web-goddess

Month: May 2008

  • RunningBlog: Good and Bad News

    The good – actually GREAT – news is that I know I can run a half-marathon. I know this because I successfully ran 18.4km yesterday afternoon! (That’s nearly 11.5 miles.) And at the end, I honestly felt like I could’ve easily gone all the way to 21km, were it not for my sore back. I ran the distance pretty slowly (you’ll see why in a minute), taking frequent walk breaks and not pushing too hard. Still, I wasn’t far off the pace I need to finish in 2:30. I was well-hydrated and carried a water bottle with me, which I sipped on frequently. I also had my first trial of using an energy supplement. At the 6km mark, I had half a chocolate PowerBar gel and then finished it off at the 12km mark. It tasted like medicated chocolate toothpaste. The biggest effect it seemed to have was mental. At the end of the run, I just felt a lot more clear-headed than I had at the same point last week. I never realized how fuzzy and muddled my brain gets after 90 minutes of running. This time I just felt way more energetic and aware. With regards to my body, I didn’t notice any immediate jolt or anything, but I definitely had more energy in the tank at the end of this run. Like I said, I was honestly toying with going the whole distance. I was still tired and sore, but I didn’t feel like I was falling apart. (I’m also happy to report that the gel didn’t give me any stomach problems, as some people seem to have. I did get a bad stitch at the 7km mark, which I attributed to gulping down too much water to help digest the gel.) So all in all, this was a massive confidence boost before the race in two weeks.

    And now the bad news. I’ve caught a cold. I’d been coughing a bit at night last week, but I assumed it was just irritation from the endoscopy. Sunday morning I woke up with the trifecta of headache, sore throat, and stuffy nose. Great. I spent the whole day sucking down water and trying to decide whether I should go for the run or not. I knew that the timing wasn’t that bad, because I’ve got two weeks to shake this thing before the actual race. But this was pretty much my last chance for a really long run, and I felt like I really needed that to mentally prepare. So would running make it worse? Since all my symptoms were “above the neck” (classic runner’s justification), I decided to go for it. So I dosed up on paracetamol and headed out. I took it easy on the run but I was happy to find that I still felt pretty good. My stomach got a little acidic but it was manageable. I even braved a few minutes in an ice bath when I got home to help out my legs. I feel pretty awful today, but I’m still glad I did it. Now I just have to concentrate on getting well as soon as possible. Anybody got any good home remedies for a cold?

  • Twisted Flower Socks

    Twisted Flower SocksTwisted Flower Socks
    These socks nearly killed me. After cruising along all summer averaging better than one pair of socks per month, these suckers took me more than two months to finally finish. The pattern is by Cookie A. (designer of the ubiquitous Monkey Socks and instigator of the hated “socks and high heels” photo fad), and the yarn is the Knittery’s Merino Cashmere Sock in the special breast cancer pink colourway. I started off using two 2.75mm circular needles to knit both legs at the same time. I cheerfully dived into the first chart (of three!) and within a fortnight had them up to the heels. Then I switched to chart #2 and polished off the heel flaps. Suddenly… I noticed that they didn’t seem very stretchy. I tried them on and the damn things wouldn’t fit over my ankles! So I frogged them back completely all the way to the start. Eventually i started over on 3.25mm needles, which seemed to work a lot better. I think a big part of that is just that this lace-and-cable pattern has very little stretch. (I kinda wish I’d put more ribbing at the top, because I fear they may sag a little.) One reason for my slow speed was the intricacy of this pattern, and the fact that every single row was different from the last. I found it impossible to memorize, especially as the patterns and charts shift every so often. Another impediment was the yarn itself. I have to say, I wasn’t very impressed. Oh it was definitely soft, but it was also very, very splitty. The spin was such that it actually UNTWISTED as you knitted it (and no, it didn’t matter which end of the skein you used). So I’m not sure how robust they’re going to be in the long run. I’m also a little annoyed with how the color striped and pooled (considering how pretty it was in the hank). It competes with the pattern a lot, don’t you think? They’re definitely soft and cozy though, and judging by my own foot, they’re going to be a perfect fit. Hopefully Mom won’t receive them too long after Mother’s Day… (More details on Ravelry.)

  • Jamerica

    Jamerica the Beautiful.

  • Political Slacktivism

    Political Slacktivism Well, it’s a quarter to 11 and I’m still sitting here in my pajamas… which means I don’t have enough time to get to the Obama photo thingy. *sigh* Although, really, I think I could do more net good for his campaign simply by trying to get my Grandpa to stop forwarding emails bagging him out…

  • Biggest Loser Finale

    I fast-forwarded through most of last night’s Biggest Loser finale, but I’m really happy that Sam won. He, Alison, and Kerstin did a great job. For me, though, my favourite transformation was definitely Sheridan. Great dress, great hair, great makeup; she looked like a million bucks. I was really pulling for her to win the eliminated contestants’ prize, but Sean had that one in the bag. Did anyone notice of AJ asked Sheridan or Michael about their romance? If she did, I certainly missed it.

  • Phedippidations

    I feel great. I wanted to skip my swimming lesson last night, but the Snook urged me to go. I’m glad I listened to him. It felt good to get back to my training and stop letting my stomach dictate my life. This morning I headed out for my first run of the week, an easy 5K around the neighbourhood before work. Along the way I listened to the most recent episode of Phedippidations, which Steve recorded during this past Monday’s Boston Marathon. How hard-core is that?! He was running on an injured ankle (which he himself admits wasn’t very smart), but he persevered and finished in less than five hours. It was really inspiring to listen to his updates every mile and to marvel at how far he was pushing himself. Yes, his podcasts get a little cheesy and self-important at times with all the affirmations and cosmic hoo-ha, but when I’m out running, that really appeals to me. And dude, if/when I ever finish my first marathon, I’m sure I’ll hear the Carmina Burana playing in my head too…

    Anyway, at the end of the podcast Steve mentioned the World Wide Half Marathon. The idea is that people around the world sign up to run a half-marathon (or a 5K) sometime around the weekend of October 11-12. I was checking the Cool Running calendar to see what’s on that month… and I discovered that the Melbourne Marathon (and half marathon) is that weekend. Sounds like a plan right? I can’t wait to do a lap inside the MCG!

  • CSS Homer Simpson

    CSS Homer Simpson. Holy crap, that’s cool! (Link courtesy of Daring Fireball.)

  • Cutters

    All Queue Jumpers Go to Hell
    What IS IT with people cutting in front of me in line lately? I’ve had women cut in front of me THREE TIMES in the past two days.

    • Yesterday morning I was waiting for a bus during rush hour when several pulled up at once. I headed for the second one, which was quite full. Since I was the first one waiting, the bus driver held up his hand to stop me from boarding until he could see how many folks were getting off at the back door. While I’m standing there, this lady tries to BLOW PAST ME and climb on the bus. I actually stuck my arm out to block her and said, “Excuse me? I’m WAITING TO GET ON THE BUS.” Like, what the hell did she think I was doing there? Staring at the bus driver trying to decide if I was getting on?
    • Today I went to the grocer at lunchtime to pick up some veggies. There were four cash registers, each with one customer being served at them. I was the only person waiting, so I wasn’t sure exactly where to stand. The “Fresh Express” place is sorta in the middle of a shopping mall, and there wasn’t room for a queue for each register. So I stood to one side, waiting for one of the cashiers to tell me to come over. While I was standing there, this lady brandishing an avocado BLEW RIGHT PAST ME and nabbed a just-open cashier. It was so quick I didn’t even get a chance to yell at her. At first I was tempted to give her the benefit of the doubt, like maybe she was observing the proper queue procedure and I wasn’t, but really, there was no way she could’ve missed me standing there with a basket looking expectantly at the cashiers.
    • Not five minutes later, I was at Baker’s Delight waiting to buy a cinnamon roll for my afternoon snack. Not wanting to crowd the counter, I was standing, like, two feet back waiting for one of the clerks to be free. Again, some lady BLOWS PAST ME and squeezes into the space directly between me and the counter.

    So what the hell? Does my “waiting” face convey that I’m some slack-jawed yokel who doesn’t know what she’s doing? Or are these people really just that rude, and it is my mission in life to catch them out and teach them a lesson?

  • Scam!

    “Brazen scammer claims to be fraud squad head.” Oh, wow! Snookums actually got a call from that scammer yesterday! He didn’t know what “court appearance” the message was talking about, so he pressed the button to get put through to somebody. He didn’t get this “Col Dyson” person though; he said it was an Asian lady and he couldn’t understand what she was saying. He hung up and then called the actual courthouse to see what it was about, and they told him that loads of people had gotten similar messages and they were all bogus. Be vigilant, people!