Else what's a heaven for?

Caffeine shots consumed: 4
Types of food consumed on the course: 5 (water, Gatorade, oranges, Clif Shotz, munchkins)
Gary Johnson campaign posters: 4
Obama references: 1
Bewildering Paul Ryan references I still haven't decoded: 3
Times I heard "Gangnam Style": 3
Times I heard the Rocky theme: 1 (in front of the Capitol building. u r doin' it rong.)
Times I saw the sign with The Oatmeal the Hyperbole-and-a-Half character exhorting me to run "All The Miles": 2
Signs I saw encouraging "Random Runner": 4
Stations with people handing out vaseline: 3
Signs discussing farting: 4
Signs comparing the ease of the course to "your mom": 4
Signs comparing the ease of the course compared to the holder of the sign: 2
Signs offering sexual services to endurance athletes: 2
Phone number of chick who posted it on a sign: 867-5309
Numbers may not add up to 100 due to double counting. and also bc I was busy running a marathon.

All in all, the Marine Corps Marathon was not much like what I wanted. If I had checked the course in December when I re-upped, or in June/July when I wasn't sure if I could finish it, I'd've learned that the course doesn't go from Quantico to the Iwo Jima memorial, as I thought, but basically loops around various bits of DC, kinda going around the Mall and some of the sights, but really not nearly as scenically as I've done in my random runs. During the run itself, I rarely knew where I was - I still don't understand how we got from East Potomac Park and back without crossing bridges and I definitely don't know what Roosevelt Island looks like.

Despite being unemployed, I trained far less than I really needed: of the 22 weeks since I got back from the Himalayas, there 9 when I ran twice and 3 when I ran once. (Traditional marathon plans tell you to train 4x a week, a feat I only accomplished during my taper.) Part of the problem was that I made the mistake of starting from a reasonable level when I got back, instead of overtraining as puppy dog eventually suggested. His lack of helpfulness on this topic is basically the death knell of our relationship, but that's a whole 'nuther matter.

We got to DC a little later than we wanted on Friday and my mum wanted happy hour more than stopping by the expo. It was a zoo, but I accomplished everything I wanted there. I dropped off 3 pairs of old shoes for recycling in exchange for $15 in DSW gift cards. I picked up a cotton, navy blue mock T and decided none of the race gear was worth paying actual $ for.

My mum and I went to the GE booth to get our body fat tested on the InBody 230. ( Read more... ) Bottom-line, I'm glad my figure competition keeps getting postponed. Also, more importantly, during happy hour, in a fit of excitement, I lifted my mum. A moment I went over to my father -- and did the same thing, which impressed him very much. This might be my biggest achievement of the weekend.

The start was pretty cool, other than my rampant confusion over what time I =really= needed to get to the start. The Osprey flyover was impressive and the nice thing about all the race volunteers being Marines is no one argues with them. I felt great the first few miles. Sometime between mile 11 and mile 13 though, I started feeling it and by mile 16, I commented to my mother that I was tired. I decided I would keep to a reasonable pace for the first 20mi and then kick it up for the final 10K, a la a shirt I saw while running NYC, but I didn't have it in me. My hips were the most sore and there were moments around miles 18 and 19 that I was approaching crying. I tried to kick it up after mile 20, but never got my pace below 10 minutes again :( I really enjoyed the signs that said "Beat Oprah" (or Will Ferrell or W or...), and I'd planned to come in at 4:22 (thereby beating my sister's 4:25 as well), but alas came in only 3mins faster than last time. (Conventional wisdom says your second marathon will be 15mins faster than your first, given the same training, bc you're less worried about finishing, but even before my first marathon, I'd already hiked up Kilimanjaro so.)

This is something I hate about marathons: bc you can only do 1/year, you can't get enough data and make adjustments. I know my hips hurt and I know my right knee is jacked and my right quad is very stressed, but I don't know if my hips hurt bc they are weak or bc my training was insufficient or bc marathons just suck. I didn't have the same mental confusion I had during my first marathon and I'm able to move more comfortably this time, albeit with a limp: my theory is that my higher strength this time contributed, but apparently not enough. urk, too many variables!

For future reference, my remaining marathon bucket list as of this morning is Disney, Mont St. Michel, and Marathon du Medoc. My half marathon bucket list is Las Vegas Rock 'n Roll, Philly, maybe San Fran, Napa-to-Sonoma, Kentucky Derby mini, Brooklyn. Hopefully the sightseeing will be better and my mum is under strict orders not to let me sign up for any more unless I carefully check the course map. I have a post bubbling up about hobbies and fitness, but after talking to Jon this morning, I remembered that I should give myself a few days to recover. Also, strictly speaking, I never have to run again.

puppy dog bailed on me Fri night bc of his other mistress' birthday: so far, he's bailed on me the last two times and I've bailed on him once. That I know this says everything about what's happened to our relationship. Instead I finished Harry Connolly's Child of Fire, which is perfectly decent magic noir.

Despite going to bed at a reasonable hour, I was all sorts of cranky pants when it was time to go skating the next morning. I wasn't even interested in going for a private lesson, although I had so much fun in the group lesson, I went for it anyhow. ( Read more... )

I did 3 loads of laundry and finished unpacking from my last two adventures and packing for my weekend. I can't believe that took so much of the day! or how tired I was after! Which made me way late for Pongo's cassoulet party.

The irony is, I regularly complain about how I hate French food bc it's yucky-I-mean-fancy, but really, cassoulet is stew from our last 5 meals. Of course, being post-modern hipsters, our chef had to make each dish before finally assembling it on cooking day. As well as making the crusty bread to go with it. Someday I'll date someone who takes the easy way out. Julian brought a French wine that paired beautifully and viviane212 brought an Aussie shiraz that was just plain awesome. And then after all that - and not letting us help with cleanup - Pongo made his famous French toast for breakfast!

Suitably fortified, everyone agreed to go to the Brooklyn Museum with me. I still don't understand how Youth and Beauty: American Art of the 1920s wasn't mobbed, considering they've had subway posters for a month now and Sunday was the last day. I didn't know much about the art of the period, but it turns out all my fave photographers were working then. It was also interesting to go directly from that exhibit to the end of Hide/Seek, to go from the 20s view of the human body, when it first started being okay for people to wear bodycon clothes, to sexuality in the last 2 decades. I liked the former exhibit better, bc they explained the trends with wall notes, but given the highly political nature of the latter, maybe that's for the best. I also liked the end of the exhibit better than the beginning, bc the gay identity was more explicitly and better explained. As misterjulian observed, a random photo of Walt Whitman does not illuminate his omnisexuality.

It does strip the gears a bit to go straight from there to my niece's bedside at the hospital. 7lbs 13oz and nobody seems to know her length. She has a full head of black hair, a nose that got caught and necessitated a c-section, long toes -- and the cutest thing about her is watching how tenderly my brother coos at her. At least, that's what I think he was doing through the window of the NICU. They got a belly iPod and he recorded the following message to play to her in utero: Hello [name]. This is your daddy. I like numbers and I know you will too. 1, 2, 3... The brainwashing starts young in my family. I got to meet my niece's grandmother and LBro and I carved out a bit of time to chat about family matters before I headed home.

Fri night, I went to the gym for a quick workout. The week before, I ran into Russ the PT god while I was there and he asked where I'd been for the past two months and I told him about pizza month. Anyhoo, I did a Russ workout and didn't think I'd done all that much, but was a bit tired on my way to dog's place for a gathering. I'd planned to stay for only an hour, as I was on my way to Ct, and that was plenty I'm afraid.

Woke up Sat morning to the worst crick in my neck ever. Not sure if I slept (really) wrong or if I pulled a muscle in my shoulder that was pulling everything else but OW! Everything hurt, including sneezing, sitting in a car that's braking, and getting my hair blown out.

I desperately need new non-black, winter-weight pants for work, so we hit my fave consignment shop in Ct. I'd swear that stock hasn't turned over since we were there two months ago. On the other hand, we picked up a Ralph Lauren jacket that fit so ridiculously well, I couldn't not buy it: the shoulders were wide enough, the waist nipped in perfectly, and the hips were pretty much molded to mine. Unfortunately, everything I bought there is party clothes, so I'll probably have to resume the hunt for pants next year.

My mum just got a great hair cut and insisted I go to this guy, since I haven't had my hair cut in 6 months (bc I've been growing it out bc it's the only way to make it manageable). Apparently my mum told him my requirements, bc he never said a word to me, just cut. My family loves the new cut, I woke up this morning realizing I'd had this cut before and it was a complete disaster last time bc while it looks good with a salon blow out, when I do it the top sticks out in the back and looks retarded. I should've known better given that he gave my little Asian mum reddish highlights; Bbro commented that she looks like a J-pop star. I'm never fucking letting anyone near my hair again.

We stopped by the very high end linen store. The same green brocade duvet cover I admired was still there two months later. They were willing to take 25% off the exorbitant price, but they have a way of making you feel so bad about the purchase, we left again without buying. Stopped off at Macy's and found they were having a huge bedding sale. We bought a comforter set that's good enough and fabulous sheets, for less than the bedskirt at the other store.

Sat night, we had wicked awesome tapas at a new place in town. Yum!

Sun, we celebrated my aunt's birthday. She drove down from Hartford, her husband made us the best lasagna in the world and all sorts of Vietnamese home cooking, and she did her father's taxes. Stines are just a bundle of fun.

I was eleventy-seven sorts of grumpy by the time I got back to my apt last night, between the ongoing neck pain and what-not, but somehow seeing the toilet back in the bathroom, with water in it, made me much happier. YAAY!

Saturday morning, I went to the NY parkour jam. Spent two hours playing follow the leader around Heckscher playground and Bethesda Fountain. ( Read more... ) Oh, and I was very surprised at how much we used rock climbing skillz - in clinging to the side of the stairs, I found myself using all the tricks I learned in Freedom of the Hills to make my pinch grips and crimps stick. This is even cooler than climbing! When we parted, JC from last week's parkour class asked, "Are you going to keep up your training?" Hells yeah! And now I know of cool nearby places to practice and play. YAAY!

I was so engrossed in the above, I didn't see Stick arrive. We went back to my place and [redacted]. best. morning. evuh. Then I showed him some Japanese rope stuff and ate soup and then we went to the Met. On the way there, we stopped at Vosges and zomg their "naga" is delicious. Everyone knows that curry makes everything tastier, even and especially dark chocolate.

The Superheroes exhibit was hilarious - academics writing about superheroes is even funnier than Thierry Mugler does Superman - but not worth visiting. Walking around Arms & Armor with my fave military history buff is awesome though, letmetellyou.

Sat night, I tossed on some old thing I had in the closet and went out. Next day, I discovered I'm so deterministic, I've worn the exact same thing to LPN 3 years in a row, completely by accident. *palm-slap-forehead* I'm so checking the spreadsheet next time. Succeeded in my primary mission and lost another tenth of a purity point, for something vanilla. *snorgle* doggie and I had dinner afterwards, which I'll write about in my food blog.

Sun morning, I arrived at my father's co-birthday brunch at the Boathouse only to discover my sister was wearing the exact same shirt we'd bought together at Petite Sophisticate, except mine was purple and hers was pink. Funny enough, as I did my makeup, I'd been thinking, "What would my sister wear?" and almost called her to ask if it was too low-cut for family brunch.

Bbro noticed the stamp on my wrist and demanded to know exactly what sort of club I'd been to the night before. d'oh! He made a snotty remark about how even he knows how to wash his hands - and then Lbro turned up with a handstamp as well. Later on, Lbro said something about how he'd spent half the night with my sister - apparently they go clubbing together - so all the Stine kids went out Sat night. I hope none of them were as naughty as I.

My sister, parents, and I went to the Frick for two hours. It's so much better than I remember and after going to Madrid, I appreciated the Spanish art so much more. There are so many famous paintings there that I've seen in textbooks! And if Thomas Crown ever gives me my choice, I know what I want: there's a picture of Emma Hamilton by George Romney that makes her charm and charisma palpable centuries later. Afterwards, I conned my parents into taking me to the Four Seasons for the best hotel tea evuh. YAAY!

Even though I got nothing done all weekend, I walked to dog's last night for caning and dinner. He needed the company more than I need my passport, right? It was actually a pretty nice walk and I'd forgotten how dark the marks would be and I'd never had Irish stew before. The one bad part was, by the time we left, the wind was howling down Tenth Ave so hard, I-kid-you-not, I nearly got knocked over on more than one occasion. Which was extra scary, bc I was scared of getting knocked down and flailing and grabbing the guy with the cane next to me, or having him fall over and be unable to help bc he weighs twice what I do. *sighs* Or at least he did before I ate all that stew.

Also, hearing the wind blowing outside does not incline me to leave my nice warm apt. And to think it will be twice as fast on Aconcagua.

**

The WSJ publishes recipes about once a week and they are generally very complicated; umami recipes are also extremely complicated, so I was shocked that when they did an article on umami, it was do-able. I made Jody Adams's balsamic-marinated chix stuffed w/green olives this morning. It has all sorts of tasty things in the marinade and smells really good. I'm not really sure how tossing olives in the cavity changed the flavor of the chix, but I'll be happy to put them on my salad when I eat the breast meat with spinach. Also, I followed the recipe exactly, bc that's what you're supposed to do the first time, I'm told, but I think a 4lb chix is a bit much for a Kate: I ate a wing for breakfast and was too full to eat the second.

I think my body is relieved I'm going to work today, instead of having a choice. Sunday I ran from the UWS to the Staten Island Ferry and back. It was pretty neat: I've never gone in that direction and saw some sort of protected marshy bits, half the population of Manhattan on picnic blankets, a little bar/restaurant between the West Side Highway and the water, lots of piers and sailboats, and every Circle Line boat but the Shark. There were many sections that were next to the water, with water fountains even, and just over halfway down, the Hudson River Trust has a little shack where they sell things a runner might want: hairbands, bodyglide, gel, and water. The nice man gave me two maps, which will help next time I can choose my long route.

What was not so neat was that even though I'm essentially better now, it took me ( too long. And The Diner sucks. )

At dinner last night, doggie was very comforting. He commented that after not running for 2 weeks, the fact that my feet can take the pounding of 3 hours of running is quite impressive. He also pointed out that it's my first marathon and reminded me that the goal is to finish and not to worry. I love my doggie.

While reading through old climbing posts, I came across the one about Labor Day three years ago, when in one weekend, we hiked, climbed, and rode in NH, which reminded me that it's been a really long time since I was on a horse. Fortunately, it was a three-day weekend, so I had time to go to deepest Brooklyn and better yet, conned the WINGMAN into giving me a ride. And by conned, I mean asked if she was interested and covered my ears when she started jumping up and down and shrieking yes.

It was awesome, which was awful. The horses were very perky and Hotline, although he has a bad leg, kept wanting to canter. Which was fine by me. (I *heart* cantering.) The views were so pretty! As we drove out to Jamaica Bay, we saw all the pretty bits of shoreline and then we got to ride on the beach! And we saw a funny rabbit and my WINGMAN reminded me how clever she is when she remarked how she's never seen any coneys on the island. The awful part is, I was deliciously sore this morning and want to do it again. And while I currently have no other hobbies, I'm not sure I want this monkey on my back again. Well, no hobbies other than prepping for that little race in November.

I'm a dumbass. I got a coupon from the big speed dating company for such-and-such date and thought, "Why not?" since things seem to have fizzled with all my potential primary possibilities lately. I thought it was for tonight, which would've been great since there's only Heroes at 9 and I think some of last week's tiredness was exercising too late at night anyhow. Except I read wrong and even though this is a week when, Hallelujah!, there's a House, I'm going to be speed dating instead. /me is a dumbass.

WINGMAN, what night were your plans for?

Then again, I'm not sure if by tmw I'll be fit for either speed dating or running. I punted last night's run bc apparently the coughing and congestion from yesterday morning wasn't just morning grogginess. By the time I got off the train, I was worried about getting dog sick, although he cancelled our dinner plans before I did, and decided to punt running for the night, even though my weekly mileage was low, bc while I believe in running when you're a little ache-y, apparently running when you're coughing isn't so good. I told you I'm bright.

And now I'm a little concerned bc I cleared out all the food in the house before I left for my weekend trip, so there's nothing in the house to eat, and I've finished almost all my books, so if I stay home from work tomorrow, I'll either starve or die of boredom. Guess I'd better be healthy enough to go to work then, hm? (I have to go in today bc there's stuff that needs to get finished up that only I can do.)

Speaking of sick people... ( dog and dad ) Anyhow, the most encouraging sign about my father's recovery is that he might be going to a function in NYC on Weds and this weekend, he's going to Washington for his fave lobbying group's annual meeting. Of course, what's really amusing is that doggie is also going to DC, on the exact same dates, for his new fave lobbying group, the MS society. heh.

I had to turn the heat on in my apt this morning. Oddly enough, the bedroom was 62 deg and the living room was 68. No wonder I felt like a princess in my cozy happy bed.

Also, the days have apparently gotten short enough that I have to start my morning runs in the dark. Grr.

I'm clearly going to need at least one trip to warmer climes this winter. *goes back to buying sweaters online*

Edit: I wonder if the weather/light change has anything to do with why most of my f-list is sick or depressed lately. Well, maybe not puppydog - apparently his ms symptoms are now spreading to the other half of his body, in part bc a touch of bronchitis kept him from getting on the meds.

As part of my continuing House-mania, I visited an actual hospital yesterday. Okay, not really, but dog seems to be recovering from his surgery. I'm glad I went bc none of the other co-owners were able to see him at the hospital, although apparently Mme was buying him flowers while I was getting balloons.

I thought about a quick dinner at Mo's, but since I was near the little bro's office, I gave him a call. We ended up at City Crab, where I had the soft shell crab - very tasty. Little bro ordered the dungeness crab. He was appalled when it got to the table - ( Read more... ) We decided it's a good thing he didn't go into medicine.

Speaking of House... I wonder how you get to be a Television Without Pity writer bc the recaps are awesome! 'cuz, y'know, when I can't watch the show, the recaps are almost as good. Although personally I prefer the tv.com reference to the young doctors as Ducklings rather than Cottages or Houseflies etc. bc ducklings are more minion-y. (The link is to 1.04, for those who are looking to avoid spoilers. It is included for the comments about Cuddy's team on page 3, which had me giggling aloud, which is bad when you are reading TVP in your cube while waiting for your file to finish calculating.)

In a week, I had three different opportunities to run races, but I got home too late from that st00pid party (it took AN HOUR, by CAR, to get back from Bklyn) to run Sunday's 5k, it's supposed to rain tonight (grawr!), and Sat is a 10k and my longest run to date is 4mi. *sighs*