Blast from the past

I was digging through some old CD's tonight and found this cruise video from 2005! I shot this footage using my Sony digital camera, which takes 15-second video snippets. I used to love making these little digital films... Back when I worked for Holland America I could pretty much cruise anytime, anywhere, for free! Ah, the good old days! Here's a bit of the Mexican Riviera on board the MS Oosterdaam.

Weekend on Whidbey

Spent 3 wonderful days on Whidbey Island with Rajesh, Alex, and Alex's friend Caitlin this weekend. It was so great to get out of the city and 4th of July hoopla and just relax on island time. We stayed at Alex's dad's house while he was in Port Townsend working on his sailboat. His house is amazing! All warm and cozy ... we loved every minute of our time there. Here are some pics:

On Saturday we took the ferry from Clinton (on Whidbey) to Port Townsend.

Random strangers on the ferry to Port Townsend

Cute little girls on the ferry.

Richard's house nestled among the trees.

The backyard is amazing. Here's the koi pond.

Rajesh loved the hammock. He fell (hard!) twice while trying to master the "quick mount." By the end of the weekend, he was a master hammock expert!

Backyard decoration

A living room you can actually live in.

Wonderfully organic!

Cat nap.

My sweetie :)

I've been running again

I've run only a handful of times since completing the race last month. Four times to be exact. All on the treadmill. I have come to loathe the treadmill. This morning, after a spirited 20 minute treadmill run, I decided that I'm going to run outside again tomorrow. I'm thinking Gasworks Park? I would love to do Leschi, but it just takes too long to drive over there....and that extra half-hour of sleep sounds so delicious!

I watched Wacarra finish the Seafair half-marathon in 75 degree heat yesterday, so I'm inspired and ready to get back to business. I am contemplating another half-marathon in the late fall, early November'ish. I am reconsidering the Hartford, CT half.... I have a free domestic airfare ticket burning a hole in my pocket! We'll see how it goes. This heat really sucks.

The post that has nothing to do with running

Just wanted to post a few pics from last weekend's California roadtrip! We had so much fun! And it was so great to see the sun again.

Top down!

Random pullout along highway 1, near Big Sur

Ostrich farm in Buellton

Relaxing in Solvang

Hollywood walk of fame

Monterey Bay Aquarium

More cuteness

Windmill near Morro Bay
Pacific Ocean

Man feeds ostriches; drama ensues

Here's a little video from our roadtrip. This is Raj attempting to feed the ostriches in Buellton, CA. Apparently they are borderline dangerous and unlike pigeons they do bite, so be careful the next time you are accosted by one.

This didn't keep me from laughing, however.

More pics to come.

Three weeks of sloth

So I've been sitting on my ass for about three weeks now... ahh, glorious springtime in Seattle! I am contemplating changing my blog name to sloth.blogspot.com, but I imagine it's already taken.

So, big news, blog reader(s) - on Friday, Microsoft announced it is shutting down its book digitization project , which means my position is being terminated in another 5-6 weeks. This came as a big surprise, as I had just been confirmed as staying on for another year, but you know how it goes in the software industry.... So now I am hunting around for an FTE position here at Microsoft. I really love working here and hope I can make it work somehow.

This weekend I am heading down to L.A. for a little central California coast roadtrip with Rajesh! Even though vacation photos are wildly inappropriate for my running blog, I will post them anyway upon my return. And who's kidding who here - I'm not running anymore, so I might as well repurpose the blog for something good - and that is me, having fun.

BTW, I cut all off my hair off last week. Not all, but most of it. First significant haircut I've had in a few years. Just thought you'd like to know.

Technically not a running post, but....

"Hiking" or trail running/walking Discovery Park is a great way to start your Sunday. I'm surprised at how many people are not familiar with the park. It's absolutely breathtaking and is less than a 10 minute drive from most neighborhoods in the city. Chilly, drizzly Sunday mornings are the best times to come, early in the morning when most people are still curled up in bed. I love the 4+ mile Beach Loop that begins at the Visitor Center parking lot and cuts through thick forest down to the lighthouse on the beach then back up a strenuous climb through more dense overgrowth back to the lot. It takes about an hour and a half, depending on whether you're running or walking, or stopping to take photos along the way, like me...

These are for you, Rajesh :)

More pics and thoughts from Vancouver

Well, the race was only a week ago and it feels like I haven't run in 6 months. I took a well needed break this week to rest my body and contemplate what's next for me. It's hard to articulate into words what this race was like without sounding totally cliche. It was amazing from start to finish.

We started promptly at 7am, with perfect weather. I was well rested from the night before, and at the last minute changed into my lightweight Patagonia technical shirt, which ended up being too hot after about 4 miles. I also wore my cute blue gloves that came in my race pack. Yeah, took those off at mile 2, and held onto them throughout the whole race! Didn't want to lose them.

We ran through some really cool parts of Vancouver: Chinatown, through some sketchy parts of downtown, along the water, and about 6 miles of Stanley Park before heading along Beach Avenue back to the Expo finish. I was pacing ahead of schedule up until mile 7, when I briefly stopped to stretch out my back and legs. Headphones were banned from this race, and this was the first time I had run any significant distance without music. Without this sensory distraction I was much more aware of my other senses - sights and sounds, and of course pain. So after my quick stretch, I was running again, crossing the 7 mile sign at exactly 77 minutes. At around mile 8 I hit the big 200' hill that I had been anticipating. My race strategy for conquering hills is simple - walk it! So I power walked the whole thing. I figured it was good to conserve energy here, I would need it over the next 5 miles. After about 3/4 of a mile, I finally cleared the top of the hill and then headed down, down, down! I think that downhill mile was the single greatest moment of my life! Or at least it felt that way at the time. I picked up some speed here and crossed mile 9 only 3 minutes behind schedule at 102 minutes.

I knew at this moment that I would achieve my goal of finishing in under 2 hours 30 minutes, and that was a great feeling and relief. Right around mile 10, however, I started getting side cramps I'm assuming from drinking Gatorade along the course. I walked for about a minute and worked out the cramps, and started running again. The last 2.5-3 miles were truly difficult; at mile 11 I started speaking out loud to myself - swearing over and over and coaching myself to keep going. The crowd was really supportive here and I really appreciated their words and shouts of encouragement, some even calling out to me by name (which was on my race bib), which totally choked me up.

When I passed the 12 mile mark I really, really wanted to stop. A few yards later I saw the "1 mile to go!" sign and checked my watch - 2:17. Crap! Too close to slack now! Somehow I finished that last mile; honestly, I don't know how. Once the finish line was in sight I got a sudden boost of energy and began to sprint! I was so happy and was fighting back the tears as I crossed the finish line. We were given our medals and blue plastic blankets as we were ushered through the crowd and this is when I really started getting choked up. The damn medal! That's what I wanted!

This whole experience has been awesome and has changed my life in so many ways. It's taught me to really let go of my perfectionist tendencies and be willing to fail at something. I've learned that just "doing it" is good enough. I've felt a tremendous sense of accomplishment for setting my sights on a huge goal that took a lot of time and effort to achieve. And I've come to appreciate my body for it's strength and physical ability rather than judging it for its shortcomings. I feel lighter and happier and more appreciative for everything that I have, and I can't wait to discover what is next on the horizon for me....

A few more pics from Vancouver, 5/4/08:


Here I am at the race start - light blue shirt, arms in the air waving my cool blue gloves. We anxiously awaited the start gun amid dozens of red and white Canadian beach balls being tossed through the air. Very festive.

I have to say, my race photos taken out on the course are absolutely atrocious. I can't even post them here... anyway, here's me at the finish line, 2 and 1/2 hours later. What a race! The last 2 miles were agonizing. Nicole snapped this pic just as I crossed; my chip time was 2:28:13. I was trying not to cry.

Happiest day of my life - I did it! Now I know I can do anything!!!


Ahhh.... Starbucks. Breakfast of champions :)

2:28:13

I did it!!! Will write more when I have some time to compile my thoughts and photos :)

And off we go!

This is it! Race is tomorrow. I'm all packed and waiting for Nicole to pick me up so we can head north to Vancouver. Weather is crappy here in Seattle, but is supposed to be sunny and beautiful in Vancouver on Sunday. The half-marathon begins at 7am. I'm excited, anxious, and terrified - but I feel sooooo alive! What a great feeling! If you're reading this, be sure and send good karma my way tomorrow morning - wish me luck!!!