May

30

The Second Cookie

Category: anthropological research, family | 3 Comments

I am generally not that into children, but every once in a while there is one that I really actually totally like. One such child is Nathaniel Lake, or Little Nathaniel (very distinct from Big Nathaniel, who, just to be confusing, is my Little Brother). Little N belongs to my friend Jenny and he is now 4 years old. He is also very well behaved, which is handy for us non-kid-people. Little Nathaniel, Mikey, and I enjoying Christmas 2007 ...
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May

27

Resting up for the big Family Reunion this weekend!

Category: anthropological research, family, four-leggeds, training | 1 Comment

So I have been home in Maryland for a week and a half and today I needed a REST DAY! Which basically just meant I postponed today's swim to Saturday, and didn't tromp all around the property/Anne Arundel County doing stuff with my mom. Although this morning, when the plumber came to replace the metal thingy under the sink that broke when my brother (the one from Hawaii) took the sink apart to retrieve the earring I dropped down it, I *did* stand up from my comics and coffee in order to look like I'd been being helpful :D . It wasn't a total rest day though - one thing I found in the wake of my back ...
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May

24

But I have Pony-tails!

Category: Maryland Half Marathon, PowerBar, PowerGel, family, four-leggeds | 2 Comments

This weekend I met the new neighbors, precocious twin 5-year-olds and their nice dad. The little boy thinks I am a boy, and the little girl thinks I am great because I ride horses. Win-win! Also, my daily "strength workout" has doubled from riding one horse, CeCe, to riding two! My mom wants me to ride her dear sweet precious baby. Ugh. Fox and I have a long history of each thinking the other has an attitude problem. Whatever, he is just a horse, but a big obnoxious one who on Friday managed to run over me and cavort (loose) through the strawberry patch and break my Garmin FR60. Lesson learned, I save the adventuring for CeCe and I make sure ...
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May

19

When I want an Opinion… pt 2

Category: ma says... | 1 Comment

Last month, my Uncle called my Mom for an Opinion. Yesterday, my uncle's daughter Elizabeth stopped by my mom's for a snack and a visit en route to Long Island with her Boyfriend. She asked my mom which way to go, up 95 through Baltimore, or along the Eastern Shore. I had total deja vu. "WELL. bla bla bla eastern shore is prettier bla bla traffic bla bla but it will be dark soon bla bla." It was awesome. What was especially awesome was that Sal ended her opinion with the statement that if they left RIGHT NOW and took the eastern shore route, it would still be light when they passed Elizabeth's alma mater, St. Andrew's, which was the whole reason they ...
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May

16

Meet my horse!

Category: cool stuff, four-leggeds | 4 Comments

Today I arrived in Maryland, where I'll be until July. Today I also rode my new horse! This is CeCe. She's a thoroughbred off the track, and the goal is to retrain her for a post-racing career. She's very athletic, sensitive, and smart, and I'm super excited about the project. First ride on CeCe I rode her at the trainer's farm where she's been for the past few weeks, after the ride we brought her home to my mom's house. She and her new next-door neighbor, Spooky (WATCH the video, srsly), eventually made friends. Spooky is the sweet friendly ...
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May

15

Now THAT’S my kind of Garden!

Category: cool stuff | Leave a Comment

Today I rode my bike to Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs. It was my last ride here until I return in July, so I'm glad the sun peeked out! Ben couldn't come, :( , but it was still fun. What an incredible geological site! On my way back some college-y type boys told me I had on really cool shorts. A few days ago when I was riding with Sharon some elementary school girls shouted that they loved our matching suits. I guess the 2007 VAC kits are still rockin'! Garden of the Gods ...
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May

14

What an awesome week!

Category: Bike Fit, four-leggeds, trials and tribs | 4 Comments

This week has been great. Granted, I spent a ton of time in the car (I just can't seem to stop driving! And you know it's bad when 75 miles feels like nothing...), but I've gotten a lot accomplished and I just have to tell you all about it. Thing 1, I drove Ben up to Boulder for his bike fit on Monday. Then we went for a run at the Boulder Reservoir, which, I WISH I'd had my camera, we were running into like 50 mph winds, it was crazy and oddly awesome. Even though the run was mostly flat, I felt like I'd done a serious strength or hill-repeat workout! Also I kept saying "wow, it's so ...
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May

10

Quick Update…

Category: enjoy the blog | 4 Comments

I made it to Colorado Springs! Day 1, Friday, I drove from San Francisco to Provo-ish, Utah. It was a long way (778 miles). Day 2, Saturday, I did a nice run in Utah and then finished the drive. It was supposed to be 525 miles but, um, cavalier dependence on iPhone directions resulted in an 83-mile out-and-back detour to Aspen. Independence Pass is totally not open yet. How can a phone give real-time traffic updates but not know a pass is closed? It was a gorgeous drive though. I took some terrible photos from the car (I swear I cleaned my windshield but photos were NOT evidence of such). Today Ben and I are heading up to Boulder for his ...
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May

5

If you can fix it with money…

Category: trials and tribs | 5 Comments

... then fix it! That is my philosophy-of-the-week. It might produce a sudden rapid outpouring of cash that I don't quite have, but (and yes I might have been doing too much insomniac planning and freaking-out lately): my iPhone is treating *all* my phone calls like hot potatoes, my car is not 4WD but I'm moving to CO, OMG, and I'm becoming convinced that my awesome new bike is too big. Sigh. Obviously I will just get chains for winter, and obviously I will wait till I get to Colorado to make a decision on my planned defection to Verizon, but the bike is something I am working on now. It's been an incredible learning process. When I applied for bike sponsorships in ...
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May

2

We could say I got a flat

Category: trials and tribs, triathlon: views from the front lines | 4 Comments

Wildflower is a pretty awesome race. I really enjoyed myself this year, largely because of the social aspect (who, me?) but also because I came into the race feeling really positive and that I could have a good day out there. I basically did have a good day, if you don't count the three hours I spent on the bike. My swim was ~3 minutes better than last year, and my run was ~4 minutes faster than 2008. Solid improvements! Yeah! As for the bike, I don't know what happened. We could pretend I got a flat? My power and heart rate numbers were exactly where they were supposed to be for the entire ride. My brakes weren't rubbing. I was working pretty hard. But, ...
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