10/10/10

Why didn't anyone tell me the Steamtown Marathon is on 10/10/10!?!

I'm due for a 2010 marathon. (Though I'm swiftly running out of training time since I'm starting with a zero base.) But OBVIOUSLY, "10/10/10" is reason (weird) enough for me!

I figured I'd run one on the West Coast....but I also figured I'd (officially) run the hometown race before I hang up this marathoning and "10/10/10" would have been THE one to run.

Jeez, people. I'm keeping you posted.

In a Jiff

Amazingly, I had almost forgotten about my trip to Jiffy Lube until I re-read my last post just now. Haha, and what a trip it was.

It only took me 6 months to get there even though I promised The Jeep and myself before we departed that I would take it for service promptly upon our arrival in CA. Can I help it that there isn't a particularly "LOCAL" Jiffy Lube?

Well, anyway. OF COURSE, my "CHECK GAUGES" light came on over the weekend while Heather was here. So then I REALLY promised The Jeep I'd take it first thing Monday morning; after we dropped Heather off at the airport and between my interviews.

Bolstered with a pep talk from Nicholas, I had promised myself I WOULD NOT be convinced I needed ANYTHING more than the BASIC oil change. I am NOT a very good promise-keeper.

I foolishly felt a little victory when they opened the air filter and found it practically new. No, I do not need your Jiffy air filter. HA-HA. But then Dave (Why is the guy always "Dave", maybe they just embroider a bunch of shirts with the same few names and if you're not "Serge" you're "Dave"???) said, "Ma'am, (KILL.ME.NOW.) see this (pointing, clipboard in hand) Serpentine Belt? It holds your WHOLE MOTOR together- it's gonna go at any moment. See how dull it is? And all these cracks?" It did look dull. It was pretty cracked. But did it REALLY need to be replaced? Aw, crap.

SO after approximately 4 phone calls to ANYONE with even mediocre Automotive/Mechanical knowledge, including Neal the cook at the cafe who I barely know, I gave Dave the go-ahead.

He told me to have a seat inside and it would be about 35 minutes. (Apparently 35 minutes = Jiffy) After about 35 minutes he found me inside to tell me that while they searched high and low they didn't have the belt I needed on-hand. They could run over to their other shop, in a Jiff, and get one if I wanted to wait. Why not? I was already having an anxiety attack over it, I didn't want to work myself up like that a second time nor risk having the belt "go at any moment" on the 405. It's too bad that Jiffy Lube doesn't have a "30 minutes or less" policy.

So The Jeep's been serviced. In addition, Neal's since given the rest of it the once-over and an "everything looks pretty good" and me the name of a local reputable garage and mechanic here in SB, Ralph @ 16th Street Garage. My fingers are crossed that it's a while before I need to meet Ralph.

I'll keep you posted.

STOKED

Surfing is THE MOST FUN I've ever had in the ocean.

I (finally) went for the FIRST time this past week. On Tuesday I cashed in the M&M Surfing School gift certificates I got back in APRIL from the Surfrider golf tournament raffle.

What a great group of people- the instructors AND the others in my lesson. (That's me and Darrell? Darryl? Daryl? ->)

SO much fun. I did well- I stood up!- and I loved it. I laughed a lot and found myself smiling most of the time.

Granted, it kicked my a$$. When I got home I showered, ate like a horse (shocker), rubbed in some Tiger Balm, then promptly took a Motrin and a NAP.

And people do this before they go to work in the morning??? HOW?

Can't wait to figure it out.

Looking forward to getting out there again as soon as I can.

I'll keep you posted.

Gidget f.k.a. k8

Bicycle, Bicycle, Bicycle, I Want to Ride My Bicycle

My bike, OK FINE, Nicholas' bike, has needed air in the front tire for a while now. It finally occurred to me that my outdoorsy next door neighbors would probably have a pump. Yesterday, I saw The Dad and I inquired. Indeed they did. He sent his 7-yr-old son over with it.

Foiled again!

I figured The Dad (I don't know their last name to say Mr...) might fix it for me. (Stop cringing my Feminist Friends.)

OK, fine. I'll do it myself.

SO FIRST, I surveyed the scene, then attempted to attach the pump. I only succeeded in letting out more air. Not good. OK, there must be more to it. SO NEXT, I googled "how to inflate a bike tire". I identified my "valve stem" as a Schrader valve. Still, the video wasn't so helpful, because it really did seem like I was doing it the way I was supposed to. FINALLY, I gave up.

My tire significantly flatter than when I started, I'm thinking, "Before, I could have at least RIDDEN the bike to the bike shop on Main Street (aka Main Street Cyclery). NOW I have to WALK it there like a tool. Great. Just great."

So today, I put on my bike shorts (Thank you, Hilary Cosgriff!) and prepared to suck it up and walk it over to MSC. As I was getting ready to leave The Dad asked about the bike. SO in the charmingly self-deprecating way that I have I said with a laugh, "I'm embarassed to admit it but I managed to let all of the air OUT. Hahaha..." (Look Mom! Employing "the helpless girl technique"!)

The Dad, My Hero, (Not to be confused with the 1994 HIT movie, My Father The Hero starring Gerard Depardieu & Katherine Heigl.) came over and we fixed it right up. I was a little nervous the tires might be over-inflated, but apparently they have just been under-inflated the whole time I've been here. Nice, I know. HEY! My last bike was a Huffy. THAT'S how long its been since I've been on a bike. And I CERTAINLY have never had to do any of the maintenance-y stuff myself. That's why we have Dads and brothers. Just wait 'til next week, I'm FINALLY going to take the Jeep to JiffyLube.... unless, do you think The Dad, My Hero might help me change the oil? Hmmmm.....

Well, anyway the tires got inflated, the pump got returned, and I rode about 12 miles. What a difference properly inflated tires make!

I'll keep you posted.

k8

Running Shorts and Memory Lane

So this isn't REALLY about running shorts, more that they jogged my memory (pun intended!). And that trip down memory lane gave me a warm/fuzzy feeling.

I'm sitting here contemplating my own workout and I got a text from Nick to say he just bought a pair Nike Dri-Fit Tech shorts (his FIRST pair of running shorts) and they've opened up a new realm of running possibilities for him. Our conversation this past weekend was about the 2-yr old sneakers he FINALLY sucked it up and replaced. I've been campaigning for him to invest in some gear and REGULARLY replace his shoes for years- the guy runs more mileage than he realizes. BUT it makes me laugh- we're so much the same- I remember when I first started running I WAS NOT going to be sucked in by the marketing ploy that was run club and start spending all my money on "running gear". I already had t-shirts, loads of them in bags, bins, and boxes (and now in storage!) and shorts (hand-me-down Hummel's) and sneakers (North Face trail sneakers purchased because they were an AWESOME shade of weird yellow). HAHA.

THEN you get some actual clothing engineered for running and its like: "aw-AAWWW! There really IS a difference!" And it's kind of dramatic. Its like, think about swimming with all your clothes on versus a Speedo. It's THAT kind of difference. WHO KNEW? I didn't.

And then Nike introduced me. You hang around Run Club long enough and you're bound to get recruited for by-invitation runs, focus groups, shoe trials, 100-mile club socks, etc. Most of my early running gear was supplied by their "Run Like the City" campaign. Those were some great giveaway shirts. BridgeRunners were always very cool. And of course a shout out to my FAVORITE: the HOHA team jersey (hot pink in 2010???).

Once, instead of flowers a (first) date brought me Tempo shorts. I thought he was "The One". But that's ANOTHER story.

True to form, so far this isn't even so much the story I wanted to tell! Haha! (No one is surprised; I know!)

Nicholas' sudden revelation over the last week has had my running history on my mind. And while I may be feeling a little down about my running these days, it makes me happy & proud to think that over the years MY running has rippled through my circle of friends: Heather's "run 1" (marathon), is training for a second, and contemplating The Tri; Nicholas could be marathon-ready with very little additional effort, except he doesn't take himself for a "serious runner" (been there) and NOTHING can interfere with whatever woodland creature (large or small) happens to be "in season"; Jenny, Marisa, Colin, Hill, Melissa, Sara, - they've all done Halfs; (People actually ask me for advice about running now!) Maybe I'm taking credit where it truly isn't due, maybe I'm just more conscious of peoples' running because of my own, but I hope I did have some influence. And if I motivated them, I hope it comes full circle.

I'm going for a run.

I'll keep you posted.

k8

Ken Meets Barbie

Groovin' with Ken!