It is SO on

At long last, we are back in DC today after yesterday's evening arrival. We (me, John, and BOTH dogs) are houseguests at my friend Amelia's just outside the city. Last night we enjoyed a delicious feast of her fab chili and David's apple pie whilst exhanging festivus treats. We all awoke this morning to a leisurely breakfast and then Amelia, Tilley, Pazzo and I made a beeline for my favorite locale - Rock Creek Park - to meet up with JoMarie and Rich. David, Oleander, and Laika stayed home. John headed to Bethesda to meet up with his pal Ed, and once we hit the Park, Rich was off on a ride so the girls (and Pazzo!) were left to our own devices.


Before Rich left however, he was entertained with the free peep show....me changing tights in the parking lot from the thin ones I was wearing to the thicker ones Jome had just scored for me half off at Spokes. Amelia did a fabulous job of creating the standard makeshift dressing room, but also had me laughing so hard I am sure I was mooning the @$&* out of the trail runners on the other side of the road. Good times.

We started out -- at about 43 degrees and with laden skies -- at the lot just north of the police station and ran north on Beach Drive, with the goal of getting in a little road time before hitting the trails. Tilley was beside herself with excitement to be running, much less to be running in my Rock Creek, about which she has heard me prattle on ad nauseum.

It was fantastic. There are runs that are tough, runs that just are, good runs, and great runs.



This was a great run.

The trail itself was easy, and we only had to be careful along one or two stretches where it was either on a slick bank, or where it had a bog crossing with boards (Tilley preferred the slog-directly-in method of crossing). By the time we got off the trail and back on to Beach Drive, Tilley and Pazzo had settled into a rhythm, and the three of us girls were deep in conversation, per the tradition. We kept a nice pace and made it up and over the first gated hill in good time, so we pressed up towards the stables to the second gate.


Just as we turned around, it started to rain a bit.



And then it REALLY rained. We had a fun run on the way back with all the rain - and the cold - and the mud - and it was weird; I felt like I could have run for days and days and days. Once we got back into the woods we let the dogs off leash and Tilley had a BLAST. For most of the run back, it was runner-dog-runner-dog-runner, and Tilley kept looking back to check on me. She's a good dog.


After a few pics (and me picking up a rock to add to the loosely self-defined 'memorable natural items' collection on my desk at work which so far includes a coaster John made out of a Live Oak branch that fell on SSI, pieces of driftwood from SSI, The Chattahoochee, and a run back in May with Jess on Haines Point, and a piece of moss on a rock from Mark and Randy's cabin in July), we got back to the car to find one wet Rich. We were all SOAKED, and Tilley had half the silt from Rock Creek stuck under her belly in oddly tidy stalagtites. I took her down to the creek for a quick dip n' rinse, which she lamented was "not nearly as warm as the Chattahoochee!" After the run I felt fantastic...that's two 5 mile runs in 4 days...it is so on :).


As if that wasn't enough, there was more. :) After a quick change and dropoff of the dogs, Amelia and I met Jome at the Mothership for Amelia to get an iPod Nano so we can all track our runs online together. I also upgraded to an armband at Jome's recommendation since my nano-in-the-pocket approach was suboptimal. We then went to Lululemon Athletics where I tried on about $500 worth of swank athleticwear...and then was very good and only got out with one on sale jacket and adorable pink run skirt for under $80 all told. After a quick stop in the wine shop we headed to Tandoori Nights for an early dinner and belated run refueling and had an AMAZING meal...The chat papri was sublime and had a secret ingredient of a touch of mint...the Raj Kachori was a new treat and stellar...there were other fine specialties but writing more details will just make me hungry again :). Let's see....what fun can we cook up for tomorrow morning???

To the Beach!

So ever since we got a place here, I have wanted to "run to the beach". It's just at 5 miles, and our full-time tenure here coincided, with few exceptions, my hiatus from training.

Redemption time.

After a relatively slovenly few weeks since our last 5 mile run, we headed out down the island to the beach from the house. It was about 60 so I opted for the (adorable) knickers and a short sleeved top. Tilley chose a simple choker chain.

The run was fairly uneventful and pain-free; our only incident was coming through a neighborhood where a LARGE black dog was at the edge of the yard untethered. Rather than deal with an incident, I picked Tilley up who immediately barked. I said Shut. The. Hell. Up. You. Are. Going. To. Get. Us. Eaten. She obliged, and I went into my super friendly HEY PUPPY PUPPY voice to the dog, who eventually wagged a tail as we scooted by. I returned Tilley to the ground and off we went. Once we arrived at East Beach causeway, Tilley looked up like, oh yeah I totally know where we are yeah this is the road to the beach! She picked up her step and so did I.

Just about when we hit the parking lot John pulled in (our ride home!). We finished the run to the water then doubled back to meet him for a quick walk on the beach.

All in all a good time. My legs are a little tired but not bad...same blister is annoying me despite wearing thick socks. I think a consult at Potomar River Running in DC is in order for a new sock approach altogether.

Tilley is out COLD next to me on the couch, but I bet I will be more sore in the morning :)

An Island Christmas

We had a great Christmas on St. Simons, and the best way to sum it up is with a few pictures and videos.



Tilley, suffering dog abuse (she was moaning during the photo):




Waiting for Santa:




Enjoying loads of treats and presents:




Ready for lunch-ummmm-dinner:




Laika, not believing her good fortune at getting her own plate for lunch (note the eye expression):




Touring Ft. Frederica with Cousin Cindy, Claire, and Mom:




Beach Picnic with Tilley and Claire:




Tilley playing her favorite game with Beauty: "Put my WHOLE HEAD IN YOUR MOUTH BEAUTYYYYY!":

Ghetto Litespeed

Being someone who considers themselves a moderate but not fully over-the-top gear head, I have to share this one.

So Litespeed bicycles are pretty high-end, and generally those who own them are a little obsessive about them (as is pretty much true of anyone and their higher end bike, regardless of the brand). You know; frequent cleanings, gear accessories that match, careful consideration to handlebar color, and so on.

I am a Litespeed fan and owner twice over because of the penchant for the feel of a titanium ride, the fact that they are made in Chattanooga, TN where I was born, and the fond memories I have of taking the factory tour with friends.

Now....

Mix this with the St. Simons lifestyle, where there'a little bit of Margaritaville and John Prine peppered in amongst - well - folks who are of means financially, to say the least.

What comes out?

THIS!

This was spied down at the Ace Hardware, awaiting its owner. The fella came out at the same time John did and John inquired, complimenting his ride, and the fella shared that the bike was originally his son's who never rode it, so he customized it, paying particular attention to point out the addition of the "fat seat" and the "raised handlebars".

In a five-way tie for my favorite features are: the bike basket, the bell, the "custom" bottle cooler, the clamp-on seat trunk, and the "pocket cooler" addition to the bottled water in the bottle cage.

Applause!

California Dreaming

So of the many holiday guests here on St. Simons where we've retreated for John's 4-week break from school (in part, excepting our upcoming swing North to DC, PA, NYC), the lot included my parents, my niece Claire, and my friends Jessica and Bill from San Diego.

Jessica is an original member of the Girly Sporting Clan and has swam, biked, and run more miles with me than is probably possible to count. She moved out to San Diego about a year after I left DC and met a fabulous boy (and triathlete!) to whom she'll be hitched in June.

We had a fabulous visit filled with browsing the Village shops, walking on the (unusually cold) beach, eating good Southern fare (including breakfast at Dressner's, Barbara Jean's famous crabcakes and Frankie G's Fried Green Tomatoes), the exchanging of Festivus/Christmas gifts, and just generally hanging out.

Of course, a run was in order for Saturday morning. We did an easy 3.3 miles around the nieghborhood, the Q once and the O once for those who are familiar.

Tilley particularly enjoyed the route because mid-loop we ran into her BFF Beauty who is frequently on the lam from her own fenced yard.

It was great to be out and about and enjoy the views (the marsh, the homes, Bill from behind) and to have my elbow once again swinging in time with Jessica's. Read about Jess's account of the trip.

Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell Dog

On a whim about a week ago I decided to throw $20 to the wind and sign up for the 20th Annual "Jingle Jog" here in Atlanta to kick off the Holiday Season officially. To be rather frank, I found it while searching for dog events in the area and thought, there are so few races that allow dogs, why not.

After an incredibly bleak response rate from my recruiting inquiry to my coworkers, and an even bleaker response from my still-recovering-from-finals-plase-don't-wake-me-before-6:45-husband (which I understand), yet again it was down to me and Tilley.

We headed out and after a brief missing of the exit and turning around, we got into THE worst race traffic I have ever seen. Made DC's Cherry Blossom 10-Miler look like child's play. After almost 15 minutes of inching, I hooked a right and hopped the curb and parked along the road and we ran down to the race site with literally like maybe 9 minutes to pick up our packet (in this case, being checked off a list and handed a number and grabbing 3 jingle bells, 2 for Miss Tilley's leash, one for my right shoe) and to get ready for the start.

O, THE HUMANITY.

I don't know how many people were there, but it was a TON. Now to be clear, I wasn't in it for time in any shape or form, just a regular run. I hadn't worked out since Sunday having been feeling poorly early in the week and then consumed with work and a few holiday prep activities. Thus, I didn't mind that we weren't seeded by pace, or that it wasn't suuuper clear where the start line was. I assume that the brass band we passed a few minutes in playing "Jingle Bells" was probably it. But then it hit me. I am okay being ducked around and ducking around as folks find their pace....but it's trickier when holding a cord attached to a VERY short dog who is used to running with ONE, not THOUSANDS. So I finally picked her up for the first quarter mile or so and yes - KEPT RUNNING with her. Too bad there's no photo of THAT. I finally put her down to the side and we set off in the slightly less chaotic melee.

It was a fun (but hilly) run, and was pretty chilly and windy the whole way. I had on my (new, adorable PI) knicker tights, a singlet, and a longsleeve top and windbreaker. The windbreaker came off mid run then back on right as we finished. The best, though, was the collective holiday fasion. Tilley had on a custom made lei (her signature apparel) made of faux holly and white poinsettia, and I had my twin hair ponies/piglets that were festooned with the same. I had started out from the apt wearing a Santa hat, and was hot and thought, this is a bad idea, so went for the Hammer Gel hat and hair accessories instead (good choice). We saw many Santa and elf hats, we saw some fantastic candy striped elf tights and socks, and we even saw 7 guys pulling a Santa in a wagon; the fellas were dressed in brown a la reindeer. It was the usual mix of people overzealously sprinting then walking, pretty decent athletes who were there this time pushing kids in strollers or with dogs, etc.

For the most part, everyone was low key and festive about the whole thing. Tilley stayed right by me but at one point I heard someone coming behind me and kind of pulled Tilley over from being a whole 2 ft away to 1 ft. The 20-something girl passed me and gave an audible groan of disdain "hummmmmnnnfff!". As in, how dare you spoin my serious race. IT IS A JINGLE BELL JOG, lighten up! If you are racing try something that has chip timing, not one that encourages kids, dogs, and costumes. Good news? We passed her handily later, and I refrained from "hummmmnnnff"ing back at her. The other oddity came in the finish chute, again, with the high tech stay-in-line-and-get-a-finish-order-card method. Tilley and I were behind two highschoolish types, walking down the chute, and this woman about my age kinda elbows past me. Now to be clear. I am in this for fun, but also to educate people about sportsmanlike behavior if needed, so I politely step back up and say "oooopsie, actually we are supposed to stay in finish order". She looks at me litearlly like I have horns (or reindeer antlers) and barely steps back. I kinda take up extra room with Tilley because I swear, she's kind of elbowing up. Please.

Tilley was a real trooper...in fact, we had passed two women with a springer spaniel, and one of them came up to me afterwards and complimented Tilley and said it's so clear she really loves to run. I told her we typically rin a good 4 miles a few days during the week and a 5 on the weekends and she was like, omg! Tilley was proud :). Tilley had to giggle once on the course when a dog stopped - mid run, no time to pull to the side - and laid a steamer. Thankfully the owner had a bag on board!

After the race, we checked out a few must-sees: the life size polar bear that Tilley remarked was "JUST LIKE BEAR AT HOME", Santa (of course!), a Nutcracker that "seemed friendly but kinda freaked me out", and a Buffaloman from the wing place, whom Tilley was particularly fond of. Then we headed to the food. We shared some bagel, banana, water...and the rest of the goodies were SUBLIME. They had buffalo wings, BBQ, Starbucks, Trader Joe's, and...wait for it...wait for it...a Mayfield Ice Cream van! They were giving out their Snow Creme popsicles. We each got one; I let Tilley enjoy about half before cutting her off. We both got lots of compliments on our matching holiday attire.

All in all, a fun morning!

Here's a video of Tilley barking at the traffic and "freaking out that we might miss the start" - she quieted to some MFFFFS and growls by the time I got the camera on:

My New Favorite Place(s)

So after yesterday's ride fiasco, I was determined to go out for some serious redemption on my Sunday long run. After several hours of nagging from Tilley, we packed up and headed over to Martin Lake, the loveli lake discovered on yesterday's debacle. I had gmap pedometered the lake and knew it was just over 2 miles around. I had a vague idea of how far to tack on on Riverside Drive to get to my desired somewhere between 4.5 and 4.75, based upon how I was feeling. My longest run in a while was 5 miles a few weeks ago, and after the not so hot feeling of this week's earlier runs, I just wanted to stay in tact and out of major pain.

We parked at the pool and headed out on the North shore of the lake. The path was okay, but a little on the narrow side and fairly decently cambered in many places. But it was pretty and I knew we would level out on Riverside so I wasn't that troubled. Lots of people walking their dogs and such, and I couldn't get over how much the lake reminded me of good ole lake Audubon in Reston (pictured here, where I used to live, train, race...)

We hit Riverside and hooked a left and ran along the river, enjoying the view as the sun came out and I proceeded to roast in my midweight knicker-long sleeve jersey combination. We even saw a guy trout fishing in the river and I gave a respectful nod and mental shout out to the Trout Unlimited sign about limiting kills ans catch-and release. We went all the way to Old Riverside, which as fate would have it, is unpaved. We ran down alongside some kooky old-school river homes amidst newer builds, and I thought, what a great place to have a house. Right on the river too. We headed as far as The House With The Really Big Barky Black Dog That Looked Like That Bear Dog That Time (Tilley's words, not mine) and turned back, meeting a nice little dog named Rex briefly (Tilley: "He was nice!").

Again, with the roasting in the sun on the road. We hit the turn for the Lake, ran across the levee, and started the retreat on the South shore. SURPRISE! Not a paved trail, but a Nature Trail. Trail run time! It was actually kinda nice, and made for a nice mental diversion on the last part of what is normally the "please, o please, let this be over SOON". I let Tilley off leash and she enjoyed scampering along amongst the roots, definitely winning in the sure-footedness contest (hey, she has 4, I only have 2). We got back to car after an hour (and yes, just a hair's breadth over 5 miles as it turned out, after all) and stretched/Recoverited/went for a walk back around part of the Nature trail to cool down. I was shocked that I felt good after all that madness.

Still giddy from the run, I went home and changed, did a quick drive-by-2-Cheese-Krystal break, and headed for....drumroll...THE PEARL IZUMI OUTLET! I went seeking tights mostly but also to see what other deals could be had. I was giddy and couldn't wait. The short story is that many of the items weren't much of a deal, but they had clearance and sample items that WERE. But unlike other outlets where sometimes if you wonder if the marked down items are really a deal, in this case I was familiar enough with the products to know that say, a pair of bib shorts for $30 is a *damn* good deal, to the tune of $100 savings. At the register, I got even bolder to ask if they offered any purchase-wide discounts. She kind of hemmed and hawed; I asked if they gave club discounts, not really, mostly for events they gave out coupons on occasion in schwag bags. I looked crestfallen. Finally she says "are there any events you have done recently I could put it under?" I proffered Emerald Pointe Tri, and she bit. 15% off my entire check!!! All in all I ended up walking out with $524 of stuff....for $137! I shit you not. I present the loot to you here in this grainy but heartfelt photo. Three way tie for fave items? The bib shorts, the jersey jacket ($25 less 15%, not $100), and the adorable run knickers with the blue at the knee and the gold logo :)

Mechanical

So Saturday was a brilliant day in Atlanta, and one of those days that made me glad I live relatively far south. I spent the early part of the morning on the phone with JoMarie registering for the Macon 1/2 Ironman in June (wahoooo!), the rest of the morning and afternoon cleaning and doing house stuff, and then by late afternoon it was a ripe 60+ degrees. Ready for my ride! John was home and I said, "I am not going to ride with my phone" (my "workout phone" is awol), gave him my route and time expected back, and headed out. At the last second I thought, better safe than sorry, and crammed my blackberry into the last ounces of space in my seat ditty bag along with the various accoutrement for fixing a flat, should one occur.

I parked under the GA 400 bridge so I could focus my ride on my workout route rather than dodging cars on Riverside and holding my breath the entire way. I headed out on Natchez (road bike for the few of you who don't know my bikes by name), and OW. Right away, I realized that my cavalier self-talk of "so what if I did a spin class Friday morning, my legs should be recovered enough today, so I can do my long run Sunday, when it's not going to be as nice" was total crap. (Running in rain and 40-50 degrees is a snap, riding, not as much fun). So I spent the first 20 minutes beginning to grumble to myself then going hey, it's just lactic acid getting pushed out and so what. This is making you stronger.

By the time I got back to Martin road, I got into a few of the hills and had about :45 under my saddle and was feeling good - even if I was having to go to my lowest (easiest) gear. After a few ups and downs, I came to the base of a decent sized hill, and clicked my right gears to the left, ostensibly to change gears on my rear dérailleur to make the climb easier. Instead of the familiar tight resistance and click of my shifter, it dangled like a flaccid, lifeless, and entirely useless appendage. Oh crap. Push push push push push, profanity, nothing. C'MON. Push push push push push. Nada. Beaten (and knowing the hill would beat my ass and potentially result in a reduction of speed to the point of toppling over) I pulled over and tinkered with my barrel adjusters to tighten up the cable. Nothing, nothing, nothing. Finally, tighter....to the point of COMPLETE lockdown of my drivetrain. Insert more profanity here. More attempts, more profanity, then final defeat. I called John, gave him my location and had to be rescued. Sadly, there wasn't even time for him to bring CC (Saber), as it was getting very cool very fast. So he and Tilley arrived and instead we scoped out the area for future runs and rides; I was pleased to note the remainder of the route I was traveling has some KILLER hills in both directions, which will be (eventually) fantastic for training. Also while I waited, I noticed around the lovelii lake, a run path! So maybe it was fate that I had to stop and smell the roses so to speak.

Moral of the story #1: Always carry a phone (I wasn't in Guam and could have knocked on someone's door, granted, but still).

Moral of the story #2: Ride early enough in the day that if your first workout gets cut in half, you have time for a Plan B.

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My Dog is a Recoverite Addict

It's true. At first it was gentle curiosity, then it was an expectant glance, then it morphed into giddy trots into the kitchen after our run. But now it's evolved into demanding whines directed at my water bottle, and impatient barks on the rare occasion when I am not mixing it fast enough.

Recoverite is - as the name implies - a recovery drink with the proper 3:1 carbohydrate to protein ratio perfect for fixing damage done during workouts. It's made by our friends at Hammer Nutrition. I love this company; not only do they make great products but they also offer incentives to recruit new athletes into the fold. Brilliant marketing. Oh, and one of their products is named after a favorite line from So I Married an Axe Murderer....HEED! This evokes fond memories of the film, as well as memories of our cadre of friends using this to describe our young Cameron's noggin...which I am pleased to report is now the perfect size for his 6-year old frame (but as an infant, was the same size as an adult HEED!)

So either Tilley likes the taste, or has really listened to me blather on about the merits of recovery nutrition and hydration. I really think I saw her stretching the other day as we waitied for the gate to open after our run, so maybe she does hear me after all.

I Could NOT Be More Grossed Out

It all started as a fairy tale that all the girly sporting clan followed to some degree. Lance met Kristin when he was working in the early days as a cancer survivor to build the then-nascent, pre-yellow-armbands, pre-Livestrong version of the Lance Armstrong Foundation.

The fairy tale continued through many Tour de France victories, a son, and twin girls.

And then they broke up. Everyone was crushed.

It was only mildly palatable when Lance then swapped in Sheryl Crow, as she's a little edgey and - much to my pleasure - brought a more progressive bent to the admittedly rabidly conservative Texan. JoMarie and I had to suffer through throngs of people during the Tour De Georgia, however, who were there to see Her and didn't seem to know that a bike race was going on, and would have walked past George Hincapie and Johan Bruyneel without a glance. Not would have, did.

We collectively mused at how Lance definitely has a "type" - long, blond hair; his Kristin looked like his Mom, Sheryl looked like Kristin, and so on. Our group held a mild disdain but tolerance for their relationship, since it survived a few of us meeting Lance on various occasions (NYC, DC), and there was no sweeping off of any feet, in any direction. Unidirectional swooning yes, sweeping no.

And then they, too, broke up.

Hopes soared when what to our wondering eyes should appear...but the confluence of Armstrong and McConaughey!

It appeared that Lance was on the market, training for a marathon able to be ogled, and with one of our favorite hotties along for the ride.

The ride would turn out to be a slippery slope...reports from the party scenes coast to coast made the news.

Now, I almost can't even write it, but Lance has chosen a real winner. Who could it be?

Someone who shares his rabid athleticism?

Someone who has the same sharp wit and wisdom and commitment to philanthropy?

Someone who - like Lance - has eluded to aspirations of running for political office?

HELL NO.

ASHLEY FRICKING OLSON.

NOOOOOOOOO!!!

Yesss, that's right, one of the pair of once-precocious now-skanky darlings of Hollywood and NYC. Seen. Necking. In a bar. With Lance.

I don't know what's more mortifying, the fact that she's barely legal, the fact that she's annoying, the fact that she and her sister have built a branded empire (movies, clothing, television, lip gloss, you name it...), the fact that she's skanky, or the fact that she was in diapers when Lance was winning his Junior triathlon title. Twenty years ago.

All I know is it's just WRONG. Lance, how could you????

Everyone Gets Their Workout In

Saturday was girls' day at Columns Drive. Run day. After having gone to a killer spin class with John Friday night, followed by Mr. Taco, I was reaaaally curious to see how the run would go. Not skeptical, just curious. Off we went.

Dottie and Tilley
The first stint was for me and Tilley. We headed out in a reverse loop on the river, and had a nice loop despite Tilley's run in with the Bear. A large fuzzy black dog (not a chow, not sure what it was), Tilley swore it was a black bear. She finally got past it on the trail after a brief freak-out. After 3.3 miles, it was time to let Tilley hang in the car with Laika.

Dottie
I headed out onto Columns proper, and kinda kept going and going for another 1.4 miles. YES! 4 mile barrier, SOUNDLY broken! SMACK.

Laika
Now it was Laika's turn...I picked up the girls and we set off walking towards the river. At some point, Laika started trotting, then running, so off we went. We probably did about a third of a mile or more and she was alllllllll smiles, bless her little almost-18-year-old heart! We came back towards the car and again, RRRK! This time from Laika, who said she "had more to give" ...so off we went down the trail for a bit and snapped a few pics until the sun dropped down and forced us to retreat to the warm truck.

All in all a great afternoon - and everyone got their workout in :)

Frost on the Kudzu

So throughout the years I have seen a lot of kudzu. Growing up in the South, it's pretty ubiquitous, but I hadn't really been close to it all that much. There's a good bit on one of my frequent run routes, and I was pleased to note this summer that it flowers with beautiful purple blooms. Apparently not just a monster that would inevitably grow over and eat us all, as I had grown up fearing.

Today, coldest day of the year so far, a brisk 32 degrees. Tilley and I gathered our gear and headed out. Sadly I couldn't find my favorite blue running gloves and improvised with a pair of fuzzy black socks. What the hell; they look like mittens to me. We headed out and there was actually frost on the ground! The kudzu now looked much like the cover of the first studio release of that little band form Athens. Apparently the kudzu wasn't a fan; it was bowed and wilted and looked rather sad; another summer's efforts of growing to overtake the world, thwarted again until the spring.

We ran out towards Willeo but as we got to the turnaround my lungs felt about the size of two key limes. So we turned around early. On the way back I let Tilley's leash go along the river and she found a sandy stretch and FREAKED out, spinning and running in circles as if to say MOM LOOK THE BEACH - REALLY IT IS THE BEACH I THINK!

We started to pass by the apartment to add on some distance (now that my lungs were warm) and RRRRRK!! Tilley stops. I tug. She tugs. I tug again. This goes on long enough that a car inching by in traffic rolls down the window to say "I think she's done!" I explained that she didn't get that we turned around early. Finally she sees another dog and is like, ok ok. So we ran to the other park and back, then had some nice stretching and Recoverite in the den. At one point she attacked me so feverishly with kisses that I actually had time to grab my cell phone off the coffee table and get this shot. My face looks like that because a) I am laughing hysterically but b) trying to seal off as many facial orifices as possible to protect against a Tilley Tongue Invasion. She's particularly fond of the nostrils.

I Think I'm In Love (or high on endorphins)

They say sometimes "when you know, you know". "Once you stop looking, you will find the right person". "Don't settle".

I had dated around. Been to a few. Tried a few out. Had a few laughs.

And then it happened.

I was going to see someone else entirely, but they couldn't make it. It was fate! It started the same way, idle chatter, warming up...then it hit me.

This was different.

The way it built up slowly, rose to intensity, and then slowed down again just long enough to let me recover and then BAM took my breath away again! It wasn't just random up and down like the others. This was the real deal. The tempo, the music, the mood, it was all perfect.

At the end, finally the sharing of a name.

Mila!

So THIS was the person I had heard was a kickass spin instructor! THIS is the triathlete who gets it! THIS is the woman I will haul my cookies out of bed for!

Ahhh, love! Ain't it grand???

Itch: Partially Scratched

So it's fall now, at last. I say at last because on St. Simons, there's not that much of a sense of it. Here, there is...the familiar clarity of the air, the crunch underfoot, the briskness of it all. Fold into that a vague sense of nostalgia and a desire to eat more than normal, and that captures it. In keeping with this theme, I was inpsired last night by a recent post on Dying Water Buffalo's site where she biked up to an orchard outside NYC with friends and enjoyed fresh-baked goodies, then schlepped the loot back via tri bike. On the one hand I was cranky because I thought, that's a pipe dream for me now on several levels - but on the other hand it made me really stoked to get out today for a nice long ride, even if it was sans orchards and sans pals.

But wait! This morning post-cereal, my friend Cathy rang up and said she and her family were going...up to the GA mountains to the apple orchards! Was this fate or what? I backpedaled mentally a bit thinking, this will take the day am I okay with losing my bike? After some quick online research, I had a breakthrough. So simple! I would drive seperately, take my bike, and THEN ride after the hoopla on my own! I was so excited about it I was almost giddy on the way up.


We went Northeast to Ellijay and stopped at the orchard (one of like 11 on that road alone) advertising such enticements as a petting zoo and a tractor ride! Sign us up. After a Hillcrest Orchards lunch (chili dog, thank you!) we strolled around the grounds and the petting zoo and then had a tractor ride through the orchards, which oddly featured a forest portion with some Wizard of Oz characters and some really random mannequins including someone on a hybrid bike. Still not really sure what all that was about :)



Afterwards, it was time to SHOP. I bought a full peck of apples (I think of Granny every time I say the word "peck", and in fact saw someone bearing her likeness there), which in my case contained Mutsu apples, Pink Lady apples, and a few sweet potatoes for good measure (who knew?). Did it stop there? Ooooo, no. Using John as a ruse I decided to also opt for the apple cider donuts (mmhllmlmlmlhjmlllhhmm) and an apple cake - the latter of which I didn't sample but went on faith and the assumption that something called apple cake that brown and that heavy HAD to be good (I was right, for the record).

I parted ways with my fellow travellers and headed merrily towards the bike shop, the ride start for the route I found online. Neeeeever found it. Not to be deterred, I finally found part of the route on my cue sheet and thought, np problem, I will just find a spot to park along here and all will be fine. Turns out the route was total crap...totally narrow, totally winding, and totally not going to be ridden by me alone. It was sketchy enough to doubt doing it with friends, but without someone to assist if I hit a marmot or something, no thanks. So to console myself I went to the "11 VARIETIES OF FRIED PIES!" stop and bought 5. And Apple Butter. And Muscadine and Scuppernong cider. But don't worry, I only had 3/4 of one pie. I am glad I got them because as it turns out, John had never had a fried fruit pie. And I still married him! (and Granny, if they have Internet in heaven, please note I did get him a Peach one, but no doubt not as good as yours)

So, itch partially scratched. Apples and lots of sugar in our kitchen. But what about that bike. I'll tell you exactly what... it's going to be 75 tomorrow. I will be going in early and leaving early for an attempt at retribution, even if it's on Riverside Drive.

Saturday Family (not so) Long Run

Beautiful October Saturday at the Chattahoochee. Met John there with the girls for a quick walk, then a run out (whilst Laika "rested" in the truck)...John doubled back for Laika while Tilley and I went to the trail's end and back, then a family walk along the river (including one incident of Tilley jumping in before she realized it was deep, and a quick jump out again). Nice day to be out; met some other nice pups including a young and an old Golden, perfect timing to celebrate the arrival of cousin Max to the Little Hodges in Lexington. Apparently the dog is already a true Hodges; rather than soiling his travel crate he deftly, gingerly placed two small poops...into an empty food dish clipped to the cage interior.

And by the way, went out to do 4 but ended up with 3.26.

Halloween Fun

This post is only related to training in that it gives me more fat to work off while training...and involved missing working out midweek due to costume prep and Halloween itself.

Our office had a contest for a $50 Melting Pot gift certificate (read: more fat) so I opted to join in the fray. I was trying to come up with something different and I thought, why not involve a real live prop?

I ended up going as a young queen Elizabeth (mostly because there were black wigs, not grey, left). It's hard to tell what I was mostly inspired by... my grandmother's mink wrap, having recently seen The Queen, or the fact that I happened to have a corgi handy.


In either case, we pulled it off well enough to get a tie for second place (for which we received nothing, just like Top Gun, no points for second best...).

But between the photo sent around to staff as well as an actual photo I sent around with it, I think I feel pretty good about the effort.

And Tilley of course was the belle of the ball, taking turns napping in my office to "play dates" with various colleagues...complete with a quick duck out to Krystal with Megan (her first!) to complete the day.



We scurried home to get ready for our own trick-or-treaters, and to de-queen, and get fairied. Both girls and I were fairies this year (Tilley's "Welsh Golfer" costume from Target sits collecting dust; she didn't want to "look like a boy dog"). We actually *HAD* trick or treaters, unlike last year's Great Pumpkin Debacle on SSI. 14, to be exact. Tilley had fun visiting the neighbors across the parking lot that we chat with sometimes when we are out there (tho was given no treats!) and pretend trick-or-treating at our own door (complete WITH treats). Please note the effective use of Sephora green glitter eye cream on all three of us.

Her most fun was this...as the first real group of kids who came who fawned over her and our candy ("I got CHOCOLATE!", I heard more than once), and then as the kids trundled off down the hallway Tilley went with them. "Bye Mom, see ya! Going with my new friends."

She and Laika made another bolt attempt later in the evening while we talked to our neighbors across the hall, we looked up and noted with interest that the girls were well on their way to "F it, let's go on our own!!!".

All in all, a fun day. And yes, we are well aware we need real children. ;)