Dude, CLEAR Converse All Stars? WANT. Just the perfect thing to show off your handknitted socks! (Link courtesy of passionknit.)
Month: May 2008
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Mother’s Day Classic
The Snook and I got up at the butt-crack of dawn this morning to head to the Domain for the 2008 Mother’s Day Classic 8K race. (That’s five miles for the non-metric.) We ran it together before in 2006, but the Snook wasn’t running this year; he was my support staff. We met up with Fiona and her running buddy Jan-Maree (and the Sock Victim, who was also there strictly for moral support). The girls strapped on their timing chips and started stretching, while the boys huddled for warmth and talked about computer stuff. I felt cautiously optimistic. My cold is mostly gone from my head, but my lungs are still fighting it off. My goals were to run the whole thing, and to finish at a better than 7:00/km pace (which is what I need for the half-marathon next weekend). The gun fired and we were off. As usual, there was a huge crush at the beginning so I lost the other two girls pretty quickly. (I figure I’m tall, so it’s always the other person’s responsibility to spot me.) I settled into my pace pretty easily, but I could immediately tell this was going to be a slog. Before I caught the cold last week, my shorter distance runs had been starting to feel really easy and effortless. I’d been hoping to feel like that today, but instead I felt like I was really gasping for oxygen. (I’m guessing that was the effect of the cold on my lungs.) I had a stitch threatening from about the 5K mark. I really, really wanted to take a walk break on the 2nd lap, but I told myself how great it was going to feel to run the whole thing. On the last steep hill, I put my head down and channeled Steve Runner, chanting in my head “I eat hills for breakfast. I EAT HILLS FOR BREAKFAST.” It wasn’t fast, but I made it up that sucker. Coming down the path towards the finish line, I spotted the Snook and the Sock Victim waiting at the bottom. I managed to croak to the Snook: “Haven’t stopped yet!” I was so focused on that thought that I didn’t even realize he was filming me. I didn’t have much left in the tank, but I managed a tiny sprint towards the finish line. And then I was done! I’d met my two goals: I ran the whole thing (my longest continuous run to date), and according to the iPod I averaged 6:50/km (which is exactly what I need to do for the first 11K next week). The other two girls finished a couple minutes behind, and we all congratulated each other over apples and some much-needed water.
Jan-Maree, Me, and Miss Fee (along with Jan-Maree’s two girls) before the race. So much pink!
Somehow I missed the Snook on my first lap, but he caught this picture of my back as I zoomed past him.
Miss Fee and Jan-Maree, not far behind me, give a wave to the boys as they finish their first lap.
Here I am checking my iPod time immediately after crossing the finish line.
Sweaty but happy to be done!I’d meant for this race to give me confidence going into the half-marathon next week, but honestly, I think I feel more scared than ever. I just wish my lungs would clear up as soon as possible so I can get in one or two more “good-feeling” runs…
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Meteorologists = FAIL
Meteorologists don’t know nothin’. I sorta guessed that, but it’s nice to have it validated. Remember Opera in the Domain? Every weatherperson in Sydney said it was going to pour rain, to the extent that a bunch of people piked. And it turned out to be a gloriously sunny afternoon! (Link courtesy of PCJM.)
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Happiness = Married, No Kids
“Want to be happy? Don’t have kids.” Of the trifecta of being married, having money, and having kids, a Harvard academic says being married makes the biggest difference to your personal level of happiness. He’s pretty harsh about parenting: “Parents tell me all the time that: ‘My child is my greatest source of joy’… My reply is that: ‘Yes, when you have one source of joy, it’s bound to be your greatest’.” Yowch.
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RunningBlog
I’ve given this blasted cold four days of rest, with no running or swimming in that time. Thursday I started to feel a lot better though, so today I decided enough was enough. I put on my new shoes, zipped up a hoodie for extra warmth, and headed out for a slow, easy run through the neighborhood. I did 25 minutes of jogging without stopping, and though it didn’t feel as easy as some of my recent runs, it wasn’t too difficult either. I didn’t start hacking or coughing or anything. And the burgeoning sinus headache I’d felt when I woke up? Completely disappeared. (If you’d told me six months ago that running could actually make me feel better, I’d never have believed you.) I’m still planning to do the Mother’s Day 8K on Sunday, but I’m not going to kill myself trying to get a PB or anything. It’s all about Sunday the 18th, and my goal right now is just to hold it together for nine more days and give myself the best chance to finish the half-marathon.
Oh. And my race pack came in the mail last night. I’ve got my official race number (#508, baby! I must have gotten in early) and my timing chip. Seeing them on the dining room table suddenly made it all seem very real. Nine more days.
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Korean Citizenship
“Ask a Korean” tackles the issue of South Korean citizenship. Check out the section on “simplified naturalization”:
1. If one of your parents was a Korean citizen. (Emphasis on “was.” It’s ok if your parent renounced Korean citizenship.)
Hey, I think that includes me! My mom was born in Korea to a Korean woman, so she would’ve been a citizen, right? (She would’ve renounced it as a child when they moved to America.) That’s pretty neat.
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Wii Fit
I headed to EB Games tonight to pick up my pre-ordered Wii Fit kit, and I was so excited. I tried to get the guy to price match Kmart, but he informed me that Kmart sold out of ’em way earlier today. (They don’t match a price if there’s no stock.) Oh well. I wanted the thing NOW. So I carried it home and set it up. Snookums walked in while I was doing my first fitness test, so we quickly got his character set up on it too.
Okay, first off, this thing is ADORABLE. I wouldn’t have thought it was possible to anthropomorphize a heavy (and it is heavy) plastic platform, but the Japanese are geniuses. It speaks in this fun squeaky voice – “Initializing!” – that kept cracking me up. Of course, I stopped laughing as soon as Mr Balance Board calculated my weight and BMI, and my cute little Mii suddenly grew quite stout around the middle. Bugger. (For the record, Snookums is smack dab in the middle of his ideal weight. Bastard.) It also told us that our “fitness ages” are in the mid-forties, and it somehow correctly predicted that I trip a lot. (I wish I were joking.) We set our fitness goals and then started playing.
There are four types of games (Yoga, Balance, Muscle, and Aerobic), and we started with Balance since we’re lazy. Heading the soccer balls was surprisingly difficult… but so fun too. The board is very sensitive. I had to keep reminding myself that moving my actual head didn’t do anything; it’s all about shifting your weight. Incidentally, I love that Wii games always use the Miis from your machine, which meant that the people firing soccer balls (and shoes, and panda heads) at me included Fiona, Steph and Eva, Andrew and Kathleen, and basically anybody who’s ever played Wii at our house. I found the slalom skiing pretty hard until I worked out that I needed to bend my knees and shift my weight forward. That helped move me down the mountain faster. I think the funniest moment of the night, though, was when Snookums sped down the ski jump and stood up too late, resulting in his Mii doing a crazy header down the mountain (and turning into a giant snowball).
After Snookums retired to cook dinner, I tried out some of the yoga games. I chose the female trainer (she sounds like a Pom!) and started each exercise with a tutorial. They were surprisingly well done and effective! Even the simplest “game” – deep yoga breathing – takes on a new level of difficulty when you’re trying to keep a dot representing your center of gravity in the middle of a circle onscreen. I was actually pretty good at the yoga stuff, and I managed to unlock an extra level already. I can’t wait to try it out properly (like, when I’m not just about to each dinner).
So overall, I’m loving this thing. I did a good 20 minutes of varied, fun exercises tonight without even realizing it. While that doesn’t sound like a lot, I’m sure that there are millions of people who don’t get that much exercise in a day. This thing is gonna be revolutionary. I’m already looking forward to my next workout!
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Sub-Prime
Via the Snook: The Sub-Prime Mortgage Crisis Explained. It involves stick figures and the F-word. Very enlightening.
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Myer One Wii Fit Discount?
I don’t suppose any of you have a Myer One discount voucher booklet (including a $40 off coupon for the Wii Fit) that you won’t be using? Because that would, like, rock.