Shower doors gone. Ez-Peezy! I couldn't believe how easy they came off! Of course getting all the adhesive off was a pain. I'm still working on how to patch the holes... With any luck I'll be painting that room this weekend. Ah the life of a single gal!
Tonight I start the monthly Greekfest 5K practice with the group. I started this as a way to motivate the group during speed workouts. Looks like it'll be a small group tonight. Hopefully, it's just a coincidence. I had a great swim today. I did my routine mixing swimming and drills and left feeling a bit sore in the stomach area. YAY! My shoulders are a bit sore, too. I did some lifting Saturday, yoga and swimming Sunday and now swimming today. Hopefully this won't be a problem for the workout tonight.
Off to do some stretching and get ready to run. l8r
Monday, January 12, 2009
Friday, January 9, 2009
2009 New Year, New Plans...or just old plans implemented
54 Runners showed up to run the meetup run last night. It was so exciting! I went around and got everyone's name. We had a lot of new people. I know it's just New Year's Resolutioners, but it's still exciting. Potentially there could be more people who come each run. There potentially could be more people at the theme runs. The new year is full of potential! And in 12 months we'll be looking forward to it being over.
Currently my running has been about average. Some runs are good, some are bad, but none have been extremely good. I have enjoyed running with two new members who've come out to the last few runs. I'm not sure what it is. It could be the couple of extra pounds from the holidays weighing me down. It could be all the rain has the mold count up and my allergies are kicking! I keep losing my voice, so that could be hindering my run. I just hope I figure it out soon!
So I've decided to run the Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon in May. I'm really looking forward to it, because I've heard really great things. It also counts as two states because it starts in Ohio and dips into Kentucky. Yay! I'm not doing 50 Marathons in 50 States, I'm doing a race in each state. Any distance counts. My goal, my rules. So I have two weeks before I have to start training.
What to do with myself for two weeks?! Ah yes, the condo. I could paint my small spare bathroom in the meantime. The problem is that I'd really like to remove the shower doors first. They are so hideous! And then wth do I do with them? Ok, one problem at a time. See the shower doors need to be removed so that I can get a shower curtain. Then I can match the paint to the curtain. I know I want orange. I know I want a shower curtain with orange gerber daisies. Do I have this curtain? No. Have I ever seen one? Nope. But I'm sure it exists! So I guess the next step is to remove the shower doors. This should be fun! I'll keep you posted.
Back to the training plan. In addition to running, I've started swimming longer. I go 2-3 times a week and my goal is 25 mins of swimming, 5 mins running in pool, 5 mins side steps, and 5 mins kickboard. I'm hoping this builds strength in addition to my lifting. Additionally I really need to work on hills. I'm still losing speed on the hills. And Cincy is apparently hilly. Lovely. I usually plot my routes to avoid hills, but will have to change that this go around.
So I just did some googling about the shower doors. One site said, it's a hard job and that I should be prepared to refinish the whole tub. Another site had a bunch of DIYers report that it's ez-peezy. I'm going to go with the site that says it's easy. Mostly because they mention that there is such a thing as caulk remover and a patch for the screw holes. Yay! I'll check the home improvement stores this weekend. Not sure how this fits with my current yen to set and stick to a budget. Ugh!
Currently my running has been about average. Some runs are good, some are bad, but none have been extremely good. I have enjoyed running with two new members who've come out to the last few runs. I'm not sure what it is. It could be the couple of extra pounds from the holidays weighing me down. It could be all the rain has the mold count up and my allergies are kicking! I keep losing my voice, so that could be hindering my run. I just hope I figure it out soon!
So I've decided to run the Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon in May. I'm really looking forward to it, because I've heard really great things. It also counts as two states because it starts in Ohio and dips into Kentucky. Yay! I'm not doing 50 Marathons in 50 States, I'm doing a race in each state. Any distance counts. My goal, my rules. So I have two weeks before I have to start training.
What to do with myself for two weeks?! Ah yes, the condo. I could paint my small spare bathroom in the meantime. The problem is that I'd really like to remove the shower doors first. They are so hideous! And then wth do I do with them? Ok, one problem at a time. See the shower doors need to be removed so that I can get a shower curtain. Then I can match the paint to the curtain. I know I want orange. I know I want a shower curtain with orange gerber daisies. Do I have this curtain? No. Have I ever seen one? Nope. But I'm sure it exists! So I guess the next step is to remove the shower doors. This should be fun! I'll keep you posted.
Back to the training plan. In addition to running, I've started swimming longer. I go 2-3 times a week and my goal is 25 mins of swimming, 5 mins running in pool, 5 mins side steps, and 5 mins kickboard. I'm hoping this builds strength in addition to my lifting. Additionally I really need to work on hills. I'm still losing speed on the hills. And Cincy is apparently hilly. Lovely. I usually plot my routes to avoid hills, but will have to change that this go around.
So I just did some googling about the shower doors. One site said, it's a hard job and that I should be prepared to refinish the whole tub. Another site had a bunch of DIYers report that it's ez-peezy. I'm going to go with the site that says it's easy. Mostly because they mention that there is such a thing as caulk remover and a patch for the screw holes. Yay! I'll check the home improvement stores this weekend. Not sure how this fits with my current yen to set and stick to a budget. Ugh!
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
NYE in NYC
So back in October me and two friends decided to go to New York for New Year's and spend 5 days. We lucked out big time when we got a free place to stay (friend of one of the friends) by agreeing to cat sit for the first 3 nights and then we checked into a hotel the last night. The free apartment was in the upper east side and the hotel was in Midtown. nice.
New York is amazing! We had plans to see a Broadway show, run in Central Park, go to the MOMA, maybe the Met. We did none of that. The first night we stocked up on groceries and some alcohol for the apartment.
The apartment. I'm guessing it was 1,000 sq ft, 2 bedrooms, 1 bath. There was a queen in one bedroom and bunks in the other. I took the bottom bunk. I had bunk beds when I was a kid, but haven't slept in one since.
The cats. Gus was the sweetest thing! He was a grey tabby and you could tell he was the runt. He would kneed on us and his claws would get stuck in our clothes. Bori was a tuxedo cat who hid most of the time.
So the first night we went to a bar called Tonic. It was down from Rodeo, which is where we wanted to go, but it was too packed. Tonic on Tuesday nights has $3 draft including Guinness. Yum. I think that's the least I've paid for a Guinness. We then went to a really cool bar called Puck Fair. It was Irish, I think. Awesome. Great people, great food, great time.
The next day was New Year's Eve. It was in the 30s I think and there were snow flurries. It was beautiful. We walked through Central Park to 5th avenue, where we took pictures o all the buildings decorated for Christmas and shopped. And shopped and shopped...There were people waiting in line to get into shops. Crazy. Charlotte has most of the stores along 5th, so we skipped most of them. I bought a shirt in Zara for my sister's birthday, but other than that I was able to pass up the bargains. It's funny the difference in clothing needs in NYC vs Clt. In NYC, you need a very warm coat, hat, gloves, and scarf, but under that you need thin shirts and sweaters. Because while it's 20s-40s outside the buildings it's 75-80 inside the buildings. In Charlotte, you need a light jacket, occasionally a hat, gloves and scarf, but you need heavier sweaters underneath. Because it's 40s-60s outside the buildings and 50s-60s inside the buildings. That's why I like working from home.
We did go into Bergdorf's which was having a 60% off shoe sale. What is 60% off of a $2,955.00 pair of boots? Ans. Still too freakin much. But there were people in their trying them on like they were free. Please. If I'm going to pay that much, they better be motorized.
That evening we went to Bryant Park Bar & Grill. We didn't upgrade to VIP. Not a huge deal, but it was mostly kids. I felt like I was chaperoning prom. There were people older than us, but not many of them. But it was open bar. I decided to stick to Cranberry and Vodkas all night. Fattening yes, but it's New Year's and I didn't feel like thinking about other drinks. We got there after 10 so midnight hit fast. We were in the area that was under a tent with a clear ceiling and was a lot less crowded when we toasted New Years. The cool part was that the confetti from Time's Square managed to float around the tall buildings between Bryant and Times and landed on our tent ceiling. It was a really, really cool site. The most interesting part to me was that they did stop the music and do a countdown, but they didn't have tvs all over the place showing the ball drop. I guess they figure if you want to see it, you can just walk over and see it.
After midnight we made our way back to the dance floor and found a spot. We met quite a few people, but I don't remember any names at this point. There was a guy from Australia who told me he loved 'your country' and a girl who had moved to NYC from NC.
After about 2:30, the very drunk crowd got very interesting. Of course all the guys who hadn't secured a hookup yet were on the prowl. Puh-lease! At this point you see a lot of drunken staring and a lot of 'desparate coupling.' But that's their problem. We took off and grabbed a cab (it was -10 with windchill so the subway was out) back to the apt around 3:30. I had a great time!
The next day started late and slowly...Oddly, I couldn't sleep. I think I was out of bed by 9, but the day was far from started. It was a clear day, but the high was only 26. At some point, me and one friend went and got pizza and gatorade. YUMMY pizza! Lots of toppings, just like I like it. But they could have heated it a little longer. The gatorade brought me back to life and the day was fully started. We walked through Central Park, but not far. It wasn't only cold, it was windy and cold. It was interesting seeing the few dedicated runners out. One girl was even doing repeats on what passes for a hill in NYC.
That evening we went in search of the traditional New Year's day meal of black-eyed peas and corn bread. We agreed to meet a friend by Columbia at a soul food restaurant. When we got there, they were out of food. So no black-eyed peas to start the year. We ended up at a French restaurant around the corner, Le Monde, I think. Yummy food. Early night as we had all had our fill.
The next day was the perfect day to get in our run at Central Park. But we had to pack and leave the apartment and check in at the hotel. Not sure why this took all day. Time stands still in Mexico, but it flies in New York. The hotel was the Affinia Gardens and I highly recommend it. The room was huge and layed out very well. After checking in we went to SoHo to walk around and see NYU. Beautiful. What a great area! I'm pretty sure we went to a bar in this area, too, but I don't remember it. I do know we spent some time at the Soho Grand which is very chic. And then we walked through some packed bar (looked and smelled like a frat party) and then back to Midtown for eats. Good eats at 2am. Where else can you find that?
It was an awesome trip and I've never been sadder to leave a place.
New York is amazing! We had plans to see a Broadway show, run in Central Park, go to the MOMA, maybe the Met. We did none of that. The first night we stocked up on groceries and some alcohol for the apartment.
The apartment. I'm guessing it was 1,000 sq ft, 2 bedrooms, 1 bath. There was a queen in one bedroom and bunks in the other. I took the bottom bunk. I had bunk beds when I was a kid, but haven't slept in one since.
The cats. Gus was the sweetest thing! He was a grey tabby and you could tell he was the runt. He would kneed on us and his claws would get stuck in our clothes. Bori was a tuxedo cat who hid most of the time.
So the first night we went to a bar called Tonic. It was down from Rodeo, which is where we wanted to go, but it was too packed. Tonic on Tuesday nights has $3 draft including Guinness. Yum. I think that's the least I've paid for a Guinness. We then went to a really cool bar called Puck Fair. It was Irish, I think. Awesome. Great people, great food, great time.
The next day was New Year's Eve. It was in the 30s I think and there were snow flurries. It was beautiful. We walked through Central Park to 5th avenue, where we took pictures o all the buildings decorated for Christmas and shopped. And shopped and shopped...There were people waiting in line to get into shops. Crazy. Charlotte has most of the stores along 5th, so we skipped most of them. I bought a shirt in Zara for my sister's birthday, but other than that I was able to pass up the bargains. It's funny the difference in clothing needs in NYC vs Clt. In NYC, you need a very warm coat, hat, gloves, and scarf, but under that you need thin shirts and sweaters. Because while it's 20s-40s outside the buildings it's 75-80 inside the buildings. In Charlotte, you need a light jacket, occasionally a hat, gloves and scarf, but you need heavier sweaters underneath. Because it's 40s-60s outside the buildings and 50s-60s inside the buildings. That's why I like working from home.
We did go into Bergdorf's which was having a 60% off shoe sale. What is 60% off of a $2,955.00 pair of boots? Ans. Still too freakin much. But there were people in their trying them on like they were free. Please. If I'm going to pay that much, they better be motorized.
That evening we went to Bryant Park Bar & Grill. We didn't upgrade to VIP. Not a huge deal, but it was mostly kids. I felt like I was chaperoning prom. There were people older than us, but not many of them. But it was open bar. I decided to stick to Cranberry and Vodkas all night. Fattening yes, but it's New Year's and I didn't feel like thinking about other drinks. We got there after 10 so midnight hit fast. We were in the area that was under a tent with a clear ceiling and was a lot less crowded when we toasted New Years. The cool part was that the confetti from Time's Square managed to float around the tall buildings between Bryant and Times and landed on our tent ceiling. It was a really, really cool site. The most interesting part to me was that they did stop the music and do a countdown, but they didn't have tvs all over the place showing the ball drop. I guess they figure if you want to see it, you can just walk over and see it.
After midnight we made our way back to the dance floor and found a spot. We met quite a few people, but I don't remember any names at this point. There was a guy from Australia who told me he loved 'your country' and a girl who had moved to NYC from NC.
After about 2:30, the very drunk crowd got very interesting. Of course all the guys who hadn't secured a hookup yet were on the prowl. Puh-lease! At this point you see a lot of drunken staring and a lot of 'desparate coupling.' But that's their problem. We took off and grabbed a cab (it was -10 with windchill so the subway was out) back to the apt around 3:30. I had a great time!
The next day started late and slowly...Oddly, I couldn't sleep. I think I was out of bed by 9, but the day was far from started. It was a clear day, but the high was only 26. At some point, me and one friend went and got pizza and gatorade. YUMMY pizza! Lots of toppings, just like I like it. But they could have heated it a little longer. The gatorade brought me back to life and the day was fully started. We walked through Central Park, but not far. It wasn't only cold, it was windy and cold. It was interesting seeing the few dedicated runners out. One girl was even doing repeats on what passes for a hill in NYC.
That evening we went in search of the traditional New Year's day meal of black-eyed peas and corn bread. We agreed to meet a friend by Columbia at a soul food restaurant. When we got there, they were out of food. So no black-eyed peas to start the year. We ended up at a French restaurant around the corner, Le Monde, I think. Yummy food. Early night as we had all had our fill.
The next day was the perfect day to get in our run at Central Park. But we had to pack and leave the apartment and check in at the hotel. Not sure why this took all day. Time stands still in Mexico, but it flies in New York. The hotel was the Affinia Gardens and I highly recommend it. The room was huge and layed out very well. After checking in we went to SoHo to walk around and see NYU. Beautiful. What a great area! I'm pretty sure we went to a bar in this area, too, but I don't remember it. I do know we spent some time at the Soho Grand which is very chic. And then we walked through some packed bar (looked and smelled like a frat party) and then back to Midtown for eats. Good eats at 2am. Where else can you find that?
It was an awesome trip and I've never been sadder to leave a place.
Savannah
So obviously, I lost the costume contest. The competition was tough and none of the winners were in holiday gear.
I went as a Christmas tree. I wore a gold tree skirt around my waist, a green sweatshirt that i added ornaments and garland to and glued a crystal angel to the hood. It was hideous, but festive. Many others had my idea. There were two ladies dressed as trees. They wore red tree skirts, green turtlenecks with working lights attached to them. They had on green stockings, brown leg warmers and little packages twist-tied onto their shoes. Then they had yellow headbands with stars on them. Not a last minute job. There were of course Santa clauses and the normal super heroes as well. Three little boys came as gas pumps (Enmark Gas Stations is the big sponsor, way to suck up). They painted their torsos; one yellow, one silver, one gold and in black wrote their octane number.
But the winners...Third place went to a couple who came as turtles. They had shells and everything. Second place was the cutest little girl you ever saw. She was a sandwhich. She had two very large pieces of foam (about as tall as her and 6 times wider) that were brown for the bread, she used construction paper to make lettuce, tomato, etc. And on her head was a pickle slice with something that looked like a toothpick with plastic tassles on the end. Very well done. First place was a woman that came as a pink ribbon. It was a big black foam thing with a pink ribbon painted on.
Other than not winning, I did enjoy the race. I ran the first half with my friend Amy, but despite being really freakin hot in my sweatshirt (I think the temp was in the 60's), I got a second wind on the bridge coming back and took off. I still finished under and hour, which wasn't the best or worst I've done at this race.
Savannah at Christmas is gorgeous and fun! We enjoyed eating out at some of the restaurants and of course walking with our beer. We found a couple of sports bars and caught the big bama-gator game. And relaxed. Awesome weekend!
I went as a Christmas tree. I wore a gold tree skirt around my waist, a green sweatshirt that i added ornaments and garland to and glued a crystal angel to the hood. It was hideous, but festive. Many others had my idea. There were two ladies dressed as trees. They wore red tree skirts, green turtlenecks with working lights attached to them. They had on green stockings, brown leg warmers and little packages twist-tied onto their shoes. Then they had yellow headbands with stars on them. Not a last minute job. There were of course Santa clauses and the normal super heroes as well. Three little boys came as gas pumps (Enmark Gas Stations is the big sponsor, way to suck up). They painted their torsos; one yellow, one silver, one gold and in black wrote their octane number.
But the winners...Third place went to a couple who came as turtles. They had shells and everything. Second place was the cutest little girl you ever saw. She was a sandwhich. She had two very large pieces of foam (about as tall as her and 6 times wider) that were brown for the bread, she used construction paper to make lettuce, tomato, etc. And on her head was a pickle slice with something that looked like a toothpick with plastic tassles on the end. Very well done. First place was a woman that came as a pink ribbon. It was a big black foam thing with a pink ribbon painted on.
Other than not winning, I did enjoy the race. I ran the first half with my friend Amy, but despite being really freakin hot in my sweatshirt (I think the temp was in the 60's), I got a second wind on the bridge coming back and took off. I still finished under and hour, which wasn't the best or worst I've done at this race.
Savannah at Christmas is gorgeous and fun! We enjoyed eating out at some of the restaurants and of course walking with our beer. We found a couple of sports bars and caught the big bama-gator game. And relaxed. Awesome weekend!
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