I'm in Canadia!

After an eventful Mudfest weekend (and not the right kind of eventful, broke a rib), I made it through two days of work and a day of travelling (through the States, what a pain in the arse) and am in Toronto. Plans to get up and head into the city tomorrow, for shopping and hashing. Woot!

Can't wait to see everyone around here - if you are in the area and reading this, give me a call or shoot me an email. As always, I have few solid plans.

Running the Hash

So, I need to make it to 25 mins to get through Week 7 of the C25K and on Wednesday I didn't. Granted, I was exhausted after a long day at a water park with 60 kindie kids, but I didn't. I made about 20 minutes instead. A bit discouraging and so when I heard there'd be a Seoul Full Moon Hash Friday night, I decided to skip my run and hash instead. After all, I told myself, it's my last chance to hash in Seoul before vacation, since Mudfest was this weekend. And if I run it, it's almost as good as keeping to the schedule, in terms of being a good workout and lots of running, just not requiring that I run 25 mins non-stop.



And it was a good decision, because not only did I only walk for the odd portion here and there until the last ten minutes, I also realized that I'm not as slow as I had thought. I actually kept up with the pack fairly decently, though I have to admit that I didn't run any checks and only ran a few false trails. Still, it was encouraging.

I also ran the Saturday run at Mudfest and again, was doing fairly decently. Didn't get to the back of the pack until Sheena and I ran a loooooong false trail and had to go back up a stream - which we walked rather than ran and hence got far behind. Still, I'm not too bad a hasher.

And in spite of a bit of a mental setback with fucking up that first 25 minute run, I think I can be not too bad a runner. In time.

Bring on the Monsoon!

I had far too much fun today. Running in the monsoon is fantastic - not only did I splash through every puddle, since I had the park to myself I also didn't so much walk the walking intervals as karaoke them. There was also some quasi-dancing. And since it wasn't so damn hot, I went quite fast (for me) for the first two runs - so much so that I had to extend the loop a lot.

It's funny how quickly you can get decent at running. My legs no longer hurt very much. I used to find running down hills a bit nerve-wracking (I have been known to fall over whilst standing still, after all), but today I was disappointed that I didn't hit the biggest of the ramps on a running interval. And I no longer have to chant in my head that if Suz did it, I can too. I just sort of run. I do sometimes think of stuff, but it's not motivational stuff much at all.

Hilariously, just as I started my second run the podcast played It's Raining Men. It was even funnier when Walking on Sunshine started during my last run.

Now to eat and CLEAN ALL THE THINGS.

Assa!

I did my last run of Week 5 - 20 minutes of non-interrupted running. I'm not going to say it was a cakewalk, but I was surprised that to find that my legs didn't particularly bother me and it was only the last couple of minutes that were difficult to get through - I think in a lot of ways, adding distance from here on in is all going to be mental, all about learning to stick it out. Damn was it hot though - when I took my ponytail off on the subway, it was dripping with sweat. I guess I'm good to start Week 6 on Friday!

Yay!

Fuck Yeah!

Week 5, Part 1 done!

I was slow as fuck, but I finished it.

This Is My Life

This is why I'll never be an adult.


http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/2010/06/this-is-why-ill-never-be-adult.html

Head for the Border

The first time I've had Taco Bell off base here in Korea - which was the first time I'd ever had Taco Bell ever. Can't say I like it that much but it certainly is cheap.

Taken by Breanna.

The Thief of Time, Steinunn Sigurdardottir

In Paris I'm just another person on the street, standing out in the crowd just enough to be able to blend with it completely; I'm every bit as chic as the French women, whom I also resemble in wearing a lot of make-up and in being a little drunk.

I really wanted to like this book, but I didn't. I wasn't so fond of the random capitalization (okay, I know, it's a ridiculous pet peeve, but there you are) and I didn't love the poetry (some of which I blame on the fact that it's a translated novel - word choice is so important in poetry), nor the way the character kept referring to herself in the third person and then back to the first. The style was a bit distracting.

The main character was incredibly annoying - sure we've all perhaps behaved like this after a break up, or at least had a friend who did. And yet, an entire novel of a woman whining about how she was so perfect and he obviously loved her, but maybe he wasn't worth it, except that he was - it was, well, long. I liked the main point, which I assume is that we shouldn't waste our lives on ended love affairs.

I assume I missed some of the implications on class, not really being familiar with Icelandic history and culture - perhaps I might not have found Alda so annoying had I understood better what she represented.

However, if a point of literature is to invoke a strong emotional reaction and cause you to analyze your own behaviour as it pertains to the theme, and I do think you can argue that it is at least a significant driving force behind the writing of novels, then it certainly worked. I haven't been this irritated and thoughtful about a book in some time.

Dammit

I'm going to have to redo Week 5. I thought maybe, as I headed out today, that it was going to work. I was on a bit of a Neocitron high, though I did my usual near-napping on the subway. I felt okay for the first 8-minute run but totally bombed the second. My plan is to redo Week 5 part 1 on Friday and hope I get better enough by then to actually complete it.

I'm bummed about it, if I have to be honest. But to look on the good side, I did manage 8 minutes of continuous running and that's my longest run so far. I'm a bit worried I've bitten off more than I can chew with this 10K in September and have to keep reminding myself that I can finish before the time limit just walking it. And finishing, that's my goal. I suppose also on the good side is the fact that I wasn't feeling great and I didn't let that become my excuse. I still put on those running shoes and got out there. It may not have been a good running day, but it was a running day nonetheless.

Tomorrow's another day. A rest day at that.

Plastic Surgery?

I don't find this advert compelling.

Since Eclipse is Out...

Buffy vs. Edward

Scary?

Look at Kevin's facial expression there. Who knew that an octopus craft could be scary?

Roadblock

Last week was up and down. Monday I got a vicious stitch in my side and didn't finish the last run, maybe by about 2 minutes. Stitch aside though, I think a lot of the problem was mental - when I listened to Suz describe the run, I thought she said that there were two 3-minute runs followed by 90 seconds of walking and ONE five minute run, but there was a second 5-minute one right at the end. On top of that, I think I was running faster - at one point I passed a couple on one of those two-seater bikes. I slowed it down on Wednesday and Friday and finished without any problems. I also ran the entire week without a bandage on my right ankle and it didn't so much as twinge.

Then there was yesterday. I was quite confident that it would be fine - I can totally do three 5-minute runs. I hadn't hashed all weekend (Saturday hangover, Sunday by design) and so I figured I'd be well rested. I wasn't feeling too great at work though, enough to pop some Advil Cold & Sinus. I only finished the first 5-minute run and barely did the last at all.

So now I am stuck deciding what to do about running while I have a cold. I don't want to take the time off entirely - beyond the fact that it totally breaks the pattern of strapping on those shoes and just getting out there every day, I also worry that even a week would put me back. I figure I'll go out there tomorrow and try the scheduled run. If that doesn't work, well, I guess I'm not attempting 20-minutes non-stop on Friday. I'll just do the Week 5, Part 1 run again and try to maintain where I am. I can always start Week 5 all over again next week.

But if I'm honest with myself, I really want tomorrow to be a success so that I can tackle that 20 mintues on Friday. I don't like the idea of fucking up the program at all - in spite of the fact that I originally never thought I'd get through it in just 9 weeks.

Sigh.

The Results of Being a Lip Slut

This is what happens when you kiss more than one person in a bar on a Friday night - you have a cold by Monday.

Lantern

Taken simply so that I didn't miss a day of the project, since all I did was sit around chatting with Courtnie and then buy pizza in my pjs.

Itaewon Mural

What a drunken, drunken Friday night. First, I went running in the rain - I wasn't looking forward to it, but it was fun to stomp through puddles like a kid. Then I came home and got changed as quickly as possible to go to Itaewon for Samantha's birthday dinner. I could not, for the life of me, get a damn cab and it was pouring rain. I ended up having to go to the main road, over the overpass to the wrong side of the street in order to grab a cab and then talk him into doing a U-turn. Dinner at Villa Sortino's was delicious and the three glasses of wine there were followed up by another three at Bless U. Then we headed to Helios, which is where the madness began - much lip slut behaviour, lots of dancing, and coming home in the early hours of the morning. Didn't make it to Yongsan, not unsurprisingly, since I hadn't actually slept at that point. I did get about a two hour nap and then Courtnie and I went down to Osan for Turkey Baster's On Out. Though I had fun at the down down (where we named Connor "Count Crankyoula") and dinner at a Thai place, I knew there was no way I could handle another night out, so Courtnie and I headed back to Seoul and were in bed by midnight.

Perm-uh

Nothing like a little boy with a perm.

That's An Important W

I find it hilarious that no one else sees what's wrong with this...