Woodsy

I can see clearly now

Summer has arrived in Portland, just in time for the 4th of July.  Since we've hit the upper 90s, it may be time to take the electric blanket off my bed.  But last time I did that, we had 6 more weeks of winter so I'm going to hold off for now. 

Last weekend I "race directed" the ORRC 4th of July 5/10k and Kid's Run for the 4th year in a row.  Somehow it went off without a hitch, even though I was also on-call for work over the weekend.  We had around 250 registered this year, which I think is a record since I've been doing the race.  Since it's a free though, many people sign up just in casethey want to run and then don't show up on race day.  Their loss :)  Thank you to my super friends and volunteers Sarah (aid station goddess for the 4th year in a row), Dave G, the Bemroses, Sue and her daughter Gabby, Jerry and Francisco, who once again graciously "volunteered" to lead the 1/2 mile kid's run.  Thought about leading it myself but I'm not up to a 1/2 mile of continuous running yet :P .   I told the kids as they toed the starting line to follow this guy in the blue shirt (Francisco).  As Francisco started to pull off to the side before the last 100m to let the kids kick it in, one little guy was stuck to him like glue looking up like...?...I'm supposed to follow you, why are you slowing down?  Ha ha.  There was crying, confusion, and finisher's prizes for those who persevered.  Just like an Ironman. 

With all the excitement last weekend, I am ready to have a real weekend down at Wineman...er, Vineman.  I've been tapering for 12 weeks, so feeling pretty rested and ready to kick ass in the aquabike.  Although I'm officially registered for the 1/2 tron triathlon, I'm forming a secret aquabike subdivision for those who currently can not run.  I think I have a shot at placing.

Summer without racing has been good so far.  Somehow, I have found other things to do.  Of course there is still some working out.  Floundering at masters swim.  Riding my bike when I feel like it.  Jogging laps at the track.  I also finished the class I took in the spring with 102%.  Maybe I put a bit too much effort into it than was necessary!  But there were many extra credit opportunities too.  Caught up with two good friends from high school that were passing through Portland.  Beth's birthday month of June, and Bobbi Jo's baby shower this weekend meant celebrations were in order.  At the end of the month I am going to New York City.  And speaking of vacations, thanks to Eileen and Charlie I have a condo in Kona for my sabbatical next March and April, and Ironman Australia on May 1st.  That is the only race on my schedule- others may or may not be added later depending on how the running goes.

The results are in

I am going through my company's 3-step wellness check program to earn incentive giftcards.  Hey, times are tough.  I'm 25 bucks ahead so far.  Based on my step 1 health check results, I am at low risk of developing future health problems- hooray!  When I entered "600" for minutes/week of vigorous activity on the questionnaire it prompted me to check "are the numbers you entered correct??".  Hehe.  Now I need to meet with a Health Coach to develop a "personalized wellness program" and get my next 25 bucks.  Do you think my Ironman training program counts for that?  Probably counts for physical wellness but puts my mental health in question.

INEL

Unknown Number, I know who you are.

The calls are coming about 2x per day now.  I changed my ring tone to provide some entertainment value.  I guess the next step is to actually answer and tell them to stop calling.  This is the "It's Just Lunch" (IJL) dating service people begging me to join.  WIth an offer that expires at 5pm the very same day!!  To steal from Kronda's facebook line, which I now think of whenever the phone rings:

Dear IJL - it's not me, it's you.  Quit stalking me.

Love it :)

Let's talk about what it is.  You pay for x number of dates where they fix you up with someone who you may find compatible.  They'll ask what you're looking for, what you can't stand, age range, physical attributes you like or dislike, and so on.  So I look at how much $$ they're asking and consider how hard can this be, really?  I guess they are narrowing the pool to those with a decent amount of discretionary income.  Before you see them, you get their first name and occupation, and interests.  There is no talking.  It could be someone you know, and you won't know that until the date occurs.  

Let's talk about what it isn't.  "It's Just Lunch" should actually change their name to "It's Not Even Lunch" (INEL) because despite the exorbitant cost they don't actually buy you lunch.  You figure out who's paying when the bill comes, which is not awkward AT ALL.  You would think they could eliminate that detail.  You also have to decide if you want to exchange contact information in order to see each other again.  Seems like this usually happens out of politeness if nothing else, although there was one time I said outright "I don't think this is going to work out" and left it at that.  I have tried online dating but it just wasn't giving me a good ROI.  Maybe because I'm looking for "ROI".  It was good for stories and would definitely be good blog fodder (this was in my pre-blog days).  Oh I'm sure my dates had their stories as well.

"She is insane.  Does marathons and Ironman triathlons for "fun".  She took me on a trail run that was supposed to be 5 miles but ended up being 12 because she got us lost.  No navigational skills whatsoever.  I could barely walk for a week.  Then her "lunch" choice was Starbucks for Eggnog lattes, where I heard about the cool new plug-in she downloaded for her Sporttracks training log and the "ROI" for online dating.  What a nerd!"

I think the most memorable date I had was the one where Beth and Bobbi Jo showed up in their "Hitch" hats and sent a Shirley Temple to our table.  That was really funny.  I don't know that he thought so, but I'm really OK with that.  And then there was the time I met Beth at speed dating- that was so worth the trip out to Gresham!  These days though, I think my time may be better spent cruising Leif on my pink mountain bike.

Quik post

I don't have time to blog the whole story yet, but I received a few pics and they TOTALLY cracked me up so have to post a few.  Oh yeah, I am the bunny in the photos below. 

Woohoo- I finished the Portland Marathon! 

No actually I didn't run the marathon, but I did do the Mayor's 10k Walk and Kid's 2 MILE run.  That was enough to get me sick again last night- being out in the rain and sweating in a bunny suit apparently isn't good for the body.  The 10k walk followed the last 6 miles of the marathon course, so some people probably thought I did the whole thing.  Now THAT would be something.  I did get to see Eileen toward the end of the marathon- looking good and on track for a BQ!

Drink this here chocolate milk.  There doesn't appear to be a shortage!!

I only had my tail grabbed maybe 5 or 6 times, mostly by marathon runners.

This is totally creepy.  But does it make you want to drink chocolate milk?

The bunny mingled with Portland's finest

Don't say I never taught you anything

As part of an ongoing effort to become more cool, I've been learning some new terminology.  Although it's pretty futile considering not only I am an engineer, I'm also a tri-geek.  That's a pretty deep hole of nerdiness to crawl out of. 

No, I'm not talking about Chinese...why do you ask?  :)  Here's a short lesson for you.

Summer Teeth
Used to describe somebody who is missing some of their teeth, because Summer there and Summer not!
Looks like the hockey players all have their summer teeth!

Fredding
A wedding where many of the male guests are frat brothers of the groom (derived from the words "fraternity" plus "wedding").  Freddings often involve a lot more drinking and the occasional tuxedo-clad human pyramid.
Dude, I got so crunk* at that Fredding!

Refill limbo
Occurs when you're having casual drinks with friends, they order another round from the waitress, but you still have 3/7 of your beer remaining and are momentarily unable to decide whether to order or pass.
Woodsy's such a lightweight, she's been in refill limbo for the past hour.

Wasted Happy Hour Chick
Girl who comes straight from work to the bar and is still there at midnight even though her colleagues are all gone, she's lost a shoe, and she's been carrying around her laptop bag for seven hours.  Easy prey and can usually be found dancing wildly by herself in the corner.
I love the scene at RH-1.  That wasted happy hour chick is our engineer!
For the record, this is NOT me.  I don't bring my laptop to the bar.

Dotcomrade
An Internet acquaintance; someone you chat with but have never actually met.
So who's this amwoodsy chick?
I dunno.  Just a dotcomrade of mine.

Credit goes to Ruminations and Urban Dictionary for expanding your vocabulary.
*crunk- crazy drunk

All Dressed Up

And nowhere to go besides another costume party.  Undeterred by my 7am workout and Sarah's Banana Belt race today, we ventured out to be social again last night.  Yep, that's twice in one month.  Believe it!  Kevin, who by the transitive property of friendship is my friend since he is Sarah's friend, had a 30th birthday bash at his house.  Well, it's partially his house.  We did find out who was actually living there by the end of the night- weren't quite sure heading over.  Occupants come and go but it's just "the party house" if you know what I mean.  Pretty sure Kevin was the one turning 30.

I was frightened and confused by the theme of "Trunk Party".  Sarah thought it was a "truck party" but once that was cleared up, I vounteered to drive.  Have you seen the sticker on back of her Cervelo?  It says "My other ride is an F150".  OK that's another post.  Anyhow, the invite seemed to promote flamboyant costume-like attire, but that's not what's in my trunk (or, back of my closet).  What I did find:

The business suit worn to land my first job at Intel.  Over 12 years old and still styling.  Yet boring.
A sparkly dress and pink feather boa.  This has potential.
My Tae Kwon Do uniform- HA!  This party may be an excellent chance for me to practice my Chuck Norris moves.  When the drunk people start to get obnoxious.

The invite also said "come in costume or don't, we'll dress you up".  Who else is scared at this point?  We bravely showed up in street clothes which turned out to be the right move as digging through the costume clothes was pretty fun.  I have no idea where they got all that stuff, and probably better that I don't. 

The end result was this

Um...yeah.  Kind of a Blossom/Red Riding Hood thing going on here.

   
It was dark, we'd already had a beer or two, blah blah blah.

 
First time with the Blackberry camera phone :)

We headed home before turning into pumpkins or worse, donning another hideous ensemble.  But please note the somewhat-color-coordinating pink theme above.  Hey, I do what I can with what I have to work with.

Sorry that you couldn't make it Beth.  Hope you are on the road to recovery.  On a related note, can someone give me a race report on the Beer Mile last night?

Running in Circles

Ever feel like you're chasing your tail?  Happening way too much here lately.  If I had half that wasted energy back for my run last night, maybe it wouldn't have sucked quite so much.

You may remember I got my laptop "refreshed" at work a couple weeks ago, twice.  Another painful process but I will spare you those details.  The new computer actually works, but in the confusion I only received one power cord.  Hang with me here, I'm trying to explain succinctly.  Engineers supporting the fab need two laptop power cords but they not only work at their desk but most everywhere else including but not limited to the fab, cafeteria, car, Starbucks, and bed.  To name the most common.  So after a flurry of 16 (yes one-six, I counted) emails over two weeks, one of which suggested I get yet another NEW LAPTOP, I am back to where I started.  Trying my initial request again.  *sigh*.  That's the way things work in The Corporation.  Nothing is easy.  If it is easy, you've probably screwed up!  Another example: it took 5 calls and 3 open tickets with the IT TAC (tech assistance center) over an entire week to get a new program working on my PC.  That is because when you call the TAC you are now forced to choose an option, there no bail-out option to "stay on the line and wait for a customer service rep to assist you".  There is no more customer service, which became apparent pretty quickly.  After going down the wrong path a few times I finally got someone who told me the right choices for my program were option 1, option 5 and option 8.  Option 8?!  My attention span is just not that long.  I've completely tuned out by option 4.

Pedaling in circles...an update.  My new bike has new pedals.  Hooray!  Which of course are not compatible with the old-school pedals and cleats on my old bike.   Bah!  So what to do?  Get new shoes of course!  That is always the default.  OK, so I got some tri shoes on order, then started thinking that those old bike pedals are just a big wrench in the whole machine.  If I got NEW pedals for my OLD bike, then all compatibility issues would be resolved.  Net result is one new bike, two new pairs of pedals and one new pair of shoes.  Going forward my new Fuji shall be referred to as the Aloha CF2 Money Pit, or CF2MP.  Because it ain't over yet.

For my 10-mile run tonight, I think I'll do a loop or two.  The next few days are all about recovery for the Jack Frost time trial on Sunday which is, of course, a out-and-back.  BE THERE or be warm and dry at home.

Super trainer party weekend

Here's my attempt to roll up the weekend.  Pun intended.  Confused?  Tired?  Why can I not write in complete sentences?  Because I can not think in complete sentences.  Killed too many brain cells over the past couple days and spent too much time "recovering".    Maybe this is too much for one post, and it's certainly above and beyond my writing abilities right now, but here goes.

This evening we had Trainer Bowl at Sarah's house.  Yes, that means we watched the Super Bowl while riding trainers.  Only 'til the 4th quarter when the game got interesting.

Minor bike surgery going on here.  Sarah is installing a power tap, I'm installing a cadence sensor.

Oh, the beer in the water bottle cages?  What about it?  Yes, a 24-oz can fits perfectly.  Was that your question?

Maybe your question is, did we really drink beer while riding?  What do you think?  It *was* a recovery ride.

You're not getting a picture of the whole party room, so let me tell you about it.  While both women rode trainers, the guys sat on the couch eating and drinking beer.   Does this suprise you?  Thanks Sarah for hosting! 

This Super Bowl trainer recovery ride was preceded by a 35 minute recovery run that was preceded by supercomputrainer madness in the morning.  I got to ride the first 25 miles of IMC chasing down compu-dude on his virtual bicycle.  For purposes of this story l will call him "Charlie".  My task was to chase Charlie down after he exited the swim ahead of me, staying within heart rate zone 2.  In doing so I entered sweat rate zone 5.  The best part was settling into my aerobars after the test, squeezing all the sweat out of the pads on to the floor.  NICE.  Oh, and Coach says that very soon I will see some intensity in my training plan!  Well it's about dang time!

Seven hours before the trainer test, after a 14-mile run and 3600m swim workout (longest ever for me), I went to a Heaven and Hell party.  Normal people may think this falls into the "bad idea" category.  They would be wrong.  A good time was had by saints and sinners alike.  I wasn't planning to wear a costume and just go as myself (a saint) but opted for biker bitch attire instead.  Beth was a Red Sox player- saint!

Saint and Sinners

Sarah and I pretended that we're not triathletes and entertained the notion of actually having a social life.  Kiss that goodbye for the next 6 months.  We watched a nun dance in the cage, to music of the Pussycat dolls, with a whip in her mouth.   That made the whole shindig worthwhile.  You just don't see that every day.

We also chatted with our pimp/friend Gary.  He sells office supplies by day.  Could've shown him up with my marathon medal-bling.

OK, it's way past bedtime for me and writer's block is kicking in.  Time to stop staring blankly at the screen and drooling on the keyboard. 

No go fo' mo' blogging

If you didn't understand my previous post, no worries.  In summary, I am currently technology-limited and can't do any mobile blogging from my phone until I upgrade my equipment.   There's a character limit so that's the longest post I could create, thus the odd change in tone at the end.  And I can't separate the post title.  Suckage.  That's OK...the power to blog from anywhere at anytime might be a little dangerous for me anyhow.  At the present time.

This is only a Tart

Tart. *this has been a test (tart according to predictive texting) of my moblogging system. "Mo' blogging' for sure, yo.

Self Diagnosis

I found out what I have.  Radial neuropathy, aka "Saturday night palsy"  (coincidentally this actually did happen on a Saturday night).  Kind of funny except the "not necessarily permanent" part!  I think this falls under the category of "stupid human tricks".  Kind of like Lindsay's blue palms after running!  Most websites say recovery time ranges from days to longer than a year, or never.  That's a fairly wide window.  But since mine has been steadily improving, I'm predicting it will be on the order of days.  I can now type with wrist supported, but still have to turn my forearm upside down when I run so people don't make fun of me for hand as shown here.

Myths de-mythified

It has come to my attention that things that are funny in my mind may be lost in translation to blog form.  Since you all can't hear the voices in my head, let me clarify a few things:

Before my trip to China I mentioned that I am not a Russian hooker.  This was in reference to a story on John's blog.  A couple of Chinese men assumed the Irish woman in the elevator with them was a Russian hooker, being a white woman living in Dalian, China.   Since this woman knew Chinese she was able to set them straight.  This is why I need to learn Mandarin Chinese!  So far I've learned two things: "hello" and "one more, please" to order another beer.  But I've already forgotten the second one for some reason.

VO2 max testing does not require you to wear an Apollo spacesuit.  You do wear a mask and though it only covers your nose and mouth, it can feel a bit confining when you start gasping for air.  And the heart rate monitor goes under your clothes, no data collection ports required.  The treadmill does not send you to the moon, although as I mentioned it is powerful.  But I can't run 25 mph. I can't even ride 25 mph unless I'm going downhill on a good day :)  And I do not use, or condone the use of, illegal performance-enhancing drugs.  However, caffeine is legal and I'm all for that, lots of that. 

Sarah and I are not sponsored by Subway (yet).  But thank you for asking.  Personally I think that our campaign would be much more interesting than Jared's.  Screw "Eat Fresh".  How about "Eat to Win your Age Group!".  This would be inspiration for the everyday athlete.  Or, "Yes you can have Cheese!".  Better than "Who Moved my Cheese". 

What else?  What possessed me to ride my bike wearing a slutty Viking costume, you ask?  This remains a mystery.

Weekend forecast

On Monday the weekend was free, but now it's Thursday and I am booked.  This happens a lot.

Saturday
8-10                       Some crazy running workout from my new triathlon coach
10-12                     Sorella team ride (leader)
(quick supergirl bathroom change and clean-up)
1-3                         Bobcat football at PGE park!  PSU vs MSU
5:30-whenever       Wine tasting party

Sunday
8-10                       Drink gingerbread lattes at Starbucks.  They have arrived!
10-3                       Cyclocross race (S of town)
3-whenever           Moving party, pizza (and beer, perhaps?) courtesy of Maggie
9pm                       Bedtime

Also, I give you last Saturday
7-12                       Volunteer at ORRC Autumn leaves race
(inhale Subway sandwich for lunch.  felt lucky that I didn't see it again later during testing)
1-3                         VO2 testing.  More on that later
6pm-3am :O           Bobbi's Birthday Bash

Sunday I had 'cross and church.  Two very different things, by the way. 

Since all are basically social commitments, I'm not complaining.  Wouldn't have a weekend any other way.  Filling Saturday and Sunday with chores, grocery shopping and family activities like normal people do is just not where I'm at right now.   Maybe someday I will have to grow up...but no hurry. 

I still haven't finished blogging about last weekend.  That's what work hours are for, right?  Not anymore.  Now that I'm in my new job I actually have to start working at work, after basically being on sabbatical for the months of Sep and Oct.  Damn work!  Just keep paying me!

Finishing

Now that triathlon season is over, I may actually be posting about things other than running, biking and swimming (see recent travel posts).  I know that's hard to imagine, but wait and see.  Most of it will be idle rambling and complete garbage.  Sorry, hope you are easily entertained.  I also feel it's time to take inventory. 

1.  Finished!
Two Olympic-distance triathlons
First Half-Iron distance triathlong, The Grand Columbian
First non-PIR bike road race: Cherry Pie.  Plus four Mt Tabor bike races
Pace group leading for the the Portland marathon training clinic runs
First visit to Voodoo Doughnut.  Mmmm...Forbidden Doughnut
Playing Boss at work covering for my manager Feb through Sep.
My left foot (pf).  SO done.
The Ikea store in Portland
Ironfan and volunteer responsibilities in Penticton, B.C.
First Seattle Mariners game
Ironhorse "triathlon" weekend in Durango, CO
STP (Seattle to Portland bike ride) in ONE day
Two overseas trips

2.  What now?
'Cross season
Back to yoga.  My downward dog-gone, it's a wonder I can still touch my toes.
The holidays
Gain weight for winter hibernation.  See previous.
Pre-season Ironman training.  Forget about the previous.
Grey's Anatomy season 4.  Hopefully the TV still works, it hasn't been on since the season 3 finale.
Mandarin Chinese study

3.  Unfinished.  And likely to stay that way for the time being.  See #2
My quilt.  Yes, the same one I started 7 years ago
Painting my family room
Current unfinished book: The Ground Beneath her Feet.  Actually I'm going to skip that one and read The World is Flat instead.
The all-trails challenge in Forest Park.  Tolinda continues to elude me.
The new MAX line, obviously.  Have you been downtown lately?

List #1 is SO much longer than list #3- hooray!  Let's take a nap and rest up for the "off-season" which for me started this week, paying my dues after 3 weeks of sporadic workouts.  I went to spin class twice, lifted weights and then could hardly move the next day- excellent.

Makin' my day

First off thanks for all the kudos on my race, but I have to say I'm starting to feel a bit guilty.  It's really just a triathlon.  It's not like I'm an IRONMAN or anything.  Also, several other things happened yesterday that made my day.

1.  Called my grandma for her birthday and she tells me "I've been celebrating for several days now".  She's 89 and puts me to shame!

2.  My boss says "good job.  I'm happy".  Then I quickly run away before he can say anything else to me.

3.  I found this T-shirt on the internet.

4.  Watched this guy at the gym do a total belly flop into the lap pool.  I don't know why this struck me funny, but the one other guy in the hot tub looked over at me and we both just busted out laughing.

5.  Went to Subway for lemonade and the lady gave it to me for FREE!  A whole 32 oz!  Figure she must know about the pending sponsorship deal for Sarah and I.

More good news!  Coming here soon...

6.  First guest blog!  Sarah and Tom will recap Cycle Oregon.
7.  First profile!  I'm hoping to go all Mr.Rogers and have you meet my neighbors, if they're game.  They are awesome!
8.  Woodsy gets real work again!  In maybe 3 weeks or so.  If you're wondering how I have time for the web-surfing required for item #3 above, this is your answer.  I'm sort of between job assignments right now at work.  Should find out about my China gig today.

Happy Anniversary to Us

    

Beth, Bobbi Jo, Sarah and I attended the Oregon Symphony concert at Waterfront Park last night to celebrate our 4th Anniversary of Friendship, or Friendiversary.  This same concert was our first group activity four years ago and we've returned every year since, except last year.  Dinner usually involves a exquisite array of hors d'oeuvres such as squeeze cheese on Ritz, Subway (YESSS!!), chips 'n salsa and screw-top red wine.  This year we classed it up with lemon poppyseed bread, brie, and wine with corks!  Next year there may be fried chicken and Funyons!  As enjoyed by the people sitting in front of us.

We also determined appropriate gifts to bring to any Friendiversary celebration.

Year 1- We just met!  Don't expect anything on the first date.
Year 2- Paper
Year 3- Hummus
Year 4- Lemon poppyseed bread.  Or celery but no hummus.
Year 5- Dip

The band plays and there is generally a lot of high-fiving going on by guys like this.

Beth captures the studly-ness.  Did you know it was spelled with 2 Ds?

The evening closes out with the 1812 Overture, cannons and fireworks.  Now tell me you've had a better anniversary date than this!!  I didn't think so.