no two snowflakes are the same

thank god yesterday's Snowflake 4-miler did not live up to it's name, but dayum, it was cold.

I did mean to get there early enough to watch the guys, i swear i did, but it wasn't the cold that derailed those plans-nope, instead it was damn snooze button. I did get there by 8:30, and cheered on a couple of Flyers that were finishing around that time before I had to chuck my baggage (smart move on NYRR's part to have separate baggage checks for men and women) and line up. One of our team scorers saw me and pulled me in to line up with her, but when I saw that we were right behind the elite corral, i knew I had no business being there and moved back a little bit until I saw another teammate that is around the same pace as me. With under 10 minutes to go until the start, it was damn cold-in the future, for cold races like this, I am going to bring handwarmers to the start (I didn't wear gloves because I knew I'd take them off before the halfway point.)

Anyway, Mary Wittenberg kept her usual pre-race speech short and sweet and the women were off. Thankfully, no wave start this time (guess the male/female split start took care of that) but it was still a bottleneck at the very beginning-but once that cleared up, it was fine. My legs and lungs were not feeling an all-out effort today so I made a game-time decision to tempo this one. Hard, but comfortable, and I had the iPod with me so it wasn't all that bad.

Actual run itself was pretty uneventful-final stats are 33:47, 8:26 pace, splits 8:23/8:14/8:40/8:20.



Content? Yes. Thrilled? No. But at least I did not have to stop a half dozen times to walk like in the Kleinerman 10K. Still a little apprehensive about getting my "race game" back. I think Chelle kinda sums up how I'm feeling about "racing" in the next-to-last paragraph of this post...



Afterwards, a bunch of us (including BCG, R26 and NSA) headed over to Urban Athletics, where they were having a party/sale for the Flyers. I did damage to my credit card with the new black long-sleeve Flyer shirt, and a warm Sugoi top/jacket (50% off, not too shabby) in red. After that was a brunch meeting with the other Flyer captains, a long nap, and a game night that BCG hosted. Unfortunately I had a little too much wine which left me completely useless today.



The snowflakes are coming down now. Here's hoping my office will have a delayed opening tomorrow...

a text message dialogue

me, 5:24pm: "hey-got your message-sunday not good unfortunately-hopefully we can catch up soon"
him, 5:35 pm "ok speak soon"
him, 5:50 pm "how about dinner tonight?"
me, 5:53 pm "already have plans...sorry" (i did-co-worker's b-day drinks after work)
him, 5:54 pm "no prob. you're popular!" (and another co-worker said i shoulda texted back "and you're not")

i cannot believe i am saying this...but may derek actually be right about something?

renewal, rebirth, reboot, re-something

last nite was the annual Flyers' Chinese New Year dinner. with that, was my first speedwork attempt since late September. I don't know if it was the glorious mid-40s shorts weather (which quite a few thought I was crazy for wearing shorts,) or lacing up my beloved Asics DS-Trainer 11s (more on those below) for the first time in awhile, but it actually felt better than the mindless miles i've been slogging out recently. of course, i'm too much of a competitive biatch to say i was really satisfied (being that i was way behind those i used to beat), but i survived. last night's method of torture was "300 meter" (my split times-ranging between 1:09 and 1:20-said there was no way it was a full 300 meters) repeats as hard as possible (read: a positive splits workout), recover fully back (i made sure i jogged those babies...one mistake i used to make was doing recoveries too fast) and repeat and repeat until the coaches said when (turned out to be 12 round trips for me.)

then was the dinner part...this year was packed to capacity!! lots of friends, Flyers, food and sake (ok that part didn't exactly fit :-p) we were all gifted at the end with the red envelopes in the picture above that included, among other things, a lottery ticket for last night's lottery. I didn't have a winning ticket, but i just had to laugh when I saw last night's numbers...who can guess the significance of 2 of those numbers to me? As for the fortune, I didn't like my first one, so I took a second one, which is the one you see above. did it come true? I did get an encouraging email about a certain something today...hmmm, maybe there is something to those cookies.

tonight I decided to take advantage of yet another shorts weather night and joined the Flyers group run...ran with NSA but for reasons I will not go into here, it was a "it-was-asposed-to-be-a-recovery-run-but-wanted-to-get-it-the-hell-over-with-ASAP." Well, I'm giving myself 2 days recovery before the Snowflake 4-miler Saturday. I'm obviously not expecting to break any speed records, just wanna support the team for the points race, and possibly begin my defense of my Frequent Flyer award. Besides, now that we know what the course for the race is, I'm more curious to see how many people are going to complain about racing on the 72nd Street Transverse while it is still chopped up.

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If any of you are in love with the DS-Trainer 11's like I am, be careful if you decide to buy the 12's before trying them on. Completely different shoe. I had to size up a half size because the arch was in a different place, the heel was way too narrow, my orthotics didn't quite fit...thank god JackRabbit still had the 11's in my size in stock. Guess I'll be hitting the Internet for my next pair of 11's when I need them...awww Asics, between the Cumulus 7's and now this, you're breaking my heart!

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This is how cynical I have become. One of the guys I met Sunday night (actually the one I liked the most) called me last night (got my voicemail) and said something along the lines of "this may be last-minute, but I was wondering if you wanted to get a drink tonight or something" (obviously I couldn't because I had other plans) I should be happy, but instead I am wondering "why did he call me last-minute? Did he have other plans that fell through and I'm just sloppy seconds?" Yes, I have been played too many times that I can't believe that there is no ulterior motive. Or something.

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Good part of email being down all day yesterday at work: certain clients that constantly bugger me via email cannot do said buggering.

Bad part of email being down all day yesterday at work: Catch-up!

now playing: "ooh la la" ~ goldfrapp

there are worse things i could have done with twenty bucks

so i did go to that event last nite solo, and honestly, that part wasn't as bad as i thought it would be.

(nope, instead it was the usual disorganization of the bar service, overpriced drinks, crowds in one part of the bar which made it impossible to move. I actually liked the bar that it was at, had been there before, but I really didn't see it as a venue for hundreds of people)

And yes, the same mishmash of guys. The normal ones, the annoying ones, the ones who aren't even Jewish and just go to try and pick up chicks. I did chat up a couple of the normal ones, but still don't think I met my Mr. Right last night.

It was fun, though I was sorta reminded why I haven't gone to one of these things in months...just feel like I've sorta outgrown it...

***************************************************

i've finally hit over 20 mpw for the first time in quite awhile. unfortunately, it just hasn't felt "good." I know I sound like a broken record, but I just feel seriously slow and out of shape, and it's frustrating to not be able to keep up with my teammates and running partners, and I'm sure they're sick of me always asking them to slow down. Even 5-6 mile runs seriously wipe me out. I don't know if it's the constant cold weather, or if instead of "muscle memory," mine instead have "muscle amnesia" or....what. Do I just suck it up for another month and pray that spring comes sooner rather than later?

reality (tv) used to be a friend of mine

the premiere of Amazing Race All-Stars just aired...I'm sure if anyone else thought that Romber and the Family Edition ruined the series, then you were looking forward to watching this as much as I was.

Looks to be a good season, except for the fact that my favorite team was eliminated first, and that Rob/Amber won the first leg...arrrgh, I really don't want this season to be all about the 2 of them again!! Plus they don't even need the million...I hope they are eliminated soon!! (And who the hell wrote their profile? "America's Sweethearts"?)

On the other hand, it's good to see that certain mistakes got repeated (always check arrival times as well as departure times!! $20 says also that at least one team will drive to the pit stop instead of walking...or use regular fuel in their car instead of diesel...)

those who can't do, write

The other day at work, I helped one of my colleagues write a match.com profile. (Funny thing about said colleague-his profile showed up once in my JDate search prefs a couple years back-and vice versa. Back then I was like "oh shit" when I saw he viewed my profile, now we just laugh at it. I actually was surprised that he showed up in my prefs...back then we couldn't stand each other, he's gotten nicer now.)

I have never laughed so hard at one of those things. Basically, the point was to poke fun at all online dating profiles-that they all say the same thing and if anyone can see past the sarcasm in the profile, to contact him. (my favorite part that I contributed was saying that the last book he read was the "T & E guidelines and sexual harassment manual." teehee.) Anyway, it all got past the match.com censors.

Kinda reminded me of something of mine that didn't get past online dating censors that I meant to blog about for awhile but for whatever reason, didn't. On another site, I wanted to put up a running picture of me...but I wanted to make it one I actually liked (I'm not always crazy about all my running pictures) and one that I can easily white out the number and if I have a Flyer logo on, that it's not easy to see. So I tried this one from last year's Club Champs.

And wouldn't you know, it gets rejected by the censors-due to showing too much skin in the picture. Excuse me? They can accept pictures of guys wearing nothing but Speedos...it's not like I had a wardrobe malfunction in that pic or something, I was decently covered!!

Maybe I oughta try again-this time use a picture where I'm wearing the naked shorts. teehee.

now playing: "don't bother" ~ shakira

west side gets no love

OK-when it's at least 40 degrees, I usually don't complain about having to trek from the west side over to Engineer's Gate for the Flyer group runs. Actually, if it's during marathon training, I do welcome the extra mileage.

Tonite's group run, was a major exception to that rule. Well first off, even though I was sorta fooled that it didn't feel as cold as it really was (that's what happens when the UWS is at least 5-10 degrees warmer than where my office is-right by the Hudson and seemingly always situated in a wind tunnel) Running that half-mile around the reservoir felt like walking in sand-not surprisingly, the reservoir was in it's usual post-snowstorm state (read: unplowed.)

But, made it to the meeting spot, and it was a low turnout tonite-BCG, her co-leader and one other Flyer. So we set off, and no one protested when we decided to do the lower 5 instead of the full 6. It actually wasn't so bad once we got going. Was a nice night-though IMHO...the best scenery was running in the other direction on the west drive...heh heh ;-) East side once we passed Cat Hill was a little more slippery-lots of black ice there and one of our runners almost bit it-he was fine though.

When we were done, the 2 east siders headed home and BCG and I were trying to decide how to get back over to the west side...didn't want to chance the rez again, figured the M86 would do. Oh how little we knew...

First bus we saw arriving-not the M86. Fine, another one would be here soon.

5 minutes or so later, one did arrive. It said "Out of service." Fine, another one would be here soon.

5 minutes or so later, one did arrive. It said "Out of service." And no, unfortunately I am not kidding here.

We waited and waited...and mind you, I was dressed for running, not for standing still. Not only could I not feel my legs, but my Mizuno gloves which work extremely well while running, had no effectiveness and I couldn't feel my fingers. I could barely speak in full sentences and knew I had to get inside so I begged a doorman to have mercy on me and let me in the lobby to warm up. Oh and before I got inside, another bus came by....but our hopes were once again dashed as it was "Out of service." So I ventured back indoors.

After a few more minutes, BCG hailed a cab and we both decided to have him stop at the Starbucks on 86th/Columbus as a hot beverage was definitely in order. And once I regained the ability to speak in full sentences, one thing we both said is that "this is definitely going on the blog." A caramel apple cider/cinnamon dolce latte and some chatting later, we were both ready to face the cold one more time to get home.

And this is why I say the west side needs to have equal representation when it comes to run meeting spots!! Unless this is supposed to toughen us up or something :-p

now playing: "beautiful things" ~ andain

the blog wore black

yes, it just wanted to match its owner today.

hopefully both will have color restored the next day.

intervention

BrunetteChicagoGal said she would call me before our impromptu Flyers happy hour to make sure I actually would leave the office...by the time she called, not only had I already left the office, but actually had some time to do some window-shopping :-p

The happy hour was at Slate, a cool bar/lounge in the Flatiron area that I hadn't been to before, despite working a couple blocks away for 5 years. It was fun (though someone was missed...or not, teehee.)

And it was so warm running yesterday and today (above freezing, yay)...I actually contemplated putting on the shorts.

Kidding.

OK, here's something I need a little advice on (BCG-I already know what your answer is.) There is a Jewish singles thingie next Sunday and the bar that it is at is not just within walking distance, but stumbling distance of my apartment. Unfortunately, my friend that I usually go to these things with is dating someone so I doubt she will come with me. Most of my other Jewish friends aren't into these events. So...the burning question, do I dare go to something like this by myself? (knowing if it's lame, it's not like I have to go far to go home...) Or would guys see me as being a loser for doing that?

And decisions, decisions...at 10pm, do I keep watching the Grammys, or turn on The Apprentice?

a brief clothes shopping rant

please ladies, let me know if I am imagining things here...

so i wanted to do some clothes shopping...primarily, I wanted a new pair of jeans, as I have seem to have outgrown some of my older pairs...

and I went to Express where I tried on a pair of jeans-in a style that I already own and fits perfectly...so I tried on the same exact size...and they did not fit at all. Needless to say, I was so disgusted I left the store empty-handed.

Is it me, or are the clothes manufacturers fucking with the sizes again?

And why is it that the only styles of jeans or pants I see in stores are "slim fit" or "skinny fit"? (which neither would fit since I am neither slim nor skinny...even when I weighed 20 pounds less than I currently do, my hips and thighs were always a problem area.)

I just find it frustrating...yeah, it's great that fashionistas want to ban too-thin models from the catwalk to set a better example for us all...but what the clothes manufacturers do-only designing clothes that don't fit a majority of the population-feels like a little bit of a slap in the face. Stop confusing us, please!!!

enough is enough

when, may i ask, do you know when you've reached a breaking point?

would it include something like this...yesterday morning, having absolutely no energy to get out of bed (the fact that i was chilly and was under 3 blankets had nothing to do with it)...in fact I had barely enough energy to reach for the laptop, turn it on, send an email out to my group saying i was taking a sick day and after that i went back to sleep til 2-something in the afternoon?

i guess my boss guessed it was a "mental health day" than an actual sick day...while i was talking about some other things, i let what has been bugging me out-and said no more. i can't do the crazy hours and weekends anymore. she seemed to understand put the blame more with our salespeople. so right now even though i have a mini-reprieve and my job may be safe for now, still doesn't mean i should stay in it...

but as a result, i finally made it to a Flyers group run in lord knows how long. though it was good to get out there, the fact that i have slacked off for the last 3 months really showed as i was struggling to keep up with the group...guess that problem is never going to really go away...oh, and the fact that i couldn't feel my a$$ by the end of the run, it was soooo cold...

I hope that that little groundhog proves what one of my teammates was saying wrong...i am so ready for there to be an early spring!!!

it is way too fucking cold

OK, forget the fact that December was so mild, I am so ready for winter to be over.

I take back what I said in my previous post about wanting to run in these frigid (pardon my choice of words) temps. I could barely breathe in the freezing air just walking, forget about running in it. (I still don't know how I did a 7-mile race in similar weather 2 years ago! anyone else remember that one...?) One of those days where I wish that underground tunnel from my office building to the A/C/E station existed...

(and no i'm not listening to this song to counteract the weather. i just like it-cool little madonna-esque rap in the middle)

now playing: "burning up/vogue (showgirl live 2006 version)" ~ kylie minogue

hello again

ok, got my arm twisted to re-open this thing. gah :-p just an FYI-this was closed to everyone, not selected people. I really needed a time-out of sorts. I'm sure you all understand. (though i wish blogger would have let me put up a "on hiatus" page or something.)

a couple of things-there are some new policies with regards to commenting (which I will leave you all to figure out...) and while I can't promise that this blog will be all cute happy fluffy bunny posts, i will make an honest effort to control the bitchiness.

job front-still not good. we just had someone quit with no notice last weekend (although the consensus was this person should have never been hired in the first place-only got the job through knowing someone...didnt even last 2 months!) so me and one other person are taking the brunt of it, and as a result, 12-hour+ days and weekend work have become the norm (I'm writing this post while at work!) As I've said before, it'd be one thing if all the overtime I put in would be worth it in the long run, but honestly-there is no future with this job and I am in "survival mode." Job search-not going well either. Anyone know anyone in NYC who is hiring...?

Running/exercise-non-existent. Which is frustrating, because I really miss it, I miss running with my teammates and I know it's not healthy to be so inactive (another reason why I am frustrated at my job-I feel they are really pushing me to have a very unhealthy lifestyle.) I've pretty much given up all hope of a marathon this year-I have just lost way too much speed, endurance and fitness-and even if I were able to start running again tomorrow, I don't know if I'd get everything back in time to begin a marathon training program and do it right. Running a marathon slower than your PR is one thing...possibly DNFing is another. I guess there's always next year, but that does not mean I am not disappointed, because I am. As much as I may have complained, I really enjoyed my training for NYC and was really looking forward to training for another fall marathon this year.

Probably the highlight of the year so far was the Flyers awards gala last weekend. Always nice to have an excuse to get dressed up (although I think I goofed with my dress selection-I needed a few extra inches of height and a lot less pounds to really have pulled that look off!) and kick back a few (although mental note-I am not 21 anymore, therefore I cannot drink like I am) and hit the dance floor (god bless the DJ for playing "SexyBack"-in addition to a lot of other good dance and 80's songs) and to see a lot of people that I absolutely adore and that I've really missed. And I actually did get an award-was one of the "Frequent Flyers"-that award going to the top 3 in each gender who completed the most number of points races in '06 (I had done 10 of 11-I skipped that 5k at that evil stadium.) So I get I think a free item of Flyer apparel for that-not bad. I may be biased, but I really like that award-and I would even if I wasn't a recipient-as it's one that really rewards participation, no matter what your pace may be. A few other bloggers won some well-deserved awards ;-) and our Flyer of the Year was very well-deserving as well. (I joked with him that he was like the "Susan Lucci" of the Flyer of the Year award-up for it so many times before finally winning!)

I don't know how often I will be able to update...unfortunately, there really is nothing interesting going on in my life right now. (and yes, before anyone says it, I do know that it could be worse...) And I know that bitching about work can get old-it does upset me to write about it. But if anyone has any advice for me to escape from the work situation...I'm all ears. Please. I really want to start getting out there and living my life...instead of sitting at a desk and watching my life just pass me by.

And as for the big game tonite? I honestly don't care who wins, as long as 7 and 7 come up at the end of at least one of the quarters...c'mon, I can use the $$$!! (I think these may be the best numbers I have ever gotten in a Super Bowl pool...)