Are You Kidding Me?

Every day there is new evidence that I am an idiot:
A little before ten o'clock I finally started gathering the things I needed for the big race (SLC half marathon) the next morning. I looked down at the spot on the floor where I keep my running shoes. They weren't there. I checked my gym back. They weren't there either. Those are the ONLY two places I keep my shoes. For good measure, I checked my closet. They weren't there. I checked the car. They weren't there. I checked everywhere else in my room. They weren't there. The only possible thing I could think of was that I had inadvertently left them at the gym. I called. No one answered. Then I realized that the open-24-hours gym that I go to actually closes on weekend nights. I was too late; they had already closed.

In a panic and with terror, I called my good running friend for ideas or advice of what to do. We had planned to carpool down there together, but with my situation as it was, I thought that maybe I should go separately so I could stop by the gym in the morning and pick them up. We both concluded that there would not be enough time to get to the start of the race. Fortuitously, or rather through divine intervention, I had purchased some new shoes just the week before. I had planned to break them in for the next marathon in a month. But, I wanted to test them out on the treadmill before I ran outside to make sure that they would work for me. Well, I sure tested them, but now I've got to keep them.

They say that if you get the right shoe for your feet, you don't really need to break them in. I don't think these are the right shoes. I wore out my abductor digiti minimi muscles in both feet and have a huge blister on the arch of my right foot. It could be that I had just laced them a bit too tightly. If it weren't for the ibuprofen that I took right before I don't think I would have been able to finish. Or, I would have finished, but barefooted.

Considering the circumstance, however, I had one of the best races ever. I beat my goal time by three minutes and I took off more than five minutes from last year's time and more than 13 minutes from my time last month. I was very happy with the result. I just wonder if I would have done better with my regular shoes. Although, there is the possibility, too, that I could have done worse. Yikes.

Lessons learned:
Always have an already-broken-in pair of shoes.
Gather things sooner than the night before.
Never forget ibuprofen.
Be worthy of blessings.

Economic Strategies: Cheapskates.

I should have recognized the downward economic trend years ago. Quite some time ago my mom pointed out to me the deceptive change in product offerings. Dryers, a favorite ice cream in my family, reduced their carton size from a half gallon to 1.75 quarts...without reducing the price. To an unsuspecting customer, the change would not have been noticed. The cartons look nearly the same, just slightly smaller. That's how they increase their profits without alarming their customers of the real but clandestine increase in price. We've boycotted Dryers ice cream ever since. I have eaten it, but I haven't purchased it since I discovered their seedy scheme.

I found a new favorite brand of ice cream. I don't need the well-known brands of ice cream; there are plenty of good ones out there. Instead I turned to Kroger, found at Smith's grocery stores. It's good ice cream and there are lots of varieties and reduced fat and lower sugar options. I was really excited about a month ago when they advertised a good sale on the ice cream. I though I had better stock up. Unfortunately (or fortunately) there was very limited space available in my freezer. When I got to the store, I realized that Kroger, too, has jumped on the band wagon of price veiling. They were in the process of replacing their older packing with newer SMALLER packaging. Following the lead of other brands, they have gone from a half gallon, to 1.75 quarts, and now to 1.5 quarts! What asininity!

Now, if that weren't enough, the cost cutting trend has penetrated other markets as well. It's not just food anymore. Tampons, too! Tampons are now smaller than the previous version. Don't think that I've gone out and brought the wrong size or something. It's the same brand, same packaging, supposedly the same product, now just smaller. If I am going to purchase something that I have tried and liked and become accustomed to, I better be told that the product I depend on is no longer the same. They shouldn't just change the product to avoid having to raise the price. That's misleading. At least with the ice cream containers the size is marked on the container. Tampons are sold by count, not by weight or size. How am I supposed to have known?

When I was in college I thought I would venture on to the MBA program. Fortunately, it is recommend that you work for a couple of years between your undergrad and the master's program. Good thing for that recommendation. I've realized over the years that I want nothing to do with business. I have found that it is a numbers game. How can we make the most profit? Companies don't care about other people as long as they're making the money, and not just some money, the most money they can. With the economy the way it's going, I can't imagine what they will come up with next.

Worst Race Ever.

The Canyonlands half marathon was a race to discourage me from all other races. Fortunately, I had already registered for another half and a full marathon before I had experienced this race, otherwise I may have never wanted to race again. The experiences I had with the SLC half and the St. George marathon was so pleasurable. It would seem a little oxymoronic to think of running for 13.1 or 26.2 miles as pleasurable, but I actually did enjoy it. Time when by quickly; the miles seemed short; I had plenty of breath and energy. The opposite seemed true of this race.

First of all, the race started at 10:00. I've never done a race that started so late. The latest a race had started, that I've done, was at 8:00, and that was just for a 10K. So, for the slower runners (i.e., me) that meant that we were still running at noon! It was ridiculous. On top of the late start, it was hot day. I was so sunburned! What I think happened was that they forgot to compensate for the earlier start of daylight saving time. So, compared to last year it was like we were starting at 11:00! I was not used to the heat, and with water stops only every 2.5 miles, I was dehydrated. At mile five I felt the same way I felt at mile 23 of the St. George marathon. I didn't want to finish. I wanted something to happen as an excuse not to finish. But, finish I did, but not a a good time. I was kind of humiliated with my time. It was a humbling experience. The other races had been so easy that I thought that this would be the same. I knew that if I wanted to improve my time for the SLC half, that I would have to amp up my training. Now, I know I need to push harder.

Now, I can't blame everything on the late start. I will admit that I had not trained for a certain pace. For the last two and a half months I was running at a lower intensity hoping to lose weight, since you burn fat most effectively at a certain target heart rate, which for me happened to be a slower pace. In addition to that, I had the stupid idea of donating blood a week and a half before. Before they take your blood they have you answer certain questions that will determine your eligibility to donate. During that time, I took the opportunity to ask the phlebotomist about the effect of donating on metabolic efficiency. I learned that it is the iron in the blood that carries the nutrients and oxygen to the muscles. By donating blood, I lost a lot of my iron. I knew that donating might have an adverse effect, but I donated anyway because in the past I hadn't notice much of a difference a week out. The next day is obviously a little more taxing, but usually I feel back to normal within three or four days. I also asked the phlebotomist how long it takes to recuperate the lost iron and blood. She said that the reason you can donate only every eight weeks is that doctors believe that it takes that long to replenish what had been taken. That must have played a part in the lack of energy. On top of those things, I did not start off well. The course began downhill so I started faster than I was used to. Plus, I happened to start with a friend who ran faster than I did. I felt like I needed to keep up with her. When I ran the Deseret News 10K, the same thing happened. I started too fast and I wore myself out. I couldn't make it all the way without stopping to walk for a brief time. When I did run, I ran faster, but I couldn't last as long. When I had done the other two races, I started well after the shotgun (because the lines for the bathroom were so long) so there weren't many other people around to influence my rhythm. I have learned to start well after the crowd has started and just do my thing. I think that will help me in the long run.

There were two bright spots to the experience, though. One was that the post race party was great! They had all sort of food: bananas, oranges, apples, bread, chocolate milk, cookies, chocolate, pretzels, peanuts. They didn't have ice cream, but it was still good. Chocolate milk never was so refreshing. And they actually had plenty left when I finished. (When I finished the St. George marathon, there was hardly anything left for me. I did get some ice cream though.) The other good thing was that I took advantage of the Arches National Park. If it weren't for that I would have considered it a waste of a trip. I would have like to have stayed longer, but I was please with what I was able to do.

My friends (Tricia, Heidi, and Phil) and I and another group hiked up to see the Delicate Arch, the arch that is displayed on the Utah centennial license plates and on much of Utah propaganda. The sign at the beginning of the hike said it was 1.5 miles. It felt more like 2.5, but after the days activities, that shouldn't be surprising. It was a little more strenuous than I had anticipated, but I am very glad I did it. I would have missed out on one of the amazing natural creations that many never have a chance to see. And my camera battery lasted just long enough.





Overall, it was a great trip, humbling but fun.

Today I Joined the Polar Bear Club.

I have been thinking about changing my schedule a bit, somewhat part of a new year's resolution. I have been in quite the habit of working out after work. At the time it was better after work because I had more time. After a while that wasn't really the case. Things kept creeping into my schedule at night, and it was such a pain because I had to "get ready" twice a day. To reduce the vain repetition I typically just didn't get ready for work. I didn't do my make-up or my hair. After all, who do I have to impress there? But then, by the end of the day, I didn't feel like "getting ready" either because I knew I would be going to bed in just a few hours. It made sense to me to just work out in the morning and be ready for the whole day; the results of my "getting ready" would be optimized. So, starting this week I have been working out in the mornings. And I've loved it. The days seem so much longer; I feel like I have more time; and I don't feel so slovenly.

Being the efficient person that I am, I shower at the gym instead of going all the way home to shower. It is a little inconvenient because I have to be very careful to bring absolutely everything that I need. If I forget underwear, I'm in trouble. Well, today, as I walked into the bathroom to put my belongings in the locker, I was greeted with a sign that read, "No hot water in the showers. Sorry for the inconvenience." So for the next two hours as I was working out, I debated whether I should take the extra time, gas, and mileage to go home to have a warm shower. I decided that I could do it. And do it I did! I remembered one morning on my mission when the mamita was mad at us and turned off the calefactor. It wasn't pleasant, but it was manageable.

This was my trick. I faced the shower head to the wall and leaned over to wash my hair, trying to keep my body out of the water. That way I could stay dry as long as possible. And dry meant not as cold. By the time I was done with that, the temperature wasn't such a shock, and I could finish up. While it wasn't completely unbearable, I would still rather choose a warm shower. There are so many little things that I take for granted and don't recognize their worth until the convenience it taken away.

Adobe Illustrator Practice.

Turn of the Seasons.

Fall has the synonym autumn. Why don't the other seasons have synonyms? Or do they, and I just don't know what they are? I tried to look them up in the thesaurus but didn't find anything. I did find it interesting, however, what the dictionary said about all four season as they pertain to different stages of life.

Spring is the first stage and freshest period.

Summer is the period of finest development, perfection, or beauty previous to any decline.

Fall (or autumn) is a time of full maturity, especially the late stages of full maturity or, sometimes, the early stages of decline.

Winter is the last or final period of life; a period of decline, decay, inertia, dreariness, or adversity. Kind of depressing sounding, isn't it?

Now, I am certainly passed the spring of my life. I am well beyond fresh. However, I don't think I could say that I have gotten to my finest development or perfection or beauty. Does that mean I am in the fall stage of life, or have I jumped completely to winter? I am quite healthy physically, so I don't think I would consider myself in any kind of decay. However, dreariness and adversity fit aptly. Can one go back to other seasons, or does one have to follow the natural order of nature? Hmmm..

The reason I bring this up is because for our annual company kick-off meeting, we went up to Snowbird and got to play around. There was something about being in the mountains with crisper atmosphere that signified to me that fall was here. Although the days have been still warm, the mornings and evenings have definitely gotten cooler. I am excited because fall is my favorite season. Anyway, we had a meeting in the morning, then had lunch, and then had the rest of the day to play around. We went on the tram to the very top of the mountain, and it was so nice. Here are some pictures of the view.





We also got to go down the Alpine slide. I guess like any business a ski resort would have to offer something during the off season. I don't know how to put a video on this, but here is a link to one instead. And this is the result of going too fast around a curve. Oops.


It's a lot worse than it looks. It's really deep.

Hearing First Hand Accounts of Yourself.

One day during my freshman year of college, I was in the community bathroom just finishing my shower, when I heard a coworker and another girl talking. It didn't take me long to realize that they were talking about me. They didn't know I was there and spoke freely thinking that I would never know. It was interesting to learn their perspective of the situation and what they thought of me. I think they were jealous.

Well, a similar but much more comical situation happened to my roommate. So, get this. My fun, personable, 18-year-old, cosmetologist roommate set me up with a guy who came in to get his hair cut. We went out to dinner about a month ago to...Dairy Queen. Now it would be one thing to meet there for ice cream, but for dinner it is a different story. I intended to post about it, but I never got around to it. So we joke around about it and like to get other people's reactions. Well, it so happened that yesterday she set up my other roommate with another of her clients and gave him a polite recommendation to not take her to Dairy Queen. She kept joking about it as she gave the next client a hair cut, exclaiming bewilderedly, "Who would take a girl to Dairy Queen on a first date!?"

So, the guy gives her a good tip and as he leaves, says, "I don't like to do big things on first dates." It took her a little while and some help from her boss to realize that he was the guy who took me to DQ! She was humiliated. When she got home she told me the story and we had a good laugh. Then, about 10 minutes later, I got a text from the guy. He wrote that he hoped that I didn't think he was a jerk for taking me to DQ and that he is not cheap. The thing is, money doesn't mean much to me. It's the effort. What are the chances?! All in all, I think things smoothed over enough. The hard part is that I will most likely be seeing him at church on Sunday.

So, guys, if you are going to take a girl to DQ, just tell her that you are going for ice cream, and you won't have any problems.