I'm stronger

Crop Walk was very successful. The UU Church of the Brazos Valley raised over $2,000. Don't know if we won the challenge from Friends Congregational. They raised a bit more money but the challenge was a per capita challenge so as a smaller congregation we might have won on that basis. It is still up in the air.

The CROP Walk coordinators welcomed us back and recognized some new organizations.

Loki did well. He got a bit excited upon seeing another dog and nearly knocked down some people with his leash at the beginning. He calmed down after the first mile. About halfway he found a nice puddle and decided to lay in it for a while. He made it through, got some attention, ice cream and water.

As for the Saturday 50K. I did not finish. I ran about 20 miles.

I missed a turning point and ran over 4 miles of trail twice. I was timed at 5 hours and 21 minutes when I made it to the finish line.

I was quite frustrated with my slow pace and by mile 14 decided to cut it short. At a lot of places on the trail I felt I was running faster than my timing indicated. It was 4 hours and I was not halfway done. I did not want to be out there after 3:00 pm. I called my husband to let him know that I would be at the finish in about 45 minutes, assuming I could complete the last mile and a half in that time. Then missing a turn really added to the frustration. He called when I was not at the finish line and I told him that I thought I missed a turn and I was doing a part of the trail again but I knew where that trail would lead eventually. He kept calling to try to help the race people figure out where I was. They did figure it out and I found a point on the trail where I was able to get off and get to a location where I could be picked up. A truck picked me up and I rode about .75 miles. The driver of the truck allowed me to get out and I ran to the finish line. I'm not sure how my results will get recorded.

I wasn't the only who missed the turn. Some of the others doubled back but I didn't. The race director thinks a sign might have been knocked down while doing an extraction the night before.

At least I ran my 20 mile long run for training for the San Antonio Marathon. I can taper with a clear conscience.

I think my less that satisfactory performance was because I was not preparing for this race but just using this race to prepare for another one. I have run these trails faster and in more brutal temperatures.

I realized that I don't enjoy trail running as much as road racing. The tripping, isolation and wrong turn did not enhance my trail running experience. It will be a long time before I attempt a 50K on a trail. I really prefer road racing.

Saturday night enjoyed a nice margarita. My feet hurt but I did not care.

I'm at home resting. My calves are sore.

It did not kill me therefore I must be stronger.

Secretarial Violence and Hot Pockets

Ed Crankshaft has seen a few offices. He knows how deadly secretarial violence can become. Wielded by the right hands, a Swingline stapler can be quite deadly. I can build an IED with my office equipment. Don't tick me off or I won't build that chart from Excel data for your ass. I can understand the secretarial violence in Iraq, if Office 2007 has been implemented across the country. I almost engaged in secretarial violence, this morning, attempting to do something in Excel 2007 that was so simple in Excel 2003. Ended up doing it in Excel 2003 because I did not have the time to explore and learn the nuances of 2007. Yes, software implementation without training can lead to secretarial violence. Only Batuik would use violence and destruction as a set up for a lame pun.

The always amusing Ink Pen can be found here. Read it and other comics at GoComics.com and wonder why with so much brilliance to choose from that newspaper editors still run Cathy on the comics page. This Ink Pen cracked me up because I just finished the chapter in the God Delusion about the burnt offerings that Yahweh always demanded. I have read the Old Testament and often wondered why Jehovah was into barbecue. Since the God of Israel no longer requires barbecue I wonder what he accepts now. Hot Pockets!

I have more entries in my head about my fishing trip and Cindy Sheehan's resignation from the peace movement. Those will come later.

I'm bringing Abbey and Loki home from the boarding kennel this afternoon. I will be glad to see them. My workout for the afternoon will consist of cleaning the house and the backyard. Trying to get everything back in order after a vacation.

Running log

This week I ran/ cycled 13.01 miles and burned 1007.9 calories. Everyone tells me that I look thinner but the weight on the scale is not shifting in the downward direction. Maybe I should stop worrying about it.

Monday: ran 5K in 35:06
Tuesday: cycled 6.28 miles in 35:00
Thursday: ran 5K in 32:38

I'm going fishing this weekend. The annual family fishing trip to Toledo Bend Lake.

The wall

Clouds! Gray! Depression!

Abbey had her stitches removed last night. She behaved quite well during the procedure. Not a single peep. She also slept through storm that came in early this morning. The same storm knocked out the power and screwed up my alarm clock. I did not get out of bed until 7:00 am.

I'm attempting to make it through the 10:00 am wall. Everyday, I have trouble staying awake from 10:00 am to 11:00 am. Sometimes the sleepiness starts at 9:30 am. If I can make it to 11:00 am then I'm okay. The years of screwing with my natural rhythms are taking a toll. Morning people would be more tolerable if they did not act as if it was some kind of special virtue.

I'm looking forward to the fishing trip. Walter is looking forward to it more. He doesn't care whether or not we actually fish, he just wants to get away.

Still looking for someone to temp foster Abbey. Loki will be boarded.

Rainy days and Mondays always get me down.

Spring Break is over and I'm back at work. I really needed the break. Tuesday before the break I packed my running shoes in my gym bag. I got to the gym and discovered that I had one of each of two different shoes. I ran with the Asics on my left foot and the Nike on my right foot. At least this was better than the time I packed two right shoes.

I love the random fits of insanity that the characters display in Ballard Street. Not everyone's kind of humor but I find it hilarious.

The old needs to make way for the new.

Can Vera afford an apartment at Charterstone? She's probably depressed about the crappy apartment locater service she used. Probably convinced her that the cracked plaster is that "shabby chic" that all the trendy interior designers are talking about.

Send in the clones! With so much brilliance to choose from why is Momma, Cathy, B.C., Wizard of Id, Marvin and Drabble still in the papers? There is no reason for mediocrity on the comics page.

I did not update last night because of a thunderstorm. I will do an update after I finish with this blog entry and another update this evening. I have the rest of the week off. I hope to get some things done at my pace.

The worst depiction of God I've ever seen. I thought it was some kind of troll, dwarf, ogre or other mythological character. Thank badly drawn God for captions.

WTF?!? Good badly drawn God, what the hell is going on in this Heathcliff cartoon? Oh badly drawn God, my head is spinning trying to figure this cartoon out. Can I squeeze in one more badly drawn God damn joke into this blog entry? Badly drawn God damn it! This is a bad way to begin a vacation.

I can't seem to get the hang of this week. Sunday doesn't count. I find myself easily distracted - usually by shiny moving objects. The time off next week will do me some good.

Everybody get a little closer to each other!