Eau de Chlorine

Beginning Swimming

Today we finally got to go into the pool. Aside from the deep goggle marks around my eyes and an upset stomach from breathing water, it was a good class. Before the serious workout started, we had to prove that we could swim by traversing 25 yards across the pool, we learned proper kicking form, the freestyle stroke, how to breathe (obviously I need to work on that!), and even how to do push turns.

Coach Eve said I did a really good job : .)

Swimming tip: You can protect high maintenance hair (read: dyed) from the damaging effects of chlorine by a dousing it with non-chlorinated water and applying a coating of conditioner that you don't rinse out until you finish swimming.

Running Monkey Photos

Some photographs taken during the race last weekend. I forgot I had these!!! hee!


Van 2 - Mike F. (Turbo), Lynne (Mrs. Turbo), Me , Mike G., Sammy, Rob


Finally making it out of the vineyard! Rescued by my van mates!


Runner exchange. Note the cool Kittyville hat made 'specially for me by Ragged : .)



Very early in the morning at the Golden Gate Bridge.

San Francisco's Wild Kingdom

Listening to the radio this morning and they reported that there was a Mountain Lion sighting in SF this weekend.

Maybe I wasn't near the zoo...

Oh the Places You Will Chafe...Thots and Reflections on "The Relay" 2006

TMI? Actually, I got a few blisters : .D nothing more!

Just got back home from Santa Cruz. I am tired. My team, the Running Monkeys, ended up third from last place in a field of 110 teams, based on the preliminary stats after 32 hours of running. As you can probably guess, it was an *interesting* weekend. The weather held out, which was fantastic. It rained only briefly, the sun made an appearance Saturday and Sunday, and the days and nights were cool. Van 1, made up of all rookies did a great job. They were where they were supposed to be, when they were supposed to be. Kudos to them for a job well done.

We ran into trouble with our pace times. Most of us ran slower than anticipated. An injury in Van 1 made it necessary for the other 5 van mates to pick up the slack. Of course, that made them tired and therefore, affected their pace times. One of my van mates had strep throat last week. That definitely affected her pace times. As for me...Well, I would like to say that I was fighting off the mountain lion (see Santa Cruz or Bust) that appeared while I was running my first leg, but truth be told...uh, I got lost. I took a wrong turn, ending up at the top of a mountain (yes, I ran EXTRA hills!), 4 miles out of my way. By the time my van mates came looking for me, I had already realized my mistake and was on the way back down the hill. My arduous trek thru the wild vineyards of the Napa Valley was made all the better however, because the sun was out, there was a little stream bubbling next to the trail, I went up and down rolling hills that were awash with green, and came across a big, yellow farmhouse on a little lake complete with cattails swaying in the wind and cloud reflecting on its surface. In the distance, I could see the end of the bay. Amazing!!! I couldn't complain.

My second leg went much better, except that it was entirely up hill and at 3 am. I was in the beautiful city of San Francisco, on the Great Highway, listening to the waves crash on the beach. I took a right turn and started down Skyline Drive. I paused to remove my jacket and if you can believe this, from across the road, I could hear the gravely growl of a lion!!! No, it wasn't a dog, it wasn't a cat, it was a LION!!! Okay, I thot I was in the clear and was only going to have to deal with 2-leggeds, not 4-leggeds, since I was in the city, but no. I panicked and started to run, which is the last thing you are supposed to do in the event you come across a lion, mountain or otherwise, then came to my senses and realized I was probably running past the zoo. Phew! Unfortunately, since I was so tired from my vineyard run, I ended up getting passed by 10 other runners. In this situation, you are known as 'roadkill'. Some of the teams are very competitive and keep track of their roadkill by making tick marks on the windows of their transport vehicles. Rude, I say!

My third leg was ranked the easiest, but did you know that running downhill is almost worse than having to run uphill? My quads are toast. They are actually screaming in agony. I hope I can walk tomorrow. Maybe I shouldn't have sprinted at the end, but I was so happy to see that runner exchange and pass off the race bracelet that I couldn't resist.

Anywhoo, so much more happened over the last two days, but I fear, I will bore you with the intimate details. To pass the time during my last leg, I did think of awards to give to my van mates.

Rookie of the Weekend Award goes to Sammy, who kicked butt running 18.4 miles total in her 1st relay race.

Best Driver Award goes to Rob, who handeled all the driving, except while he was running, which meant he didn't sleep the entire weekend.

Team Spirit Award goes to Lynne, who jumped out of the van at every opportunity to cheer us on.

Fastest Runner Award goes to Mike F. who ran a sub-6 minute pace.

Best Team Captain Award goes to Mike G. who kept us on track and handled all the details leading to the race.

As for me, I awarded myself the Scenic Tour Award, for my jaunt thru the vineyards.

I need to find my waterwings so I'm ready for triathalon training next week!

Signing off now, Tenacious L

Chance of Rain?

This morning I walked out my door to go to work and I found the sky to be lit by this unusual light.

There were also these bleu holes in the sky.

Oh...wait...OHMYGOSH, I think it was...the SUN!!!

I guess that means we're gonna have to break out the 1 million SPF sunscreen, since we haven't seen that puppy in a while. I don't want to risk a sunburn.

In Like a Lion, Out Like a Lamb

Still waiting...

In the meantime, my Illo Friday submission for Spring.

Detox - Week 3

I want to eat something besides beige food. I'm not craving anything in particular, I just want to eat something different. Pot roast maybe, a piece of pizza margherita, and maybe a little glass of chardonnay.

Food & supplement intake for this week is the same as last week. I am a bit worried about running this weekend (see Santa Cruz or Bust) due to the lack of carbs in my diet, but last weekend I ran on Saturday and did a spin class on Sunday, and I was fine. I'm expecting the same this weekend. Bonus positive side effect - I've lost 10 pounds!

Okay, one-more-week. I can do this.

Sleeping Beauty's Castle

Here is the world of imagination, hopes and dreams. In this timeless
land of enchantment, the age of chivalry, magic, and make-believe are
reborn, and fairy tales come true. Fantasyland is dedicated to the young
at heart, to those who believe that when you wish upon a star, your
dreams come true. - Walt Disney

Submitted to Moody Monday - Theme: Fantasy

Santa Cruz or Bust!

I'm running in a race this weekend. Its called "The Relay." A 199 mile, 12-member team race from Calistoga to Santa Cruz, CA. The team is split into two groups, each member of the team running 3 parts (legs) of the race, varying distances over two days, kind of frog hopping along. This is the 5th time I'll be participating in a race of this sort.

My collective group of legs totals 18 miles: 7.4 miles, moderate difficulty; 5.9, all uphill, HARD; and 4.7, easy. Continuing with the numbers: 6 sweaty men and women, sharing one van, over two days and two hundred miles, with no sleep, using porta-potties (ugh!) along the way. Highlights of this race include running under a full moon, thru beautiful wine country, across the Golden Gate Bridge, thru San Francisco, thru cities in the Silicon Valley and finally finishing on the beach in Santa Cruz. Did I mention that its rained 25 days in the month of March and it is anticipated that it will rain through the weekend? Did I mention the road closures because of landslides, cracks, flooding, and downed trees? Did I mention that one of my legs is thru a vineyard of mud?

Yesterday, I checked "The Relay" website for updates on the race and course conditions and read this:

"Due to mountain lion sightings on Hudson Vineyard (Leg 8), consider running with pepper spray or a teammate." Remember me mentioning my run thru a vineyard? Yes, this is one of "my" legs. What? MOUNTAIN LIONS!!! I'm a true-bleu city girl. I know nothing about protecting myself against mountain lions. Arrrrgggghhhh!!!

I sent an email to my fellow runners, asking who would be willing to run with me during my leg. What a great idea to bring along a teammate, I throw my teammate to the mountain lion and while the lion has lunch, I run off and meet the van!

It will definitely be a fun weekend!!! ; .)