Big-Hairy-Audacious

I think one of the reasons I had such a hard time getting motivated after CIM was because I just couldn't get excited about any particular goals. I'm not really interested in trying a different kind of event (no ultras, triathlons, or trail running beyond maybe the occasional just-for-fun morning with friends, and DEFINITELY nothing involving monkey bars or barbed wire). I'm not going to run another marathon this year, and I haven't been able to get that excited about apocryphal distances like 8K or 10-milers.

The logical thing to do, it seems, would be to focus on the shorter, canonical distances and work on closing the gap between my recent times and old PRs. Ie, shoot for a sub-1:40 half this year, or a sub-44:30 10K. Destroying my marathon PR suggests it's entirely possible, and I've got a good, long chunk of time before I need to start thinking about marathon training again. In a way, it's a no brainer--a couple of completely safe, reasonable goals, definitely doable with some work.

And...also completely unmotivating.

It's not that I wouldn't be pleased to run times around my PRs this year; truly, that would be awesome and I would blog the heck out of it. But right now, that's not enough to get me out on the roads more than 20-30 uninspiring miles a week. No matter how hard I try, I just can't get excited about it.

I've been trying to figure out why, and while chatting with a friend one day about my lack of enthusiasm for what should be pretty cool accomplishments, she asked me, "But have you ever thought about shooting for a 1:35 half?"

Of course I was appropriately scandalized by the very thought.

Hi, hello, I am not dead yet

Hi friends,

I figured I should pop in, however briefly, to assure you all that I a) am not dead and b) have not lost all interest in running. Mostly I've been traveling way, way too much these last few weeks & just generally ultra busy with work and family stuff. I've been getting a run in here & there when & where I can, but it's nothing to write home about, really. (Logging runs publicly has fallen completely by the wayside.) My weekly mileage has been as high as 40 miles and as low as zero, just depending on my travel schedule and what else is going on.

On Monday Mar. 27 I flew to Orange County for work, then flew back two days later on Wednesday night, madly threw in a load of laundry, & started packing three different bags for three wildly different locations. (I'd started on Sunday but there was some stuff I couldn't do until after laundry on Wednesday.)

Orange County does not lack for sidewalks :)

...though some are nicer than others. :-/

Three different climates, three different sets of gear & clothes.

Thursday morning we drove up to Tahoe for a long weekend of skiing, which believe it or not has been on the calendar for a couple of years; Don's parents have a timeshare there that they knew they wouldn't be able to use this year so we'd agreed to take it years ago. (Twist our arms, I know.)

Things started old cold-ish & gradually warmed up

By the last day he was sweating in a T-shirt.

One of the days I got a snowy(-ish) trail run in

Trail shoes were the right call.

Then Sunday evening we drove back to SF, where I had about an hour to unload the dirty clothes & switch out the ski bag for the work suitcase before Don drove me to the airport to get on a 12:30am flight to San Antonio for a conference where I was presenting the next morning. (Herewith kicks off several weeks of less-than-stellar sleep.)

Going on two hours of sleep, *maybe*

Fancy talk-giving math ladies! #obligatory

My boss & co-speaker at the Alamo. Never forget!

Don't miss the Riverwalk if you're in San Antonio. It's a bit touristy in places but other parts are super pretty & peaceful. (Narrow with lots of stairs & pedestrians, though, so I would not recommend for running.)

The view from dinner one evening

Friday afternoon I hopped a plane from San Antonio back to SF; this time there wasn't even time to go home, & Don just picked me up at the airport with yet another bag for our drive down to Paso Robles for some wine pickup events.

I took no vineyard pictures so please enjoy this one from last fall.

Wine pickup!

(Yes, I know you're feeling REALLY sorry for me right now. One endures, somehow.) It was a fun weekend as always, but we got home later than we planned on Sunday night & pretty much came home & crashed.

Then three lovely days at home! By which I mean, three lovely days of both of us suffering from mild food poisoning (the cause of which remains mysterious). YAY. :-/ Then Thursday morning it was back to the airport for a flight to Dallas, where we were celebrating his Grandad's 100th birthday (genuine YAY!). This was also a fun weekend, and I even got a couple of (verrrry humid) runs in with Don's dad & cousin, but I also never really adjusted to the time change and didn't sleep great for most of the trip.

There IS some nice running in Dallas, including a lovely trail that runs around White Rock Lake.

Now I'm back for an entire, blessed week (!) before I have to get back on a plane to LA next Monday. (Though, thankfully for only two days.) Ten days after that it's off to the Big Island for a genuine, real life vacation (WOOHOO!!), & ten days after THAT (and you will not believe this) it's back onto ANOTHER plane to Hawaii for a week, Oahu this time, for work. Then I'm finally home for two solid weeks, then a week in SoCal for work, and SWEET JESUS after that I actually think I'm not getting on a plane again (as far as I know) until September.

So maybe you can see how getting anything consistent going running-wise has been, if not impossible, at least beyond my meager capabilities.

The good news is that, although my travel schedule is not necessarily cooperating with the idea of starting to actual for-real train for a thing again, my motivation is starting to come back. I actually started getting excited about running a 5K or two in June and hitting the pavement hot & heavy this summer in hopes of rocking my goal half (Rock N Roll San Jose) in October. At this point I'm actually feeling not-terrible about committing to 6-10 easy miles most days & something in the 10-15 range on weekends when possible, and I'd also like to start adding in things like clamshells and lunges and single-leg squats and planks and other ab things here and there, even if it's only 10 minutes a day or a half hour a few times a week for now.

Odds are I haven't seen your blog in weeks, sooooo what's up with you?

More Race Discounts!

You guys, I can barely keep up! D:

The Giant Race, August 7, San Francisco, CA. Save $10 on all adult distances (half/10K/5K) until midnight Tuesday or 1000 registrations sold with code OPENINGDAY17TGR

Santa Rosa Marathon (+Half/10K/5K), August 26 & 27, Santa Rosa, CA. Save $15 with code NEWYEAR until April 6

Rock Tahoe Half Marathon, June 17, Lake Tahoe, CA. Save $15 with code WEROCKTAHOE until April 9

Enjoy!!

Books 2017: Quarter 1

No, it's not about running, but heeeyyyy I finally wrote a real post!! You're welcome.

As you probably already know, I've been reading a classic a month for the last two years. It started as a one-year project in 2014, but I've enjoyed it enough to keep going with it & will probably continue until it starts to feel like a chore. You can find my past reviews by clicking on the "books" tag at the end of this post, or be my friend on Goodreads. (You can also just go to the site & hunt down my review feed without being my friend, if that's more your speed.)

ICYMI, the classics I selected to read in 2017 are here.

On to the reviews!

Discount Codes UPDATED!!

They're coming in fast & furious!

(As always if you try one & it doesn't work please let me know so I can remove it.)

Enjoy!!

Water To Wine Half Marathon & 10K, August 6, Sonoma County (starting and finishing at Kendall Jackson Winery). Save 10% with LUCKY10 through March 30. I haven't run this race, but I've run the other two in the series (Windsor Green Half & Healdsburg Half) & they've been quite well done.

SACTOWN 10-Mile & 5k, April 2, Sacramento, CA. Save $5 with code LUCKY5 until ???. This race has a great reputation -- I've never run it but it's on my list.

The San Francisco Marathon, July 23, San Francisco, CA. Save $10 on the full or half with code TSFM2017STEPHANIEL or TSFM2017ERIN until ??? or $10 off the 5K with code TSFM2017STEPHANIEL5K or TSFM2017ERIN5K. (You should also check out Erin's blog!)

The Hollywood Half Marathon, April 8, Hollywood, CA. Save $5 with code STAR until ??? ***OR*** save 25% with code NEWSTAR (thanks Mike!!!).

Race to the End of Summer, September 3, San Jose, CA, . Get 25% off your registration for any distance with code NOJOKE17 until ???. I ran the 10K at this race last year & it was great, & I'm signed up again this year!