First post entirely from the phone
Don’t be jealous. I’m at a cafe waiting for one of the famous founders of 30 Voices.
I just looked up from my iPhone to find a fly in my Chardonnay. No, this isn’t a song from the mid 90’s, it’s my life. So I reached into the glass and gently plucked the little bugger out.
Get this. He flew away. Way to live, little guy.
Marathon Training Update
Today was a 12 mile day. Coach offered to let me borrow this fantastic device to help me check my pace (while simultaneously keeping the NSA in the loop on exactly where I was at all times). Have you seen these things?
Super fun! My overall average pace for the 12 miles was 14:46 minute miles. Right on! There was a period around mile 6 when my group split up, and a couple of us slowed down. The pace lagged to nearly 16 minute miles. But once I was off on my own for the last 4 miles, I boogied & made up the time–got the average back down under 15.
I’m so tempted to get one of these gizmos. Watching the pace sure does help the miles fly by. And now I know what it feels like when doing under 13 minute miles. It feels great!
dada=sister
My first impulse when I got the letter from my Women for Women sister last night was to smell the paper. Not the top page that you see above – which is a form the translator filled out – but the actual page that Odette wrote on in her own language.
All I could think was that this paper was marked on in Africa, in D.R. Congo. Someone sat down and wrote a letter to me. Spelled my name; mine. I saw it right there on the page. And I smelled the page instinctually – like some subconscious and feeble attempt to see where the letter came from – to go there. To go to Africa. To visit this person who had written my name and imagined me.
This morning I woke up and began my reply to Odette. I studied her words and compared them to the English translation. I figured out from typing random selections into google that she speaks Swahili – or in Swahili, it’s Kiswahili. I learned that “dada mpenzi” means “dear sister”. And I noticed something strange. Odette used the term “dada mpenzi” twice, but the translator only included it once. I think, in my mere hours-long experience studying this language, that perhaps she might have been more affectionate than the translator led on. Or maybe that’s wishful thinking.
I took a break from typing her words into the Swahili-English Free Translation website (vita = war . . . hakuna maji = no water . . . askari = soldier) to heat up a sandwich. We ordered Brazilian food last night. My favorite sandwich from this place is “The Havana” – it’s caramelized bananas, melted monterey jack cheese, Mascarpone cheese, with a touch of cinnamon stuffed in toasted Italian bread. When the microwave beeped at me and I pulled the plate out with this warm, amazingly delicious sandwich waiting, I thought, this is magic. Thirty seconds ago, this was cold. Now it’s warm.
Odette’s letter ends with the words, “Mungu (God) will reward your deeds.”
Mungu already has. He already has.
Haiku Friday
Friday morning
I’m procrastinating. Should be halfway to work by now. Still have to shower. Skipped WW AGAIN this a.m.. Sometimes it seems like my whole life is a sequence pendulum sways ranging from feeling bad about my indulgences (eating too much, drinking too much, spending too much) and trying with the scrutiny of a perfectionist to make up for those indulgences. WW, marathon training, fund raising. However, I can only stand the “good behavior” for so long before the pendulum swings again to all of the above and more: not going to work at a reasonable morning hour, not cleaning the apartment, etc., etc.
I know meditation – a more eastern outlook – is what I need. A break from my western tendency to make every thought a qualitative judgment. Breathe. Breathe. Release. Relax.
Be. Be. Be.
HEY YOU GU-UYS!
Thank you, Family Guy, for reminding me of something I enjoyed so much!
Marathon Training Update
Today we scaled back to 8 miles – a recovery week. We were back at the Santa Monica location. So lucky to have the coast to walk along.
At this point, my total work outs and mileage should be higher. Read the rest of this entry »
Bottom Chef
Just another day in Los Angeles
E and I have a ritual of meeting in Malibu several times a year for coffee. She was my roommate during college — brought together in the dorm lottery and we’ve been friends ever since. If it weren’t for her, I probably would have never even moved to California.
Anyway, just off the coast, there’s a little park-like type of courtyard in the middle of some shoppes. We like to sit out in the sunshine & chat.
Last Saturday morning, we were standing outside of her truck saying goodbye when we heard the scuffling of about 22 sneakers on the pavement. No voices, just the sound of many feet moving sporadically. We looked over to see nearly a dozen men moving around a focal point gradually coming our way. They each had cameras. Who was in the middle? Hard to tell. A seemingly short man and a sort of short looking woman. As I reported later to my mother, from where I stood, she looked dumpy.
When the swarm split up and began running off to claim their next vantage points, I betrayed all dignity and yelled towards one of the guys, “Who was that?”
“Halle Berry.”
Within 24 hours, she had given birth.
So I was just at an odd angle when she passed me because anyone can see that – even 9 months pregnant – Halle Berry is about the farthest thing from dumpy ever!
My overall impression of the event is what an annoying presence the paparazzi were. That was my first time seeing them in action. Faced with that on a regular basis, I’d be as nutty as can be.
Training update: Welcome to Hills
We met at 7pm last night on a residential street in Santa Monica. It felt a lot colder than our usual 7:30am meeting time. Bear in mind, when I say, “cold”, I mean 54F w/ the wind chill. Don’t laugh, that feels cold to people used to going to the beach all year long. It’s So.Cal.Cold.
The hill Coach had us sprint was comprised of 4 short residential blocks. Each steeper than the last. Our instructions, “Leave it all on the hill.” In other words: Spend it. Give it all. Coach didn’t tell us how many reps there would be. Instead he told us, “You’ll be doing a specific number of laps, and I am not going to tell you the number.” So the runners were sprinting, and my instructions (as a walker) were to do my fastest power walk possible.
FIRST LAP:
1st block – Alright. Okay.
2nd block – Not bad.
3rd block – My lungs are making noises I’ve never heard before. I’m shocked by how difficult and unpleasant it feels.
4th block – All I can think is, “Holy @#$@!”
SECOND LAP:
1st block – Enjoy this while it lasts.
2nd block – Hell is coming.
3rd block – This is awful. I want to stop. I hear a teammate approaching from behind. Her wheezing is as bad as my own. Plus, she’s grunting. I think, “Oh, grunting. That’s a good idea.” So I exclaim in pain.
4th block – @#$@ @#$!% I remind myself, this isn’t chemo . . .%^&#
At the top of the hill in between my second and third laps, I hear some of the runners talk about how there are a total of four. Okay. So be it. I consider removing the camping flash light around my neck – I’m the only one with a light on. But I rationalize that if I fall down dead on the next lap, I want an approaching car to see my body in the road.
THIRD LAP:
1st block – Here we go! Wooo!
2nd block – Let’s get this over with!
3rd block – Dig. Kick it! Right on! This isn’t a war zone. One of the runners shifts to walking beside me. We whisper-wheeze, “Good Work!” “Keep on.” Go! This is living! THIS is living!
4th block – . . . then he shifts from walking to running right in the middle of this-the steepest block. Crazy. Yeah!
FOURTH LAP:
1st block – Hurry.
2nd block – Last time! Yes!
3rd block – Keep going, Keep going, Keep going, Keep going.
4th block – Last block. Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!
I have no idea how my teammates ran that thing. No idea. What I do know is that it feels good to work through something that challenging. To dig deep. When I was training last year, I would be on my hours-long walks anticipating the moment when I’d have to dig deep. I’d periodically be walking along thinking, “Am I digging yet? Nope. No need. Doing fine.” But I knew there’d come a time when I’d have to summon strength. I’d tell myself that when the time came, I could do it. I could dig deeper. The hills, that’s digging. I’m looking forward to seeing myself get better at them. I’m looking forward to seeing my thoughts evolve during the process. Sort of like writing, you don’t really know what’s going to come until you go through the experience.
Another day training
This is what it looked like this morning from the jetty at the L.A. Marina. Today was our 10 mile run/walk.
I spent most of the morning walking with a woman who has done 15 full marathons and Read the rest of this entry »
I should have known!
What’s wrong with this picture? Andy usually knows how to pick them. He reads reviews by the people who write good reviews. By the people who like the movies we like. So why, on earth, were we under the impression that “10,000 B.C.” would be watchable? For the first 12 minutes, we took turns grimacing at each other, neither one of us wanting to be the nincompoop who drags the other out of the theatre mid-show. Finally, 29 minutes in, after I had my fill of popcorn, I suggested, “Let’s go.” And we went – salvaging what little bit of our dignity was left.
My Team
I have so many beautiful images in my memory from yesterday’s walk . . . but the shot below was the only time I broke the momentum to snap a picture.
I’m really proud of my teammates.
Our Westside group alone (pictured above) has raised over $110,000 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society since we started in early February!
Happy 117th post
Somehow I missed marking my 100th post w/ the customary “100 things about me”. So I thought I’d give it a go today: 117th post – 117 things about me.
1. I get emotionally attached to stuffed animals. I completely anthropomorphize them. In an attempt to keep the tendency under control, I keep only one furry friend in the house – my panda, bought at National (I-Won’t-Call-It-Reagan) Airport during an especially annoying day of travel. The puppy featured above was given away Saturday at a baby shower.
2. I really wanted to keep that puppy.
3. I love Contemporary American and Central American folk art. Read the rest of this entry »
Marathon Training Update
Last Sunday, our team met in the hills for 7 miles. For those of you who aren’t familiar with L.A., the place pictured above is one of the several walking trails located about a 12 minute drive from my apartment. At the top you get ocean views & breezes. It’s trails like this that have kept me living in this city. These are the hills that transformed my life. But I digress.
Last Sunday, before our workout, we heard from another teammate who spoke about how his own family is in a race for a cure that might save his mother who has been battling blood cancer for nearly 2 years now. The specifics are not mine to share. What I will say is that this young man has a wonderfully charismatic personality and a giant heart. You know how some people just exude a cheerfulness right away? That’s this guy. A real joy. So when he told his story, we were all especially motivated. And touched. There wasn’t a dry eye on the trails.
I learned that so far, our team has raised nearly $100,000! Amazing! I also made a new friend during our walk.I’ve done a tad better about getting in my midweek work outs lately. So far so good w/ the Mizunos.
11 work outs – 31 miles.
Stay tuned as these numbers grow.
Here’s to a cure in our lifetime!
