Run DMZ

She’s pink, but not pink-pink. I always thought I’d be attracted to blues or greens or reds, but I liked her the minute I set eyes on her. She’s a Diamondback hybrid, more on the road than comfort side, I’m told, though her wheels are good for the dirt trails closest to my house. The guy who sold her to me, Ian, says she’s good with klutzes like me. I woke before everyone today to take her for a test ride, and I was the one tested. Within minutes my heart was racing and sweat was forming on my brow, no matter which settings I chose. I made it midway up the first hill before I had to dismount and walk the rest of the way. It happened again on the return, which ended up, oh, 14 miles shorter than intended. This is going to be harder than I thought. I now understand the bond between [wo]man and bike. In our case, we’re both heavy lightweights who need each other to make this work. Speaking of work, I’m obviously going to have to build up to commuting to mine. I like it though. I l

This is my last Saturday morning at home for the next six months, give or take a week. Next Saturday is the first run of the 4th Annual Half Mad or Whatever Marathon Training Program. Given it’s already the midyear, and the first half of the year hasn’t gone as planned runningwise, I’m going to treat it as a fresh start. Not another false start. What I’m doing differently: 1. Buying a hybrid bike this weekend (yes, finally!) to commute and to hit the canyon trails some evenings. 2. Signing up for a hatha yoga class that meets Tuesday evenings. This precludes me from joining the track club for speedwork, but in my current state I can’t do sprints or hill repeats for awhile anyway. 3. Signing up for a Sunday morning yoga/Pilates combo class. I decided on this instead of a spin class because I’m finally recognizing I need a kinder, gentler regime to avoid being sidelined so much. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to buy a bike after breakfast and then get the house ready for out-of-

What does it say that I know every person in this article , which is all about the back of the pack crowd and their different marathon experience? There’s: Michael, Irene ’s husband; John Cross, an octogenarian I’ve welcomed home in many races; Chuck, Louise’s old training partner (old as in former, Chuck, not agewise); Erin, who I’ve shared a run with and who is part of our core SDTC half marathon training program; and Sue, who I just spoke to on the phone the other day. I hope they and everyone running this Sunday are greeted by cool weather, great music and a spectacular group of spectators. I’ll be thinking of you.

Many of us have trouble falling and staying asleep these days, so it's no wonder that articles on sleep are popping up all over the place. This morning's local newspaper has one such item on the issue that I thought was worth passing on , particularly since sleep is as important as nutrition and fitness to runners. Here's an excerpt that might prove useful: "Although we spend one-third of our lives sleeping, many of us don't do it very well. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine says about one in five adults fails to get the necessary seven to eight hours a night, and the economic downturn is making things worse. The trick to catching this elusive bedfellow is learning how to let it come to us. 1. You can't fall asleep . Don't stay in bed. It turns your sanctuary into a torture chamber and actually decreases your sleep drive, says Zee. Instead, practice good “sleep hygiene” by reducing your caffeine intake, exercising (but not too close to bedtime)

It felt good to sleep in my own bed again. It felt even better to wake up and run 20 minutes early this morning.

If I have to be sidelined with an injury, I can think of no better time than now. We're taking a week off to drive to northern California and celebrate family. I've put my to-do list in the sidebar. Notice there isn't much involving computers and emails on it? That's why you won't hear from me, on this blog or yours, for a bit. Enjoy.

Last year city officials asked every residence to cut back on personal water consumption by 10 percent to help conserve our most precious natural resource, water. As you can see by one of our recent water bills, our household went above and beyond. (This month’s bill was even better -- 51% lower!) Unfortunately, the majority of San Diegans did not share our enthusiasm and continued to wash half-full loads of laundry and dishes, water lawns during rainy weeks, wash down walkways and take long showers. Overall consumption dropped a mere 5%. Now we’re all about to suffer. The agency that regulates our water supply is cutting back because of prolonged drought, which means we’re forced to cut down – and pay more for the water we will use. Other water authorities are doing the same elsewhere in the state. Beginning in June, each San Diegan household is going to be given an allotment and will pay stiff fines if it goes over the gallon limit. Habitual offenders, I’m told, will have some ki

The only thing I dislike more than paying a late fee for registering on race day is paying in advance and then not being able to run because of an injury. To save $10 I just blew $25 for a 5k I’m now unable to run. I had reached the stage of recovery where I could walk a couple of miles pain free and thought I was ready to resume a run-walk routine. I was wrong. Now I’m limping along again and reevaluating a lot of upcoming plans. From the Dr. Foot Web site : CAUSES OF ACHILLES PAIN --The biggest contributing factor is ignoring the pain in the tendon. --Achilles Pain commonly occurs from shearing and stretching forces placed on the achilles tendon. Excess Pronation (rolling over of the foot) causes extra strain on the tendon. Inflammation of the tendon is a common result along with tightening of the calf muscles. --Sudden increases in training can lead to achilles tendonitis. *--Excessive hill running or speed work. --Inappropriate shoes. If the soles of the shoes are too stiff, thi

Love this column about those of us who are up -- naturally, not with an alarm -- well before sunrise. It appears we really are the happiest people on earth. A brisk run before dawn sheds light on 'larks'

Never thought I'd say this, but I think Microsoft is better than Google, at least when it comes to slide show software. I'm going back to Windows Vista, but first here's what I just spent a few precious Sunday hours creating. The photos and audio sync perfectly in draft form, but it gets messed up each time I publish it. I'm willing to let a lot of things go, but when it comes to photography, I'm a bit of a perfectionist. The software auto-cropped vertical shots poorly, but I gave up trying to fix each one manually. It also didn't let me lay down my own audio so I couldn't fade or even get to the very end of the song before it cut off 6 seconds too early). Arghhhh. The song, by the way, is from the CD "Party" by the PanJammers steel drum orchestra in Blacksburg, Va. My sister made me buy it a few years ago to support the band and I'm just now discovering she sold me a bootleg!

While I work on the final installment of my Puerto Rico travelog (Seriously, I once spent days discussing a 5k -- did you honestly think I was going to let you off easy with just two lengthy posts?!), I wanted to share the recipe for the mango-melon smoothie sitting right next to me. I swiped it from Runner's World, which said the treat comes in at about calories. I use a "lighter" version of organic vanilla soymilk, so I'm putting my concotion at 300 calories. 3/4 c. frozen mango chunks 1/2 c. banana slices 1/2 c. diced cantelope 1/4 c. vanilla soymilk I upped the mango chunks so it would be the dominant flavor, but I still could smell the cantalope and taste the banana with each sip. It took me less than 5 minutes to chop, blend and serve. Enjoy

My husband is upstairs showering before we head together to the gym. He does this every Sunday -- showers to go sweat, then comes home and showers again. This makes no sense to me. Then again, some days neither does he.