US of A

I'm home and delighted to discover that I have my own little community here too.  It's not got the history of NZ but it's been a very sweet landing both at home and work.  At home Irene and Lotte picked me up at the airport. Lotte was all squeaky and sweet (Irene didn't squeak but was smiley!). It was lovely to be met then whisked back to my little house......all tidy and neat after friends of Irene's stayed.  I do love my little house and my "neighbours".
NZ was a total blast, I didn't get enough time with anyone really; but enough time with everyone to know that I've got some great peeps around me!  The family were great and I love the "Havelock" house.  It's peaceful surrounds and it's calm beautiful interior.

Getting ready to shoot!

Jam on it!

This is Dudley and Buster (above).....they are supposed to be "miniature" somethings.....not so much of the miniature!
Me and Jam went shoot'n. Claybird shooting in the "backyard". Awesome fun with some very beautifully crafted rifles and the  scariest little mechanical thing that flings the clay birds!!!!!

Awesome view

Doing the biz

Is it bad to say that I do really love shooting.....not animals, but targets!
Jam and I went on a 14k (8.5m) bike ride too.  Seriously I don't bike so that was was all a little freaky.  We were on mountain bikes too but on the road, I am more comfortable with them.  I was really not at all sure that after the ride I could make it back up the driveway to the house without getting off and pushing (well that would be a little humiliating, right?).  As it turned out running has put me in good stead and the gearing on the bike meant I did actually make it up the hill.....lowest gear, Jamnie was about three gears higher....cripes.  Still it was really lovely to get out there and spend the time chatting and loving the rural atmostphere.

Travelled all over NZ and had a great time. NZ is always a little complicated for me as I have different groups of pals to catch up with.....more later.

The holiday that was....

Back from NZ, lots of photos to share and adventures had.  All to come! Meanwhile, back home, my little house is lovely, the weather in San Fran fantastic.  Irene, Lotte and the fishes all here.  Gorgeous (albeit painfully slow......xmas cheer and all) run out at Fort Funston while Lotte and Irene played "throw the stick".....finally finally finally got the lock to the back door (seriously this has been a saga and a half to order and actually get it......designer doors should be banned!) and have had a lovely evening at the local wine bar (which I now feel I have discovered!) with a friend I haven't seen in 12 months.  Sweetest part of that story is Dee and I met probably four years ago so I actually have some history with her as I transited through my various living and working arrangements!