Blissfully optimistic or just stupid?

One year ago today, August 12, 2007, I ran my very first organized race: the Seattle Guts n' Glory 5k to help raise money for Chrohn's and Colitis research. I remember every detail of that race: the song playing on my iPod when the starting horn sounded, watching my reflection in the glass of some of the businesses in SODO (thinking - wow, I'm a runner), the turnaround point at Starbucks on 1st ave. S (I worked next door at the time and visited that Starbucks every day .... I wondered if anyone inside recognized me as I trotted by red-faced on the street outside), how far the finish line seemed and how overjoyed I was to cross it.

So today seems like a good day to make an announcement to my dear blog reader(s). And maybe I'm crazy and maybe there is no way in hell that I can make this happen, but..... deep breath..... I have decided to train for the Philadelphia Marathon happening on Nov. 23, 2008. All 26.2 miles of it.

Now there is a good chance that I will actually kill myself in the process. A really good chance. I haven't seriously run in 3 months, and while I'm hoping my body will snap back fairly quickly (I was up to 10 mile runs in May), I'm still looking at a freakishly intense training schedule that takes me from 4 miles this Saturday to 18 miles in approximately 13 weeks. I'm not sure I can do it. But I'm going to try, dammit!

There are a few reasons why I've decided to do this now: I haven't fallen THAT far off my prior training schedule, as a contract employee I can't work overtime (even if I wanted to), I have practically no responsibilities whatsoever at this point in my life, I've gained about 10 lbs. since my last race that I desperately need to lose, and frankly, 2008 just feels like my year.

Making a public commitment solidifies the deal. Makes me accountable. And I'll go back to using this blog for what it was initially intended to do: track my running progress. As I sit here writing this, I can't believe I'm writing this. I'm staring at the "Publish Post" button wondering if this is the right thing to do. And I'm scared to death that I'll fail.

But I guess that's why I don't have a choice but to do it.

Annoyed with these Blogspot templates....

BTW reader(s), sorry about the frequent template changes. I hate the blogspot selection. There are only a few to choose from and they're either A) ugly B) too narrow or C) too wide. I might return to Lefty Minima, which you might recall was the plain white, simple blog that I used for several months. I'll need to jazz it up with a custom header graphic though, and that requires work. Work and effort. And time. And thought....

Another one rides the bus

This morning I implemented my grandly ambitious plan of commuting by public bus from Seattle to Redmond. I decided on Thursday of last week that I officially can’t take it anymore. The commute from Greenwood to Microsoft is slowly killing me. After gritting my teeth through another hour and a half commute to travel 13 miles across the 520, I actually looked up my route on Metro’s Trip Planner and realized it wasn’t that bad. An hour to and from work, but an hour reclaimed! An hour of reading! Of listening to books on tape! An hour daydreaming or people watching! I could only imagine the possibilities… A few points of interest regarding today’s commute:

1. First off, I downloaded the “Seattle Bus” app for my iPhone from the App Store last night for $9.99. Steep price, yes, but it’s an awesome app that gives real time arrival times for your bus route. I’m not sure if it’s based off of GPS or what, but it’s accurate. You can see exactly how many minutes you have until your bus actually arrives vs. going off the scheduled time. This feature kept the anxiety low all morning (I’ll get to this in a sec).

2. Did not work out this morning. Had intentions to. Set the alarm, but when it went off I made an on-the-spot decision that trying to run AND take the bus was too much this morning. So I ended up getting up at 6:15. Still too late, I’ll adjust this tomorrow. Will start running again in the evenings until I can develop a habit and then will maybe switch to mornings. We’ll see.

3. My first bus, the 48, comes every 12-15 minutes. I mistakenly thought I could take the 7:38 instead of the 7:27 and still catch my connecting bus at the 520 transfer point. Um…no. I realized this after it was too late. I still had time though to get my latte at Wayward (new barista, coffee not as good, might switch to Neptune) and had only a few minutes to wait for the 7:38 bus. All was good in the world.

4. Read about 50 pages of The Kaizen Way – loving this book.

5. Confirmed schedules en route – the 7:38 was to arrive at the 520 transfer spot at 8:08. The connecting bus was supposed to depart this same spot at 8:06 L Could I make it?

6. As it turned out – yes! Thank goodness for my Seattle Bus app! I was able to see that the connecting bus was running 11 minutes behind schedule. This caused me to relax and enjoy my latte and book. I caught my connecting bus with less than 10 minutes of waiting at the connecting spot. Yay!

7. Arrived at the stop on 148th and 51st in Redmond at 8:46. Had a leisurely walk into Red West. All in all, probably walked ½ mile total this morning. That’s a full mile per day vs. sitting in my car for 1.5-2 hours. Another yay!

8. The commute in went off without a hitch. I loved it. Got some serious reading done and I feel like I’ve actually learned a thing or two. Might download some NPR podcasts tonight.

9. Another victory for public transportation!

Eagle Creek

Raj and I went camping at Eagle Creek in the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area (midway between Hood River and Portland) this weekend. Here are some highlights from our camp/hike to PunchBowl Falls. The views were truly spectacular:

There were parts of the trail that were fairly narrow with cable ropes attached to the rock on one side, and a sheer drop off on the other. We were shocked to see several families hiking with infant children and wearing flip-flops no less. They could have easily gone over the edge.

Getting the fire started was a true test of will and determination!

The key to a successful camping trip is a) warm sleeping bag and b) proper ground support. We spent the extra bucks and each bought a Therm-a-Rest, and it's made all the difference. With both of our recent camping trips we've woken up refreshed and relaxed. SPEND THE EXTRA MONEY, it's so worth it! I hit the jackpot at Joe's last weekend and found an $89 Asolo sleeping bag on clearance for $15. One of my better finds...

After spending Saturday night sipping Rosemount Shiraz and roasting marshmallow s'mores by the fire, we drove into Portland on Sunday and spent several hours at Powell's Books (the world's largest bookstore!) and ate dinner in the Pearl District.

Closing the book

It's with a heavy heart that I said goodbye yesterday to my friends and co-workers in the Live Search Books group where I have been a contract employee for the past 10 months. My boss and some of the other members of my team took me out for a goodbye lunch at our team favorite Thai Ginger in Redmond Town Center. I feel as though I've come so far in the past year in terms of increasing my skill set and making all the necessary connections at Microsoft. I recognize the huge career risk that this was, leaving a good paying, full time job behind to strike out on my own. I feel that it has paid off enormously, as my next position, as a Product Marketing Manager in Rich Media, will be even more challenging. I will miss working with an incredible array of super talented, clever, charismatic, and personable colleagues, but I'm sure my new team will be equally exciting in its own way.

Working in 88 has also allowed me generous access to Raj, who works next door in 87. I'll miss our daily lunches in Cafe 86, the smoothie bar downstairs, and hot, cheap oatmeal. In May, our building was treated to a ping-pong tournament starring none other than Mr. Bill Gates himself. Here's a shot of Bill ping-ponging.

I'm excited for the next chapter to begin .............

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.