Fabulous Run

Hope you all enjoy the long Labor Day Weekend! I will be moving tonight and tomorrow...and maybe have my place somewhat together by Sunday night before a 5 mile race Monday morning!

Here's what three things I'm obsessed with this week... My new apartment! I picked up the keys yesterday at lunch and have a few things moved in so far, but will be doing most of the heavy lifting with a few friends on Saturday...followed by breakfast tacos and mimosas. HPD. I went to pick up a copy of my police report yesterday to give to the insurance company. Only it hadn't been updated with the list of things I sent in August 5! So I called to find out what had happened only to receive a text message back this morning saying that they had never received my email. The address she gave me had one . in it that wasn't in the first address they gave me. So I forwarded the original email to both addresses...and she wrote back from the one I had sent the original email to! Ugh. Track meet! there's a Diamond League - Weltklasse Zurich - on this afternoon with some great match ups. http://olympictalk.nbcsports.com/2013/08/28/usain-bolt-justin-gatlin-diamon

So last night was track Tuesday for our new running club. Yes, it was my second week at the track, but last week all we had to do was a one mile time trial. Yesterday's workout was 1,000 (2 mins rest), 800m (1 min rest), 600m (1 min rest), 400m (1 min rest), 200m (1 min rest). It might not sound that bad, but I hadn't done a speed workout in at least 3 years! There had to be at least 40 people out there for this workout, but I ended up doing it mostly alone. E was with me for a few. Not having done this a while and having barely been running, I wasn't expecting very much. So I was pleasantly surprised that I was able to get this done at 8 minute mile pace. Granted it was not as easy as the last time I did a workout at 8 minute pace and my arms felt like lead weights at the end. But I got it done. Now I just need to keep up with my runs for the rest of the week. It will be harder than normal as I get ready to move this weekend. I pick up my keys at lunch time today

As of yesterday, it has been 15 business days since I submitted my paperwork to State Farm for all of the things that were stolen from my apartment. They have never reached out to me, but I have called them three times. First, with questions before I submitted my paperwork (this was when they told me they had 15 days to accept or reject my claim but that it "never takes that long"), then to see if they needed my new address since I was moving soon and finally last week to get an update on my claim status (this was when they told me they were just waiting on the police report which they had requested on August 16 and it only takes 3 or 4 days). Maybe they put a note in your file every time you call and make you wait that much longer before they finish your claim.  I just want to replace what was taken from me. According to Texas law, there are deadlines for insurance companies to act after you’ve filed a claim. They must accept or reject my claim within 15 days after m

It was one busy weekend, well kind of. And I'm still exhausted! Saturday morning E and I met up for the group run at 6:35 am. We went out with the five hour group and the way out, the first 2.5 miles, felt amazing. I was loose, it was easy. But at the turn around point was a clover leaf. You know, one of those highway ramp systems. It means hills. And we ran it. It wasn't that hard. But it was only my third run in training. So the way back was rough. It was hot and humid and I pretty much died. So after we finished the run, E and I went and got gatorade and more water. We needed to replenish bc we were going to a 10:00 am rowing class with K! Talk about a busy morning. So we get to this class and the instructor is telling us what to do and it starts and we're moving along and all I can think is man, this is hard. But E and K seemed fine, so I didn't want to say anything. Finally, more than halfway through the class, I ask E how to adjust the tension. I think she

It's finally Friday! And for some reason I was up at 5:30 am. (Well there was a reason. But we shall not talk about it. At least not right now. Mysterious, I know. Sorry!) I just couldn't sleep any more. And now I am exhausted. I'm looking forward to doing not very much this weekend. A run tonight. A longer run tomorrow followed by a rowing class and hopefully brunch. Then nothing. No other plans the rest of the weekend. Except for packing. Must. Pack. Apartment.

Here's what three things I'm obsessed with this week... They just released the new ad for Scandal season 3. I can not wait for it to premier in October! BET has been airing reruns and I got caught up in it two weekends in a row. Even though I've seen every episode already. Twice. It's just so compelling.  I still don't know when I will get the keys to my new place, but it should be some time in the next week. I'll be moving all of the furniture a week from this Saturday. I think I will be throwing myself a packing party this weekend so I can get my shit together. Really all that's left is my bedroom (mostly clothes), bathroom and kitchen. Ok, so I guess that's more than half the apartment. But I still feel like I have a lot done already. This shouldn't be too bad. Famous last words. The World Championships have ended and one of the stories I'm still following came out at the end. American pole vaulter Brad Walker, a former world cham

So yesterday was my second run with my new running group. Tuesdays are track days and we have the option for meeting up with the group to do a track workout at Memorial Park at 6:30pm. E and I figured we would give it a try to at least see what it was all about. Now, they tell you to warm up beforehand with a one or two mile jog. No problem. Then the coach shows up and says ok, it's time to warm up. Ah, what? Didn't we just do that? And he leads us over to a field to do drills! Ugh. You still want me to run after this? I'm not in college anymore, this isn't track practice. So after the usual high knees, butt kicks, etc it's time for the work out. This is when he gets us. New people have to do a time trial to decide what group we will be in. Everyone else will be doing 4x300, 800, 4x300. We have to do a one mile time trial. What do you mean you want me to race? I need some kind of warning for this. So he gets the other groups started and now it's our turn

So yep, I'm still waiting to here from both my new apartment complex and the insurance company. I did hear from the apartment complex yesterday, but they didn't give me a diffinitive answer on whether or not I could move in early. They did tell me though that they didn't think I could move in this coming weekend. If I do get the keys early, it will probably only be a few days early. At least it's something. As for State Farm, I haven't heard anything from them since I sent in my info over two weeks ago. I did call them two Fridays ago for an update, but as far as I can tell from my online claim status they haven't even started processing my claim. Good times. I want to call them, but I don't want to be annoying about it. Why is it that car insurance claims seem to be processed so much faster? I'll just sit over here, impatiently waiting and twiddling my thumbs, and pray that somebody calls me soon. 

Saturday morning was my first group run with my new running club! I still have not gotten an email from them with my training schedule and other important info but the man in charge had told E that we should be there at 7:00am to leave with the 7:15 group. So when I showed up at 6:50am and finally found the man in charge he said well you're late, you should be with that group right there but they are leaving and E isn't here yet. Umm, not what you told us the other day but whatever. So we left with a slower group (thank god) and just tried to take it easy on our first run with the group. We ended up going almost 5 miles. And it felt good, easy, if a little slow. But you have to start somewhere. Now the one thing we have been on the fence about in regards to joining a local running club is telling people where we work. So obviously we got asked that question on our very first run by some of the ladies we were running with. Some people love our race and some people hate it,

Here's what three things I'm obsessed with this week... If you haven't seen this photo of Usain Bolt winning the men's 100m at the IAAF World Championships, you might be living under a rock. There are five sessions, and some pretty good events, left to go at Worlds. And Team USA is currently sitting atop the medal table with a total of 10 medals - 4 gold, 5 silver and 1 bronze. So...I joined a local running club. And I signed up for the marathon training program! Not that I'm signed up for an actual marathon or anything. This particular training group is training for my race, so I can't exactly run that. There are weekly track sessions and long runs are on Saturdays. The program lasts for 22 weeks. Well but we've already missed two weeks bc of other commitments. E and I will be doing this together. We'll see how this goes.  Towards the end of September is something called Social Media Week. It is a leading media platform and worldwide event

I am always looking for idea...looking at other races to see what they do - what works and what doesn't. Lately, I've been focused on two races on the west coast. I don't love everything they do and some of the things they do really confuse me, but what they do well really stands out and I would love to go to each of these races next year. The San Francisco Marathon has a great social media presence. Or maybe had. Just going back to their page, they haven't been posting as much since their marketing person left a few weeks ago. But for the past several years, they have been doing it right. They get a lot of engagement on facebook. And being in San Fran they have some pretty amazing photography. They also offer an Ambassador program. People from all over the country apply to be a San Fran Marathon Ambassador. This gets them a race entry and free swag and in return they promote the race on their personal social media channels and blog about their experiences. Soun

Yep, I am still not a morning person. I agreed to volunteer at one of local 5K's and work packet pick-up the day of the race, which meant that we had to be there at 5:30 am on Saturday. 5:30?!? Ugh. So I tried to get to bed early Friday night. Tried being the key work there. One of my neighbors was throwing a rave. Seriously. People still do that? There was techno music, a black light and people smoking out on their porch. Shockingly enough, I made it to E's on time (read 5:00am) and we drove downtown. Let me just tell you. This early in the morning you expect it to be crisp, maybe cool even. Not so much. Walking out the front door was like stepping into a steam room. Low 80s and 80+% humidity. And E wanted to run the 5K after two hours of volunteering. So with 7 minutes to go before the start of the race we made out way over to the start line that we had helped set up. I was already dripping sweat and we hadn't even done anything yet. Oh and this was my first run i

I was so excited to order the pink nike pegasus sneakers that I was swooning over last week. After everything that happened, it was my way of cheering my self up. Then they came in the mail. Now don't get me wrong, I still love them, but I don't love them as much. In person, they are much darker than the picture would have you believe. They are even darker than the picture I took. Must be something about this pink, it always looks brighter in the photo. They look so similar in these pictures. But in person. It's almost a different shoe. Oh well. At least they were on sale. In unrelated news...I called the insurance company on the premise of telling them I was moving but really just wanting an update on my claim. Well the really nice man at State Farm took my banking info so that I wouldn't miss the check, it would just be direct deposited. And he forwarded my claim to someone else to make sure they get started working on. Fingers crossed maybe they will get it d

This week has been...annoying. It's very distracting waiting to here from the insurance company. Anywho...here's what three things I'm obsessed with this week. The Everygirl does some amazing features. First there was the one from the SF Marathon. She was pretty cool...but they just did that feature in May or June maybe and the girl already left there for a new job. Anyway. My new girl crush is this girl , Self's Social Media Editor. Makes me realize a few things about myself. Like my personal social media presence isn't strong enough right now. You're shocked. I know. I am obsessed with what is going on with my insurance claim. I submitted all of my documentation late Monday afternoon. I am now obsessively checking my claim status online, but so far nothing has changed. Do they have questions? Have they even looked at it yet? When will I hear something? I am not the most patient person. This is driving me crazy. The IAAF World Championships start

Time to change the subject. I can't think about insurance and robbery and people invading my privacy anymore. SO...hurricanes. I got luck last year that there were no hurricanes after I moved to Texas. But I will never forget coming in from the airport for my interview and seeing the highway sign that said "It's hurricane season. Be prepared." Umm. what? The girls at work tell me that once hurricane season starts I should never have less than half a tank of gas. I try to always keep a case of water in the house. I should prob have more non-perishable food int he house too. The Weather Channel says my hurricane survival kit should include: At least a 3-day and preferably a 7-day supply of water (one gallon per person per day) Non-perishable food Manual can opener First aid kit Prescription and non-prescription medicines Toiletries Cell phones and battery-powered cell phone chargers Battery-powered radios and flashlights Plenty of batteries Extra cash

Ok, so who has ever had their place broken into? First I filed the police report. Then after I actually had a handle on what really was missing I amended the police report. I gathered all of the documentation I could find for the things that were missing - it's amazing how often I just throw away the receipts - and sent that along with an itemized list to the insurance company. Now what? How long will this take? The one guy I spoke to said that they have 15 days to process the claim, but that it usually gets done sooner. Will I hear from them in the meantime? I called my new apartment complex yesterday. I am supposed to be moving on August 31 but naturally I want to get out of here as soon as possible. They told me the current tenant moves out on the 19th and that they may be able to get me in that weekend - the 24th or 25th. They were going to check on a few things and let me know. That would be fantastic. I'm not necessarily afraid to be in my current apartment. But I

Sorry for the short radio silence. Again. But I have a good excuse this time. Well, bad for me, but still an excuse. Thursday was an early work day for me. I picked E up just before 6:30am so we could take another spin at doing a course tour with the GoPro. In my car this time. You'd think that we would have realized that this really does need to be done on a bike bc towards the end you go the wrong way down a one way street. But it didn't occur to us until we were already half way done. Anywho...bc of the early start, we finished work early for the day. I was looking forward to a nap, followed by some reading and tv. No real plans, just hanging out. But when I got home, I found this. O.M.G. WTF. Someone broke into my apartment?!? My dumb ass walked into the apartment anyway, walked around a bit and realized what a disaster it was in my bedroom and closet. Complete mess. Then, not knowing what else to do, I walked over to my leasing office. They were nice enough to call

Wow. Where did this week go. It's too early for me to be this busy. Anyway...here's what three things I'm obsessed with this week. Love. these pink nikes . Have to have them. I can always use another pair of running shoes. And they're on sale! I will always be obsessed with London, want to move there, visit there. I saw this the other day and it made me smile. (sorry mom) I bought camera this for work last week and am still trying to figure out how to use it. We took it out for a course tour on E's bike Saturday...but there was a crash. She was ok, but we stopped for the day. We went back out this morning for a half tour but the mounting could have been better. You could see my car in the picture and well we missed a turn. Will try again once E gets back from vacation.