11 Random Facts...

Firstly, a huge shout-out to everyone who ran Kaiser Permanente! PRs and fabulous performances abounded, & I can't wait to read all your race reports. KP is one of my favorite local SF races & owns my current half marathon PR; if not for my current lack of half marathon fitness, I definitely would've been out there with you. :)

Secondly, Tasha from Healthy Diva tagged me to share 11 random things! (I'm assuming you all know how this works by now, so I will skip the rules.)

My dumb phone

1) I don't have a smart phone. In fact my phone is nearly 4 years old at this point. I will probably break down at some point this year because I have a feeling that pretty soon no one is going to support dumb phones anymore. I only replaced my last phone in 2008 when I accidentally hurled it across the room and into a glass of water, which shattered.

2) I love kale SO MUCH. Like, so much. I make kale salad or kale chips at least 2-3 times a week. I could probably live on kale.

3) I love my nephews, but I have no desire ever to have kids of my own. I'm pretty sure I would be a pretty abysmal parent, though, so it's probably for the best. ("Hey....Don't touch that stove....Told ya.")

4) I haven't had a haircut since April of last year. When I finally do get one, I'm thinking of going to the San Francisco Institute of Esthetics and Cosmetology, where you can get a fancy high-end hair cut from a student (under supervision) for $20-40, which is frankly the most I'm willing to pony up for hair as straightforward as mine.

5) I am FANATICAL about dishes going in the dishwasher in a certain way. (If I do it wrong, I feel certain the clowns will eat me.)

6) I often find myself powerfully ensaddened by my lack of dressy winter clothes, but too lazy to actually do anything about getting new ones. I have like 2 outfits that are not jeans that I wear over and over again.

7) My ears aren't pierced. Well; not really. They were pierced when I was five but I stopped wearing earrings when I was maybe eight or so, so they've grown back together.

8) I love advice columns & I read Dear Prudence & Miss Manners religiously. This definitely helps me keep any problems I might have in my own life in perspective.

9) A few years ago I read "Harry Potter & the Chamber of Secrets" in Spanish. My spoken Spanish leaves shall we say something to be desired, but I can read & write in it fairly well as long as I have a dictionary. I haven't done it in a while but I used to really like reading in Spanish because it was a great way to learn new words. (Note to self....Maybe start reading in Spanish again...)

A cocktail I made up called the Rusty Corpse. The recipe is somewhere on my woefully neglected mixology blog.

10) I love inventing new cocktails & actually have a mixology blog that I treat like my redheaded step-child (ie, I post on it maybe once every three months or something). There are some good recipes (original & curated) if you're into that sort of thing, though.

11) After 10+ years, there is a good chance that I will finally be a black belt in Isshin-ryu karate sometime this year! I have my last kyu (student) testing this coming Monday (2/6); then I'll start preparing for my shodan (first black belt) test.

Tasha's Questions:

1) What is your favorite recovery drink? Coconut water after a short run; after a long one, beer.

2) Love the treadmill or hate it? It's been a long time since I ran on a treadmill so it's hard to say. I didn't hate it (in fact it was super convenient when I was routinely going to work before sunrise & getting home after dark, & I occasionally covet the treadmills of others when the weather sucks), but I distinctly remember that I had real trouble staying on it for longer than 3-4 miles. (I never could watch TV or read magazines on the thing so I got bored easily.)

3) Name your favorite cross training exercise/routine. Heh...That's easy, because the only cross training exercise of any kind I do are my basic strength exercises for hips/glutes/hamstrings/core/etc.

4) Favorite book read within the last year? The Wise Man's Fear, by Patrick Rothfuss. Highly recommend!

5) What type of dessert do you like to indulge yourself in? I'm not super-picky, as long as there's not too much chocolate. I usually go for the fruity or baking spice desserts, but if someone offers me dessert, I will probably eat it.

6) What motivates you to get through a tough workout? The very calm, positive, reassuring split personality that lives in my head. She is always saying things like, "Come on, you can do it!" and quoting Vince Lombardi at me.

7) Favorite race ran? At this point probably CIM '11, because it was a whole weekend experience and I had so many amazing supportive people around me.

8) If you had to eat fast food, which would you prefer? I have been known to indulge in vegetarian fare from Taco Bell on occasion, particularly the bean burritos. Don't judge.

9) Favorite childhood memory? After roughly 4 minutes of consideration, probably starting riding lessons when I was seven or eight.

10) Runner’s World or Running Times or both? I 'like' them both on Facebook & occasionally click on an article if it looks interesting, but I wouldn't say I'm fanatically attached to one over the other.

I'm not going to tag anyone because it seems like pretty much everyone in my reader has already been tagged at least once, but if you have some more random things to share, by all means share away! I never tire of reading them. :)