Run DMZ

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And watched my building move back and forth during the earthquake that hit about half an hour ago. All's well here, though I'm starting to wish my cubicle was on the first floor and that I didn't wear these freakin' wedge heels to work this morning. At least I did have on clean underwear! May everyone else in southern California be just as safe. 5.8 Earthquake Hits Los Angeles

This morning I discovered a new wellness resource : teleconferences of health-related lectures led by college professors and thought leaders. The lectures currently listed all begin at 9 p.m. ET; 6 p.m. PT. Tonight’s is on “ What Your Mind and Body are Saying About Your Disease ”. Tomorrow night’s is “ How Tea Can Help You Lose Weight and Improve Your Health .” The call-in number is not toll-free, so unless you have an unlimited long distance service or 60 free minutes on your cell phone, the lecture may not be totally “free.” I went ahead and signed up for tomorrow’s lecture and will report some highlights.

I spent the latter part of the week in San Francisco, one of my favorite cities and a place I've written about previously on this blog. This time around, I thought I'd try my hand at a different kind of pictorial to show some highlights of the past two days. It's my first experience with digital video software, but you can trust it won't be my last.

Interesting observations since we started wearing our peds for a companywide competition. It records when you walk and when you run and everything else (biking, rowing, elliptical, etc.) goes down as generic “activity.” Much to my dismay, it’s precise. I’ve synched it to my stopwatch and it records time accurately. I’ve matched it against Google mashups, and the mileage is pretty much spot on, too. It’s got my cadence down and actually knows when I’m “running” versus “jogging,” and it’s forcing me to speed up (hooray!) to get in my minimum mileage each morning. What I’ve learned is that I don’t walk nearly as much as I think during the day and I don’t work nearly as hard as I claim at the gym. I also eat way too many carbs, but that's something the scale, not the ped, told me the other day. This must be what it’s like to buy your first GPS watch and realize that you’ve been underachieving for years. It’s true: ignorance is bliss. Englightment, though, has its own advantage.

This morning I arrived to meet a friend at a Starbucks in Scripps Ranch well ahead of schedule and decided to run a short route I used to do weekdays when we first moved to San Diego. The baristas mentioned a local SRHS student was putting on a benefit race for a girl with cancer. I immediately recognized both the organizer and the beneficiary: both danced at the same studio as our daughters. Suki is organizing the race/walk around Miramar Lake for her senior project; Taylor attended the dance camp where Alex was a counselor last summer. If anyone in the area is interested, the Believe in Taylor Run/Walk will be held Sat., Aug. 9 at Miramar Lake. The 5-miler (essentially a run around the entire lake) starts at 4 p.m. The 2-miler begins at 4:30. Given it could be hitting 90-100 degrees then, I suspect some runners will turn into walkers before the end, but it’s for an excellent cause and you can bet I’ll be there. For more information and a race form, go to BelieveinTaylor.org . Last n...