Running for Exercise?

I’ve been getting lots of chances to play my favorite game, “Running for Exercise?” lately. It’s a simple but fun game: try to figure out if people you see are running for exercise or not.

Yesterday: I saw a guy, but I was watching him through the windows of my own car and the car in front of me. At first I got a distinctive running-for-exercise vibe. And then I saw him once he reached the other side of the street and realized he was wearing skinny jeans and smoking a cigarette. Running to Cross the Street.

This morning: I saw a guy running who was wearing what looked like a fairly athletic looking jacket. But then he stopped at a parking garage, turned so I could see his name tag, and pulled out keys. Running Because He’s the Valet.

Last night I may have been a tricky case if someone was playing. I was on the running trail in Wash Park, wearing workout clothes, headphones in, Garmin on. But then I turned off the path and made a beeline for a portapotty. Running for Emergency.

(OMG, though, Wash Park has so! many! bathrooms! I was so happy I was not in Cheesman.)

Running in Wash Park was new for me, and very different from running in my own colorful neighborhood. I’ve heard this neighborhood described as Highlands Ranch (a pink houses suburb) but with older homes. I’ve heard it described as all strollers and golden retrievers. So to pass the time last night during my (nine miles takes a looong time at my pace), I counted the Golden Retrievers (seven) and lululemon logos (nine!). Toto, I have a feeling we’re not in Five Points anymore…

Things You Can Tell Just By Looking At Her (House)

A few months ago I had a little meltdown after spending a Saturday morning trying to clean our house. Long story short, I got overwhelmed, somehow ended up vacuuming out the drawers in the bathroom. And then feeling sad that our place didn’t really look any better.

I don’t know how to better explain that. Sorry!

Anyways. I was like, enough. I don’t know how to do this, I don’t like doing it, and it’s really easy to hire people who will do it 1,000 times better than I will.

So every once in a while, maybe quarterly? Usually when we’re having visitors, I email a very nice woman named Stacie and she dispatches one of her team of wizards to our house. It’s about $100, they get the tub cleaner than I could if my life depended on it, magically get every speck of pet hair off the furniture, and even change the sheets if I ask. They use all natural supplies, nothing has a weird smell, and it’s basically the best money you could ever spend.

Chris’s parents are in town this weekend, so the wizard came on Wednesday. When I got home, I realized I had left a bag of cat nip out, and it kind of looks like a little bag of pot, and I wondered if she raised an eyebrow. I’m sure if you clean homes you see crazier things, but I wondered what she thought of us and where we stood on the scale of weird. Looking around, what can you tell about us? Nothing super interesting as far as I can tell.

We like beer. And haven’t changed this clock to DST. (And never will!)

We look like this.

We shop at West Elm.

Are vegetarians.

And work out. And need to do laundry.

Like swimming! (And beer. The bottle opener and the pool schedule are the  only things that go on the front of the refrigerator and not the side.)

I got all thoughtful about it, like would you know someone better from cleaning their home or reading their blog? Being their friend or reading their mail?

But mostly I was glad I hadn’t left anything embarrassing out. (Aside from the cat nip “hash.”)

Half Marathon Training – Weeks Five and Six!

Week five – Did I seriously only run once this week?!

Monday – I had Monday off from my regular volunteer gig and I plowed through 60 minutes on my exercise bike!

Tuesday – Book club and watched the Bachelor with a friend.

Wednesday – I was going to make up my three miles today, but I desperately needed to catch up with my best friend so we could swap notes on people who suck.

Thursday – Meant to run four miles, but misjudged the distance and ended up back at my house after 3.7 without the motivation to run around the block for .3 miles.

Friday – Chris’s birthday! I faked him out and we ordered Thai food and I got him a lame card and a sweater off the clearance rack.

Saturday – Swam 1,000 meters, went to yoga. Pretended to go for a run in between but really went and got a cupcake for Chris’s real birthday, which was a surprise night out on the town, a cute card, and a real present.

Sunday – Madness! This day was way overbooked, breakfast with a friend stretched into two hours, it was the only day we could go mattress shopping, and we needed to clear out a part of our house where we’re starting a remodeling project because the contractor was supposed to start the next day. But of course he didn’t. A blog post for another day.

Week six – Seven miles! And I learn to rest.

Monday – Five hours of watching the Bachelor and talking smack. Team Courtney!

Tuesday – Couldn’t even eek out three miles. Tired and grumpy about dodging so many off leash dogs. I threw in the towel at 2.7.

Wednesday – Impromptu doggie play date/folks over for dinner!

Thursday – Seven effing miles! Without music after the first 20 minutes because my iPod batteries died. Hard! Freaking! Core! Followed by the fastest shower of my life and still showing up 20 minutes late to dinner at a friend’s.

Friday – Sat through a high school musical. Bless their hearts. The student I went to see was amazing!

Saturday – Ran 3.5 miles! Brag: that’s 16% more running than scheduled! Went to yoga with a friend. It was one of those classes with lots of “Om”s and talking about universal life vibrations. Sigh.

Lunch, a nap, and then I spent the evening on the patio at the Denver Bicycle Cafe drinking beers.

Sunday – Sunday, Sunday, Sunday. Sunday I rested. Well, I actually convened a meeting of the Ladies Walking Club and we covered five miles. But I gave myself the day to catch up on work and eat a leisurely breakfast and take a bubble bath and not make the whole day about cramming in workouts and just happened to end up going for a long walk it was glorious.

I know there are people with like 9 kids and four jobs who run nonprofits and who are generally way more busy and important than I am, but I work hard and I rarely just give myself a full day off and it felt amazing.

Like, re-think my whole training plan amazing. As I remembered how completely burnt out I was at the end of last summer, I thought Sundays off might be the ticket to avoid that this year.

Tomorrow my long run is up to 8 miles. Yikes. Random thought: it is strange to run more miles than my round trip commute for two days. I rarely have any practical need to transport myself more than 3 miles from my home.

I’m the decider

I’ve been going without mascara lately and feeling very brave about it.

Kidding! 

Though I really have been skipping mascara, which is interesting only because it’s a break in my routine of five or ten years. But even my trusty waterproof wants to migrate when I swim. So. 

Sort of not really related…

Sometimes I think to myself, “If I had my choice, I would only wear dresses. Every day.” or “If I had it my way, I would never have to blow dry my hair ever again!”

And then I remember I do have my choice and I do have it my way. In the tiny country of what goes on my face and on my body, I am the dictator. Viva la Mel! 

scottyiseri:

This is my yearly statement of support for the general philosophy behind Share The Road.  

That said: 
Hang up your phone.

Turn on your light.

Wear your helmet. (even if there’s no law saying you have to) 

Stop at the stop signs. 

Take out your earbuds.

Are any of these requests controversial? 

And respect the one way street.

Book #5: Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Wait, why wasn’t this the book I was reading on the beach?

I wasn’t really familiar with Mindy Kaling beyond some twitter notoriety. I thought this was pretty funny (the Bossypants comparisons are inevitable…) but I got lost at the ending with the weird murder revenge fantasies and the funeral plans. Ended on a strange note.

The funniest part by far is probably the back cover, which I almost want to frame and hang up in my home.

Gratuitous Picture of Yourself Wednesday: Giraffe Edition

This giraffe for sale in the airport made me laugh. In part because it matched my carry on bag and my travel pillow (and one of my bikinis, not pictured). Also, because it’s for sale in the airport. How would getting that home even work?

In other random news (and by news I mean something I’d like to gripe about…) the weather in Denver is perfect and gorgeous. It’s very warm and pretty but not too hot. As a result, everyone is outside. Everyone. And it’s making me so grumpy.

Why do we have such disdain for the fair weather fans? Why do I care if there are 100 people running in City Park when it’s 65 degrees? Why does it bother me that there are suddenly so many other cyclists on the road during my commute?

I mean, I know it’s in part because more people outside means more people are doing dumb things like letting their dogs run amok or embracing unsafe cycling, but I’m not sure that’s it.

I want to be a laid back, easy going kind of positive person who can just enjoy the damn sunshine, but sadly I think I have the curmudgeonly grump gene.

Daylight Saving Time: We Also Cannot Be Friends

I wasn’t sure I had any more to say about Daylight Saving Time. But I do!

It’s not just silly and wasteful. It’s not just a grammar nightmare (Everyone says Daylight Savings Time [wrong!] but then continues to refer to time zones as standard time [count how many times people refer to ‘8 am Eastern Standard Time’ this summer, go ahead!] and then tack on how many folks will say ‘I loooove the ‘extra’ hour from DST!’ in the fall [really, they love the end of DST]).

It’s also just…a vocabulary issue.

From the google:

Daylight Saving Time (Saving-guh, not Savings-suh) runs from March through November. Eight months out of the year. Meaning “Standard” time is only four months out of the year. 

Hang on, doesn’t standard imply normal? Prevailing? Typical? Common? Most often the case…?

Add to that that I was 30 minutes late for breakfast this morning because my morning routine was thrown off  (not to mention my clock) and it’s 11:30 pm  (when it should only be 10:30) and I’m stressed about not getting enough sleep before a long Monday at work.

Do you know what already happens in the summer? The days get longer. You get more daylight in general, and more in the evening, without an act of congress even. Hunh.

So, I wouldn’t buy True Religion jeans anyways.

1. I think the horseshoes on the butt look pretty silly.
2. I’m not really into religion…
3. I’m also not really into spending $200 on a pair of jeans

But here’s a much better reason.

treekisser:

True Religion was on The Humane Society’s list of fur free retailers (until yesterday!), but they’ve gone back on their promise and have begun selling fur. Not only have they lied to consumers, but they’re getting their fur from China, a country with virtually no animal protection laws, and some of the worst animal cruelty we’ve ever seen. Animals killed for their fur on Chinese fur farms are kept in tiny, filthy cages before they are beaten, anally electrocuted, and in many cases, skinned alive…

The fur vest True Religion has for sale is labeled as “Raccoon Fur”. However, raccoon’s are not native to China, but Raccoon dogs are. Raccoon Dogs are a fox-like nocturnal residents of Asian and northern European forests that bear a remarkable resemblance to raccoons. Despite their resemblance to Raccoons, they are part of the canine family.

Please urge True Religion to recommit to their promise of being a fur-free retailer, and continue to support compassion in fashion.

Please sign & share the petition HERE: http://chn.ge/wRdQU2

(via furfreela)

(Source: http://www.change.org/petitions/true-religion-please-go-fur-free-again)

Why Can’t We Be Friends? (Because you suck.)

I live relatively close to downtown Denver, so about six blocks into my commute is kind of the last free parking block before you get into expensive downtown parking land. No meters, no two hour limits, free and clear. Plus, there are only houses on one side of the street, so there’s always plenty of space.

I see a handful of people park there and then walk five blocks or so to their office buildings. Fair enough, clever parkers!

But there is this new guy who is parking there and he is bugging the crap out of me. He drives, parks, and then pulls a cruiser bike out of the back of his SUV and then rides the last 10 blocks (a little less than a mile).

He is on my exact same schedule, and follows almost my same route, so we have been riding “together”-ish the past few days.

Like many cyclists, he does a bunch of dumb stuff. Doesn’t wear a helmet. Doesn’t have his lights on. (Has lights, they’re just not turned on, even in the early morning light on a grey and drizzly day.) Goes the wrong way down one way streets. (That part doesn’t match my route.) Runs red lights when it’s maybe not 100% safe to do so. Generally just toddles around like a dolt.

But he keeps frigging WAVING at me. And saying good morning. Like we should be friends because we’re the same. WE ARE NOT THE SAME.

This morning he veered off to take his “short cut” the wrong way down a one way street, then caught up to me at a stop light. (I went the legal way and had beat him there.)

“Hey! You must have a better route than I do.”

“Well. I don’t go the wrong way down one way streets. That probably helps.” 

“Oh, I like breaking the rules!”

“…” 

Breaking the rules! You mean the laws? And your face? And my good mood?

<Insert cute picture of a grumpy face. In your imagination.>