the "chips" fall as they may (not near the clock!)

The race results have been posted--yea! My "chip time" was 56:49 with which I am quite happy. I wish the local paper published chip times instead of gun times, because that put me over an hour! Oh well....

One cool thing, though, is that I pretty much started and finished the race with the wife of one of my co-workers! I've never met her, but recognized the name in the results, and he told me that was indeed his wife. I just think that's neat.

Donations and support are still coming in and being added, but as of now, this race has raised a whopping $302,170 for the UVA Breast Center!!!! W-O-W!!! That is an incredible amount, I think, and for a worthy cause.

4 Miler

WOW!! I DID IT!!

Today was the Charlottesville Women's 4-Miler, and I am thrilled that I've completed my first 'race.' The day started early--I had to leave my house at 5:45 to arrive at Foxfield Racetrack by 6:45. I am usually blissfully unaware of the 5 o'clock hour as I am generally quite content and cozy and in bed--sleeping!!! But today I had plans!

The course is scenic with some gentle hills since no where in central Virginia are you going to find a flat road! The last several weeks I haven't been running as much as I should in preparation for this, but that wasn't going to keep me from running the race. My goals were simple: finish, and do it under an hour. The day turned out to be rather hot and humid, unfortunately, but almost everyone worked through it. The farm fences along the last mile are decorated with banners bearing the names of loved ones' who've been affected by cancer of some sort. It's very touching to see all the names, recognize some and see runners taking pictures with "their" banners after the race. It really does remind you what you're running for and gives you that extra push you need to finish up that last hill (little hill, but looong).

When I crossed the line the clock read 1:00:25. Unfortunately I forgot to take note of the time on the clock when I crossed the starting line, so I'm a couple of minutes under that--I won't know until tomorrow when times are posted.

All in all I'm very pleased and plan on running the race again next year. No worries that I'll become a runner, though! Someone had mentioned I should do a triathlon since I also bike ride, and I must admit that swimming is probably my only natural athletic ability. BUT I am soooooo not near being ready for something like that. My friend Sue is doing her first triathlon this fall, and she's a lifelong athlete. Maybe I'll keep this up, train for the Charlottesville Ten Miler in the spring (one of the nation's favorites, I might add!) and see if Sue wants to do the triathlon again next year. Hmmmm.....

Post race I waited in line for almost an hour for a therapeutic sports massage. Aside from pestering my mom to rub my shoulders, I've never had a real massage before. During this time my dad called thinking I'd be done and on my way home--I texted my parents shortly after I finished to say YEA!! And my best friend called to check on me and see how I did and tell me the nicest, "I told you so" ever. He was one of my few encouragers for this race and never doubted that I could do it and never called me crazy for wanting to try.

Early morning arrivals


About 30 minutes before staging


After finally getting my massage and ready to head home..my car, alone by the tree

Daddy's (grown up?) Little Girl

Sarah was kind enough to mail pictures that her photographer had taken at her & Tom's wedding. This is my favorite!

Jogging Jillian

Since I left work late today, I skipped the gym and went for a quick run when I got home. I also decided to take Jill with me. I've walked her before, but this would be our first jog together. She does very well!! Of course, she still manages to look like a show dog prancing for the judges. Our only mis-hap was when she was on my left, but something sure smelled mighty interesting on my right. Needless to say, I almost wiped out as a 100lb dog darted out in front of me! I've also decided that she's a city dog, because the cows at the farm down the road were soooooooo interesting that she was reluctant to them. But in all fairness they found her interesting as well.

All in all she makes a great jogging partner. :-)

NYC Bike Messengers

All I can say is, "WOW!!!" I think I had my eyes covered for most of this video. People talk about NYC drivers, but it's the guys on the bikes you need to look out for!! They're nuts! I think this was for some race/contest they had, though. (there are a couple iffy things in it, but I think it can be overlooked for the overall video)

Have bike, will travel....

I've been on the hunt for a bike rack to cart my bike to and fro. I came across the Saris Bones 2-Bike rack. It sounded fabulous and had great reviews. They also have a 3-bike version for just $30 more. While one that carries 2 should suffice, it doesn't hurt to have the ability to haul 3 just in case. While checking things out I stumble upon the Saris Bones RS bike rack. It is the Lamborghini of bike racks. While I would have been quite happy and content with the regular Bones rack, now I want this one!! However the Bones RS costs a tidy sum, so regardless of how much I may lust after it, it is simply out of reach.

Meanwhile my dad is checking things out for me online as well--he's a fabulous researcher. He comes across a guy selling the Saris Bones 2-bike on Craigslist in the Boston area. COOL! But I can't get my email to cooperate in writing to the man, so I miss out. But I think, "Ooh, that's a good idea. I wonder what's on Craigslist here?" I check it out, and it's a strike. A day or two later I look again: strike 2. BUT I give it one last shot and knock it out of the park!! A guy is selling the RS at a loss, brand new!! Turns out it won't work for his car and selling it for less than 70% of what he paid is better than return shipping costs + 15% restocking fee!! SWEET!! So a few emails later and I'm on my way to meet him and check it out. Needless to say I came home with my brand new Bones RS for just a few bucks more than the Bones 3-Bike!

What do you think??

R U Reading?

Hey, Dad! I rode my bike today!!!

Happiness is...

...the perfect pair of pants. For the past few years I have been on a quest to find the perfect pair of khakis/chinos. Truthfully I didn't have much criteria: casual but nice enough to be dressed up a notch and they had to fit. While that's not much, the past several years have focused on capris (of which I am SO not a fan) and cropped pants. That made plain, regular pants of any type hard to find in general. The tricky part here, however, is fit. My waist is way smaller than my hips, and until recently nothing was cut to work around that: low-rise had been the only option. (Come to think of it, I find this rather odd since I think a fair number of women have a waist significantly smaller than their hips...is an hourglass figure that rare??) So usually I try on size B, which fits my curves but is then baggy on my legs and gapes at my waist; size A is perfect at the waist and below my thighs, but, um, a little snug in between, and size C is just crazy big. My other pant purchasing problem is that despite my height, I've got wee little legs. "Then buy petite," you say? Alas, if only it were so simple. If the only difference between petite and regular was the inseam, I'd be in business, but the whole fit/cut is different and the rise is then all out of whack. I have come to accept that having pants hemmed is just a condition of the pant-buying experience.

Anyway, I walked into Eddie Bauer yesterday, saw pants that looked to be exactly what I wanted. I tried them on, and VOILA!! THE PERFECT PANTS! Yea!! I love these pants: I feel fabulous in them and look good, too, if I do say so myself! So, on top of my normal happy-go-lucky mood, I am super happy today! :-)

The FURminator!!!

Ok, totally worth an immediate post. I LOVE THE FURMINATOR!

In less than 10 minutes I had a WHOLE bag full of nasty undercoat. The more amazing part, for me, was that I didn't have to fight Jill when it came to grooming. She even sat down for me and leaned in!!!

Another 10 minutes tomorrow and we'll be under control. I have less angst about having her in my sparkly clean new car, too!

I'm not sure I want to give this back to Jay!!

And yet, there's still one more!

What a great day! I really like this 3 days off bit!!

After a most excellent morning, I pondered what to do with the rest of my Friday. I decided to take Jill for a walk to see how she'd do in case I decide to take her jogging one day. Due to the whole invisible fence deal, it took quite a bit of coaxing to get her onto the road. But we made it, and had a lovely walk. We went maybe a mile or so and talked with our neighbors Jay & Amy on the way back. During our chat I mentioned Jill's never-ending shedding. With that, Jay brought out the FURminator!!! I've pondered one of these for a while because all I hear are raves about it, but it costs about $60!! I'm so excited to try it out and see how well it really works!

After our stroll through the neighborhood, I finished raking up all the rocks and "stuff" where the sheds used to be. Now I'll be able to run the mower over the scraggly grass that's persevering in the dust bowl without worry about slinging rocks everywhere.

Now I'm just enjoying the lovely evening. In the morning we'll see how much my body decides to protest the hours of raking, though--just in time for my Saturday morning running!

Don't run dumb!!

At work we have now switched to 4, 10-hour days. I think I'm really going to like having an extra day off. This is the first week, so we'll see how it goes.

I'm continuing my biking, running and dancing, though each has shifted in varying degrees. Biking and running have increased (hey, they're free) and dancing has downsized (very unfree). For this month I am taking only 2 private lessons for dance. I was so busy last month with dancing that my running was put on the back burner. With the Women's 4-Miler coming up at the end of the month, I really need to put in more mileage. BUT, I am going to figure out a way to budget in 1 lesson per week for September and hopefully beyond. I absolutely love it!!

Just a few miles from work there's a pretty nice park with a great running/walking/biking trail which winds alongside the Rivanna River. I have been a couple of times with other people, so I decided to go after work the other day. I went on a Sunday after work a few weeks ago, and it was almost totally deserted which kinda spooked me--too quiet and no one around if I needed help. I was hoping for something different on a mid-week evening when people usually bring their dogs (dogs are allowed off-leash at the park Tues-Thurs). While I got different, it wasn't the different for which I was hoping. Guess I was too early. There were more people around, but not many. At one point I passed a group of 7-8 kids (17-20 yoa) hanging out at the river. While I'm sure the chances that they would bother me were slim, I was acutely aware of how alone I was, I'd only passed 2 people so far on the trail, the fact that I left my phone in my car and the realization that while I might have a chance against one (possibly two) people, I have none against a group. I was also disappointed in myself that I had been so sure that all would be fine, that I lost common sense. As a lone female running through the woods I need to take more safety precautions. Needless to say, if I go again I won't be alone and I'll have my phone. I think I'll see how my dog does running with me--she'd be good, attack-discouraging company!!

I have also managed to get in a couple of bike rides lately. Still short ones, but I'll be lengthening them soon. I told my dad that I might make Thursday an official "bike ride" day. Even sleeping in I can get a ride in fairly early, so I'll have low traffic volume.

I'm now looking at my dog, resting peacefully in the living room. She has no idea that as soon as I post this she's getting a manicure. Unlike me, she hates them!! I'll just give her a few more minutes of ignorant bliss!!

Presto, presta!

Ooooh yea!!!! I FINALLY got to go on a bike ride! It may have been short, but at least I spent some time on the road. After a tire valve issue (no one explains the finer details of how things work on your $1000 bike!!) which required a little Googling by me and a little investigation by Dad, I finally, finally hit the road. Just a quick jaunt on a perfect day--mid 80's, low humidity and sunny with a gentle breeze!! If I hadn't had silly issues (thank goodness it wasn't a serious issue) I could have gone out for a longer ride....alas.

I love my bike

Scrumptious!

Mmmmmmmmmmm! Last night for dinner I decided to make chicken fajitas. Talk about taking the easy route: My sister-in-law showed me how easy they were to make; I took the simplifying one step further--almost to lazy! AND, instead of the fajita seasoning I used a yummy raspberry chipotle sauce I stumbled across in Texas. Now, usually stuff I make turns out tasty, but even I am impressed with this! And the leftovers are even better!

Start at the crack of dawn....

So this morning started with another running/training session. I met my friend and it was off to the UVa track. Today's run was 3 miles through some of UVa Grounds (heaven forbid you call it a campus). While I did not run the whole 3, I ran most of it and finished middle of the pack. It was a tad on the humid side, but the sun was playing hide and seek behind the clouds. Thank goodness for small favors! My friend has decided that she will not be running the race. I think it mostly has to do with her dissatisfaction with where she's at, but.... I am looking forward to the race and seeing how far I've come!!

So at 9:45, after the stretching we do after each run, I'm driving my friend back to her car, and I see that I have a voicemail. So I listen to the message from one of my most favorite people who had the gall to suggest I was still sleeping at 9:30!!! Hmmph! I was out the door by 7am thank you very much! Don't worry, though, a proper harassment and grief-giving session has been completed! LOL

After I got home it was right to the mower for a properly done job this time. It looks good, and I've decided that it will really look great for next spring. Now just some relaxation and laundry.

BTW, tomorrow starts my 10-hour schedule. I've thoroughly enjoyed finishing my days at 3, but getting a 3rd day off in exchange for just 2 more hours a day--I think I like!!!