Jasmine and Orange Blosom in the Air

I am back in CALI! I am just getting over the jet-lag (and the fallen tree in my front yard... long story) and so glad I took today off from work to recuperate after my travel. I am taking off today and tomorrow, and then Friday for my b-day!

I am hoping that I can start getting back into my original training mode, where I was actually doing the weekday short(-ish) runs and the weekend long runs. So far I have not missed a weekend long run- even if the run didn't fall on the weekend or I was a little short on the miles, at least I did it!

So today, I did the 14 miler that was planned for the weekend. I took a look online on google maps to find a path. Now- those of you who know I work for Yahoo!- I know its almost blasphemous for me to be using a G product. But they actually have the functionality I need! I've tried Yahoo! maps- but unless you have a specific beginning and end spot- and can assume the mileage is the same on foot as in the car, its not much help. I have tried Mapmyrun.com - but I don't want to sign up for a premium account, so I have ads that get in the way, and also the navigation of the routes is hard to chart. My neighborhood doesn't seem to look right on that map. Google Maps actually has a "walking" route technology which lets me plot my course from my house to wherever I want to go and back- so that's just what I did.

I decided I should be plotting out my course somewhere familiar, so I went with heading into Pasadena. I found out that if I walked from my house down Huntington to Oak Knoll, then left on Oak Knoll into San Marino, past the old Ritz Carlton (now the Langham) to the intersection with California and Lake. Left on California across to Arroyo, left on Arroyo, right on Glenoaks, left on Fair Oaks and Right on Monterrey. Then take Monterrey up and over hill into Hermon and then the crazy hill back into my neighborhood. Plenty of ups & downs, plenty of beautiful houses to look at and plenty of stores/ restaurants (in case I need a pit stop or another drink). I mapped it out and it was 14 miles on the map.

I knew I would need a little more than 4 hours, since our virtual half marathon took us 4hrs., so I got out of the house at 11am. I couldn't have asked for a nicer day. A little cool when I left so I had on a sweatshirt. Actually the real reason I had the sweatshirt on is to keep my stuff. I am finding that I might need something else to keep my stuff for these long runs. I bought a Camelbak water pack, but the first time I tried walking with it I felt a little like a BORG from Star Trek, with tubes going in and out of everywhere- plus the water didn't really stay that cool. I think it was a good investment and will be helpful for hiking and other outdoor activities, but not for long run/ jog/ walks.

The sweatshirt has pockets, so things like my blackberry (in case I need to call for a ride), ID (in case I die and need to be identified), some cash (in case I need to hop on a bus or buy a big mac), house keys (to get back home in the event I finish this walk) a granola bar (for quick protein) and small sugary snacky things (I read that skittles and gummy candy were good for those quick bumps, so I have been bringing trick-or treat sized ones). The one thing the sweatshirt does not have is a zipper on the pockets, so I am safety pinning them- not the best. Plus I am not as fond of my iPod armband, so I have that in the pocket, too. and I am carrying my water bottle (its a Nebraska Husker's bottle I was given as a parting gift from my class. Very cool@!)

So when it starts getting warmer and I have to take this sweatshirt off and wrap it around my waist, part of the walk becomes and exercise in balance- making sure nothing falls out of the pockets as I walk at my 17.5min/ mile pace.

It was really cool to walk sections of town that I normally drive. I feel like I can get anywhere I need to, whether I had my car or not. I know that when I tell people where I went they will be like- WOW that was FAR!. Plus I actually got to look at the houses I always drive by- especially in San Marion. OMG those houses are GORGEOUS! I normally am driving 25 miles and hour- not walking 3.5miles. Just beautiful.

It felt so good to be outside today and not in the office. I was smelling jasmine and orange blossoms as I went. Feeling spring. Feeling alive. Sending texts to friends to break the monotony of one foot in front of the other- and then reminding myself to focus on that one foot in front of the other. My shins stopped hurting after the 2nd mile- as they have been lately- and I managed to stop to stretch them out and my calves, too.

As I walked down California, I saw a friend's friend and her dad walking toward me. She totally didn't recognize me, and I guess it didn't help that I forgot her name at that moment. Oh well, funny to see other people out in the middle of a Monday. Its like we were all playing hooky and just living for the day.

It was a long one today, but I did it. My pace didn't really drag or slow down, I was consistent over the walk. I had a little trouble with the hill on Monterrey, but I did what the book said and kept the positive self talk going- "I can do this, I am doing this, I will do this" and then when I got over the hump- it was all cake from there.

The only downside when I got home was the heat rash I found on the back of my calves. I am not sure if its really heat rash- but it definitely hurts. Its under where my knee brace goes. I had a little of this in Omaha- but I thought it was because it was so DRY there! (Don't even start me on the dandruff I got while I was out there- which has thankfully gone away with my return to LA). I will put on some lotion and see what happens with these "burns" on my calves and back of my knee.

At this point, I should really get real- I have not run/ jogged anything on this walk. I DID complete 14 miles- but it was a walk. Potentially a power-walk? But not a walk/ jog and definitely not a RUN. But you know- I am ok with that. My knees don't hurt, my ankle is a little stiff, but I am not throbbing or heaving like I was when I first tried this. Maybe if I had a little less weight on my frame, I would be more confident in jogging for real- but its not going to disappear overnight- so I have to be good with where I am NOW. And I am. I just finished 14.5 F**King miles in 4hrs and 15 mins! YEA BOI!

Tornado warning!

I dropped my husband off at the airport this morning before I came into work. The day was warm and seemed a little cloudy- but nice. Not too humid- but became increasingly more so as the day wore on.

Now, I have not spent anytime in the Midwest, aside from this trip, so I didn't know this is what they typically refer to as "tornado weather".

At 5:15pm, the class and I were in the room on our headsets, all on a conference call. They were receiving feedback for the mock calls they had completed that day. All of a sudden I heard a loud horn/ siren coming from outside. I looked up and caught the eye of the trainees with a question on my face. One of them said- TORNADO. (This was the moment I wished my husband was around, so I could tell him all teh "speaker" looking things on top of the buildings downtown really WERE siresn, instead of microwave towers, like he kept saying. Oh well- guess my "i told you so" will have to come later)

So I said to the people on the phone as calmly as I could muster, while my adrenaline started pumping, "We have to go- there's a tornado"

I grabbed my purse and my phone and started following the Nebraska natives to the hallway. I realized the trainer in the room next to me was just standing in her class- next to the window. I know she is from Portland and used to stormy skies, but I also knew she hadn't spent much time in the Midwest. I said to her "Its a Tornado. We need to go. Do you hear the sirens outside?"

She said "Yes- but I didn't hear anything in the building, so I figured it was more suggestive than directive." I was like- "I'm following the trainees. They've handled this before. We're headed to the staircase. I think you should come." She said "Ok- but let me grab our manager" - who is from Burbank, like me, and probably didn't have any idea what was going on.


I didn't want to loose the trainees who headed to the staircase, so I pushed ward. Down 6 flights of stairs and into a room that was used as a gym. There was a TV and a bathroom there in case we had to be there a while. There was also a treadmill. While I thought about walking for a little bit, I didn't have my shoes- so I refrained.

At this point the internal building alarm system started going off telling everyone to get to the "core" of the building. I figured we were comfortably there and just kept watching the news in anticipation of feeling the building rock or shake or lift off the ground.

Needless to say, after the first 20 mins waiting- I started getting impatient and realized that this might be the only tornado I would be in. The news said that the funnel was over Boys Town (where we were) and so a few of us snuck out of the room to see the clouds through the windows. I took a couple pics and then headed back.


We waited it out for close to an hour before the news finally said it had passed and the building announcements stopped. We headed back up to the 6th floor. Most of the trainees took off, but I had to hop back on the phone for my daily debrief and that's when the real weather began.

The roof of the parking garage looked like someone had a pressure hose blowing particles off the top of it. The hail was gumball and golf size- alternating as it hit the windows next to me. And just as quickly as it came- within 25 mins it was gone and the sun came out as the clouds passed along in the sky.

Something I have learned about the Midwest being here, is the wind blows fast and hard and it takes things it has been collecting from one state to another- whether its freezing rain, clouds, or debris. My dear friend told me before I left, "if you don't like the weather in the Midwest, just wait 20 mins" and only today do I understand what that means.

I left for the hotel around 7:30pm and the sun was only starting to set. I guess it didn't get dark right away since the clouds had reversed and the sun was below them. The air was still warm and electric and it was humid. I was hoping I would get to hear some beautiful thunderstorm when I got back to the hotel- but so far nothing as I get ready to sleep.

Who knows what the next few days will bring before I head home on Sat 3/28. My friend Tara was flying in tonight and I so grateful that even though she was delayed in the air for 30 mins she made it in safely. She said she say the funnel cloud in the air from the plane! Amazing world. Amazing day.

My Omaha Virtual Half Marathon

This morning my husband was still undecided on whether he would join me for my "virtual" half marathon. The clouds were hovering this morning, and it was clear we wouldn't get into the 70's today. I think when he saw me getting on my gear and realized that the day was going to be nice, he may've figured that he'd rather spend it outside with me, than in the hotel room without me :)
I prepared him for the fact that this could take us more than 4 hours, which is why we were starting no later than 9am. That way, when we finished we could go straight to Upstream and get their Sunday brunch buffet as a celebration of our hard work. (Actually, maybe the promise of the buffet is what got him to join me? Regardless, I was so glad he was there!)

I packet my new purse- which is more like a messenger bag- with 3 Gatorades, a couple waters, a couple cliff bars and some jerky. I started off carrying it, but was thankful when my husband was willing to shoulder it. I don't think I realized how tired my shoulders get with something slung over them for long periods of time!


So we took off, into the ConAgra Corp park, the Heartland of America park, across the bridge to the Seaside port and across the pedestrian bridge into Iowa. At this point, we had gone a couple miles and both of us had to pee. We tried to use the bathrooms at the "Playland Park" just on the other side of the bridge, but they were still locked. It was only a little after 9am. So we decided to go to the left and head to the HARRAH's casino.
When we got there- we both realized we didn't have our IDs with us! I asked the guard at the door if he needed to see our IDs and he said "How old are you?" I said, 34 and my husband said "42" and the guy just laughed and waved us in. A little part of me felt old, but it was soon overcome by the part of me that had to go pee...badly! Total culture shock walking into a casino from outside. This casino was set up like a real riverboat on the Missouri River. The smell of cigarette smoke immediately overtook me as we found our way to the bathrooms.


Luckily we did our business and got out of the ringing slot machines and smoke and back into the open flat land. We started walking the other direction on the path- the direction I had never gone before. We found ourselves side by side with the freeway. Seeing exits for G Street, F Street and other parts of Crater Lake and Council Bluffs, Iowa.



The Missouri river was on our left and the freeway was on our right. We had almost reached 7 miles when I suggested we start back. It was actually kind of cold! My nose was a little red and my body was trying to adjust to the heat from yesterday and the chill from today.

We made it down the path to an old Railroad bridge before we turned around. My husband decided to go down and explore it a little. It was one of those old bridges that rotates and connects into one long track or rotates and separates to let ships go by. It hadn't been used in years and was all rusty on the big wheel they must have used to connect the sides of the bridge back in the day.


As we started back, the sun began to break through the clouds. We made our 13.1 mile goal as we approached the hotel and ended up going a total of 13.3 before we got to the room. I had to shower before even contemplating going to Upstream for breakfast. I think both of us underestimated how much strain 13.1 miles would be on our feet. My husband thought he had broken his foot again! But after a few hours of ice and some Advil, he was doing much better.




We got food at Upstream and then laid around the rest of the afternoon watching movies and watching the thunderstorm roll through Downtown O. Its gonna be hard to say goodbye tomorrow. This has been such a great weekend. I am so lucky to have his support.

Exploring the O

My husband flew into town to see me in Omaha on Thurs morning and today was our first full day together to go exploring! I don't think he expected to go for a long walk- but I strapped on my running shoes just in case. We walked all around the Old Market area, checked out some lofts on Jackson- in a building that was built in 1891, we went to a record store (Drastic Plastic), we had a slice of pizza at Zios, we had some coffee at Aroma, checked out some 2nd hand stores and some of the other cool stuff around.

Then we started walking up 10th st. I admit, I had looked at a map the night before and saw that the zoo, the botanical gardens and the baseball stadium (where they do the college world series) were all off of 10st. Just a couple of miles up. It was beautiful weather today (close to 75! Is this really Omaha?) and so we climbed up the stairs alongside the 10th st bridge (just down from Aroma) and then started going south down 10th street. We passed by the old Union Pacific Central Station- which is now the Durham Western Heritage Museum and Lucky's Lounge - which I hear is owned by Kevin Costner's ex-wife?


We kept walking and passed by a lot of old Victorian houses and some not so nice houses. I guess we ended up in a neighborhood a little more akin to our neck of the woods here in LA. There was a Family Dollar store, lots of churches and a lot of Hispanic speakers. Felt like home.

As we walked- I saw a sign for the Botanical gardens and tried to encourage my husband to go a little further- but he was starting to poop out, literally (2nd note to self about the espresso before walking!)- and also didn't have on the shoes I did. He was wearing Converse and starting to get a blister. So we walked down to 13th st and started walking back. 13th had less cool houses and was way more urban- but it was such a gorgeous day, none of that really mattered.

By the time we got back to the hotel, we decided to take a nap. According to my Nike+ we had actually gone 3.33 miles in the hour we were out!

Tomorrow 3/22/09, is when the Pasadena Marathon is happening. I had signed up to do the Half- Marathon there with Hirono before I knew about the Omaha trip. I decided if I couldn't be there- that I could still do it virtually from here
in Omaha. He doesn't know it yet- but I am going to try to recruit my husband to join me for the 13.1 miles tomorrow. I know it will probably take me 3-4 hrs and it would be so cool if he came with! Let's see what he says...

To Iowa and back!

I walked to Iowa today. It just sounds so cool to say it! I walked to Iowa- across one whole state.

Granted, where I am staying in Omaha (Old Market, downtown) is not too far from Council Bluffs, Iowa- but just the idea that I could walk across state lines, across the Missouri river is a pretty cool prospect! And who'd've guessed that the weather would be so gorgeous today! at least 72-75 in the sun.

Last time I wrote I was finally feeling better after being for almost a week. By that Thursday I was feeling 100% whole again- had my voice back, not coughing, not wheezy or stuffy. It was great! Then on Friday I picked up lunch from a place called Taco John's- which is similar to a Taco Bell out here in the Mid-West. (Note to self- do not trust any restaurant named after a Mexican Bathroom!)


Needless to say- while it tasted great going down- it did not taste great coming back up. And it started coming back up Friday afternoon before class ended. I had to excuse myself from class between presentations to run to the bathroom. I ended up sick Friday night, all day Sat and was feeling better on Sunday- so I decided to venture out and see if I could actually do the 11miles I was scheduled to do on my training.

I started out by walking in downtown Omaha- in and out of the streets. From 10th up to 19th and back down. Up Jackson and down Farnam, and all the streets in between. When I had exhausted the downtown and hadn't gone more than 7 miles, I decided to hear for the bridge. This pedestrian bridge has only been up for a couple years- so its pretty neat to see it like the Brooklyn bridge, all suspension wires and people.


I went across it to Iowa and started heading toward the most recognizable landmark, the HARRAH's casino. Once I made it there I decided to turn back and go back across the bridge. By then I got a text from Jen that they had picked up Katie (a new student from OR) and had returned my rental car to the hotel lot. They were sitting down for lunch- so I asked if I could join them.

I went through the Heartland of America Park near the ConAgra HQ and back out into Old Market. By the time I walked up to the restaurant I was only at 10.85 miles, so I had to walk around the block a couple times to make sure I hit 11miles. I wasn't too exhausted to do it- and I really really wanted to get to that 11mile mark and hear the Lance Armstrong message.

I walked into the restaurant, that said proper attire required- hoping that meant shoes and shirts- not NO SWEATY PEOPLE IN WORKOUT GEAR, and went straight to the bathroom to try to wash up a little. My hands were swollen and I had to pee- but other than that- I was feeling pretty great for having walked 11 miles in one shot! Today I did 11.01 miles in 3 hours- not too shabby!

Omaha treadmills & Central time TV

I've been in Omaha now for almost 6 days and I have been sick the whole time! When I flew in on Wed, 3/4/09, I arrived at the OMA airport after 11pm, got my rental car and managed to drive to the hotel and get in bed by a little after midnight. The next day I went to the new office and started working in the training room to get it set up for my class. What that meant was tearing down 11 computer setups and rewiring most of the room. It also involved sifting through a lot of dust and ultimately getting really stuffy.

On Thursday, I thought it was just allergies, but on Friday I was barely able to breathe and then Sat was getting a sore throat on top of it. I called my doctor and asked for a Z-pack prescription. She put it in at a local Walgreen's and that night I went to bed around 8pm. I slept most of Sunday in preparation for Monday's class. I had half a voice on Monday and by Tuesday I was able to breathe with just a little coughing. So I found the treadmill at the hotel and climbed on.

One of the cool things about the treadmill was that it looked out the window at the cold snow (which I was NOT going to go running in) and also up at a TV. Omaha counts as Central time for major TV networks, which means all the prime time shows start an hour before they would back in CA. I got on the treadmill at 7:30pm and ended up stumbling on Biggest Loser (probably my FAV reality show right now- aside from Top Chef and ANTM) and got to watch almost the whole episode while walking. I ended up doing 5.12 miles and went for 1.5hrs total.

While I did walk the whole thing- I felt good for getting up and doing it. After being so road-worn and sick what felt like SO LONG- it was nice to feel my blood pumping again.
On the way out of the gym I noticed that my two traveling companions were having dinner in the hotel restaurant, so I walked over and joined them. It felt funny to be in gym clothes in the restaurant (do' rag and all!) but it was nice to eat a big steak in the company of two great ladies. Plus I DID NOT feel any guilt for the garlic mash and oddly seasoned, but super tender steak I had for dinner.

Back to work tomorrow- up again at 5:30am and down to meet the girls at 6am for breakfast. Then off to the office by 6:30a, arrive by 7:10am with Starbucks reinforcements and prep for class which begins at 8am. Still getting used to the time difference- feels like getting up at 3:30am. I doubt I could actually do this at home... something different about waking up in a hotel. You never really sleep as deeply as you would at home. Just 3 more weeks and I can sleep deeply at home again.

Yahoo! Go Games

Today was the closest thing I got to another run in during the sales conference. We did a thing called "GO Games" where they broke all 850 of us into 85 teams of 10. Then they gave us a cell phone and had us do an activity that was across between the Amazing Race and a Scavenger Hunt. We had cell phones provided that we downloaded our next clues from and answered some trivia on as well as digital cameras to take pics and video answers to some of the clues. We also interacted with actors who were playing specific contacts at different locations in the hotels. It was really fun!
It was also really exhausting in the heat (90+) to be running from one place to another. So I brought my iPod with me and my running shoes and thought I could calculate how far we ran as we did all the activities!
Well- the lesson I learned during that experiment is that inactivity pauses the Nike+ sensor. So when we ran from one place to another it counted the distance- but when we stopped for more than a minute without intentionally hitting the pause button, the sensor paused itself! Since I didn't know that, I didn't unpause it, nor notice this till after 3 hours- and presumably a few miles. The end result on my sensor was 0.14 miles... BOOOO! Well- at least we had fun. Plus- I was actually able to run and keep up with the other people on my team who appeared to be in much better shape than me!

I think I will have a 10K for dinner, please...

Hirono and I arrived for the sales conference about 15 mins late, due to some undesirable traffic in Palm Springs. Well- it was undesirable because I took a wrong turn off the freeway when I should have stayed on the 10FWY instead of getting off towards Palm Springs... but that's besides the point... The point is, that from the moment we arrived at 11:15am- we were involved in prep exercises, lunch and then sessions started at 1pm! We had a full day of sessions and the plan we had of doing a run that day- in the daylight was almost lost...

Thank goodness Hirono was up to gearing up and going for a run before dinner. She was originally thinking that we could quickly kick out 3 miles (even though my goal was to go 8) and then make it to our team meeting for cocktails. But we both got so inspired by each other and motivated by each other that we ended up running (and I can honestly say running here- because I ran more than I ever have with her alongside me) for 1.35hrs! We ended up going 6.44 miles and wrapped our way around the Renaissance Esmeralda hotel about 6 times. We were taking part of the golf cart trail and watched them set up for dinner on the back lawn, smelled dinner and when we saw people lining up for dinner- we both decided we were too hungry to go the full 8 miles.

What was so great about this run, is that it was a little before twilight when we started, we saw the sunset, and the stars arise. We heard the band warming up for their dinner performance (like a Surf Punk band without vocals- think Dick Dale's song on the Pulp Fiction Soundtrack) and found our groove together. There were times she was running ahead of me and times I was running ahead of her (which I never thought I would do). It felt like we were there for ourselves- but we were definitely in it together. I knew we were both safe- even as it got really dark.

One thing I discovered on this run is that my shin splints always hurt like a bitch when I start- but they actually WARM UP! By the 2nd or 3rd mile, they stop hurting and I can stop and stretch them out. I used to think that pain would never subside and I would have to just live with it- but I can actually run through it. Then other pains arise- but at least I am recognizing them and none of them seem like emergencies.

I am hoping to get another run in before we drive home on Wed 3/4/09. I found out recently that I will be flying to Omaha for a month on Wed 3/4/09- in the afternoon- so it will be good to get some runs in before I head out. If my experience in Manila was any indication of how it is to open up a new office, then I doubt I will get much work-out time while I am there. And from what I hear about Omaha weather- I doubt any of it will be out doors.

But for tonight, I got in a 10K before dinner and then feasted guilt-free on the fine buffet they had for us, with roast beef, garlic mash, shrimp, pasta and all the fixings. Oh and salad.