2 down; 8 more DSE runs to go.

Another DSE run today. After being sick this week, I wanted to take it a little bit easier than last time. I ran with Jane, a DSE member who lives near me in Oakland and who, with her husband Don, has been giving me rides to these races in the city.

The weather this morning in Golden Gate Park was chilly and overcast: perfect for running. Jane and I were able to talk for about the first 1/2 mile. At that point, the heavy breathing started and conversation was no longer possible. I was glad to have someone with me to keep me on pace. When I run these races by myself, I get all tangled up in weird thoughts about how I'm not going fast enough and I just want to stop but I don't want to come in last place and everyone else has already finished and drunk all the water and eaten all the brownies and there won't be any left for me, boo hoo hoo.

We were happy to come in under 31 minutes today. 30:43. Place: 116/150. Full results here. And I was especially happy that neither of my legs hurt afterwards, although that could have been due to the 800 milligrams of ibuprofen I look this morning before leaving the house.

Holy Crap! I forgot to post!

I also forgot to run for 2 weeks! But they were the final weeks before the Academy Awards, and I had movies to see! Lots of them! And a party to plan, which turned out to be really great. We had a Mexican theme complete with Oscar-shaped pinata and Mark's most excellent chili verde, Mexican chocolate ice cream, and many other goodies. This is not an excuse and it's probably not even a reason. But anyway, that's what happened.

Also, I lost my iPod. In a taxicab. Of which I don't know the name. And for which I paid cash, so I have no way to find out the name to call the company. So there you go. I had to buy another one. And another pair of headphones. And then my Nike+ sensor stopped sensing so I had to send it back to Apple for a replacement. And how can a girl run these days without all the proper technology? (More bad excuses.)

Anyway, I did start running and working out again after the Oscars. And speaking of technology, Michael found an article in The New York Times (Really? Michael found an article in the NY Times?) about a new software product called The Repacer. It will take any mp3 song file and change the speed to the Beats Per Minute (BPM) you specify so that you can maintain a regular rhythm while running. And it does it without making the song sound like either the Chipmunks or a weird character from a David Lynch film. It helps me stick to my goal of 88 BPM, especially when I get tired and feel like slowing down.

And in other product news, I've gotten back into my deep water running in response to problems I've been having with my LEFT shin and have been using a pair of AQx Sports Aquatic Training Shoes in combination with my Aqua Jogger to better mimic the feel of road running while in the pool. The shoes add resistence but also have "fins" that add stability while "running." It's kind of fun.

A week ago, I was at the King Pool in Berkeley all my myself in their deep pool and felt like I was in a David Hockney painting. The patterns on the water were just like that.

Day Pool With 3 Blues, David Hockney