Maybe there is something to this iPod thing…

I work for a technology company. I get excited about new versions of popular software, I get cheap thrills when my company announces a new tech-savvy product, I put bread on the table by learning about these technical advances and promoting them, and I get my kicks out of seeing what my developers can create with out-of-the-box software.

But I am not an “everyday techie”. Meaning simply, I don’t run out and buy the newest technical gadget on the market.

Nor do I run out and buy the middle-age technical gadget on the market.

In fact, I’m just now learning how to use my new iPod.

And when I say “new iPod”, I mean Dave’s discarded old iPod that he has had for years, and has recently passed on to me, since he has moved on to bigger and better.

I had been using an MP3 player that Ted won at a company Christmas party three or four years ago. It held a whopping 15 songs and didn’t even get me through my half marathon without beginning the playlist over. But it worked, and still does, and I was never prompted to go out and buy anything different.

But I think I love my iPod. I find myself wanting to load anything and everything onto it. Even if I don’t necessarily truly enjoy the music, I need to load it…because it fits. And I can. I have downloaded TV shows that I never would even think to watch. Just because I can.

So when I read a blurb in my most recent issue of Runner’s World about a guy who creates a weekly podcast, and loads it online for runners to listen to during their long run—kind of like a virtual running partner—I quickly logged online and downloaded the podcast to my iTunes (I won’t tell you how long it took for me to figure out how to do that, but it wasn’t as long as it took me to figure out how to get songs from iTunes to the iPod, and I would still be figuring out if Dave hadn’t taken over and saved the day…some tech-geek I am).

I haven’t even listened to the podcast yet, but I’m assuming it is good (if it wasn’t, I don’t think it would be featured in the magazine…isn’t everything the media prints true and good?). If you are interested, it can be found at www.steverunner.com.

Did I mention another one of my favorite pastimes is inviting people over for dinner, and making a new recipe I have never tried before? I guess directing you to a site where I haven’t even listened to the material is the same thing…so if you don’t like it, or if it offends you, I am in no way represented by this character, and I am just sitting here innocently, probably trying to figure out how to delete this post.

10K in the Happiest Place on Earth

Ted and I are now in week two of marathon training, and it has been a quiet, uneventful week. Ted got new shoes, and so far, everything is right on track. This is his third pair of new shoes in five days. The first two new pairs didn't work--one pair he learned as soon as he stepped out the door. The second pair took him 3 miles to find out. I have to return those today--SHH. This third pair are Asics, and we have a run scheduled for tonight. So we'll see if these are winners or not.

We have also booked a trip to Orlando in October...and it just happened to fall over the weekend of the Walk Disney World 10K. It's the Race for the Taste, and the run goes through Epcot and the parks. At the end of the run, runners are treated to a food and wine festival by restaurants in Epcot, a finisher's medal, and a ticket to a day in Epcot or Animal Kingdom.

Of course we registered. Duh.

Dreams

Ted and I have officially started marathon training.

And with the official start of training comes the onset of my running dreams.

I often dream of running, but especially when training and/or races are on the mind. And, like my imagination, the dreams are not simple, basic dreams. There is a story, or suspense, or action, involved.

Here is an insight to Maggie's mind on some of the better, and more repetitive, of my running dreams:

1) The Basic Running Dream--This dream I have often when I'm deep in a training schedule, or had a series of not-so-good runs. In this dream, I am normally in the town where I grew up, and I am running around town. The catch? I don't get tired. I don't get winded. I run, and I run, and I'm going fast, and I'm going far. And, in my dream, I'm thinking This is awesome! I should be tired now, but I'm not!

2) The Broad Street Dream--I have this dream within a week or two of Broad Street, each of the past two years I've participated. In this dream, I'm running Broad Street. The catch? I get lost. Now, for those of you who are familiar with The Broad Street Run in Philadelphia, it is like any other big run--virtually impossible to go off the path. Especially since the path is a straight-shoot down Broad Street in Philly. But in this dream, I'm off on the side streets and not sure how to get back. I can hear the people cheering, and it's getting dark, but I keep making wrong turns and remain lost.

3) The Marathon Dream--I've had this dream twice, as well. The first time was when I first realized that I could do a marathon, that it was physically possible for me to train and complete the race. The second time was last week, when we were resting up for the beginning of training (nice excuse for a few days off, dontcha think?). In this dream, I am running the Marathon. I assume it's Philly, but there is nothing specific in my dream to point that out, so maybe it's best if I say I'm running A marathon. Anyway, I'm running, but the race is not just any road race--it is Marathon meets Amazing Race. Participants have to run the full 26.2 miles, but they need to find clues along the way, and gather items. In this dream, I am always just a little behind a group of people, and catch up to them on an especially hard clue. We're working together to solve the clue, and I realize I know the answer. Once I come to this realization, I find the next clue (secretly, without anyone knowing--it is a race, after all). I find it, take off, and win the race. Well, I won during the first dream. The second time I had this dream, I'm not sure what happened because I drifted into a dream about sports cars and hockey.

Sports cars and hockey??? Where did that come from...

He Swims, He Bikes--and He Kicks Butt!!!

Dave completed his second triathlon over the weekend, and Ted and I were there for support. We weren't able to watch his swim, but the bike and the run went quite well--and it was fun to be on the other end of the race for a change.

He was using Ted's bike, which is a mountain bike, and really didn't stand much of a chance next to the thin, $2000 road bikes that were there. But he held his own and did well.

The tri was set up that the swim was held at a pool, and the participants swam in groups of six, so there was a rest after that portion. Then, to spread the participants out a bit, they did an 8/10 mile run, then the 12-mile bike, and ended with the 5K.

Whatever time he lost in the biking portion of it, he made up for the 5K. In fact, during the transition of biking to running, he looked Ted and said "Now it's time to kick ass."

As he was finishing the 5K, a group of about 10 people were maybe 2 seconds in front of him. He rounded a corner where Ted and I were waiting...Ted told him to open it up, to start his sprint, that there was a bunch of people he could pass if it pushed.

He passed all the people, and revved up the crowd, who had kind of came down off the high of watching the winners cross about 5-10 minutes prior. Not only did he pass the herd of runners, but one of the runners (seen in the photo to the right in the white T-shirt) is his doubles partner from his tennis team, and pushed it when he saw Dave passing him. They have a healthy competition, and while the kid beat him in the swim and bike (thus placing ahead of him overall), the 5K victory was all Dave really cared about. It was a good neck-to-neck race, which Dave was thrilled about winning, and impressed us. Because he always is ahead of us in races, we never saw him actually finish, and it was really something to watch, especially a finish that close and exciting.

We told him later we were proud of him, regardless of how he did. He told us it meant alot to have us there and hear us cheer as he went past (something he never experienced, again, since he's always ahead of us). And it opened up talks about next year's triathlon...hm...

Local 5Ks

I love seeing events in my small suburb community grow, while at the same time not reaching the point of insanity so many small-town events tend to reach.

Every year, we run in a local 5K. Every year, more and more people are registered, and the event gets bigger. But it never feels like it's bigger--I have never attended this event and felt nostalgic to the "good old days" when the event was small and you could make it to the start in a reasonable amount of time.

This year was no different. There were more people than last year, but it felt healthy...not obese. Ted asked if I would mind if he pulled ahead--he wanted to see how fast he could run. Of course I didn't mind, I told him. But I didn't expect him to pull ahead BEFORE we reached the start. He had found an old neighbor of ours who runs, and wanted to see if he could keep that pace. Turns out Ted pulled ahead of the neighbor and finished in 26:50 or something. Dave finished in 22 minutes, while Maggie pulled up the rear with a 29:10.

I was disappointed with my time. The week prior, Ted and I had been running 28s, even flirting with 27s on a few runs. I was excited for this race, hoping for a PR. While the weather wasn't quite the heavy oppressive heat it had been earlier this week, it was very soupy. I didn't really think "Boy it's hot out", but running in it felt very hard, almost like there was a natural resistance.

After the race, Dave jetted off to his evening gig at the YMCA and Ted and I ate pizza and waited for the results.

The winner did it in 15:11.

Although as I get older, I have realized there is one positive thing to come of it...the older I get, the more likely I am to place with the time I'm running in! One of these days, I'll dominate my age group.

Midnight Running

The big joke of the weekend was how Ted and I left for a run Saturday night, and came back Sunday. (Okay, so the big joke was really funny only to me...Ted and Dave just don't have the same sophisticated humor I do).

We were scheduled for a run Sunday morning. Saturday night we were watching a movie, and I leaned over and whispered to Ted, You know it's going to be hot tomorrow morning. Ted nodded and was quiet for a second. We could go after the movie...

I didn't say anything, but a few minutes later asked him if he was serious. He nodded. And that is how we found ourselves lacing up our shoes at 11:50 Saturday night. We were only doing 3 miles--we have a 5K on Wednesday, and just wanted to maintain that distance for now, since training starts in the next few weeks, and we'd have plenty of time for long runs in the future.

I made Ted wear my reflective vest, and we set out. It was very quiet, we only saw a handful of cars on the way. We were extra cautious...I was leery of crazy people or drunk drivers, but we had no problems. The temperature was a comfortable 70, which was nice without the sun beating down.

We went at a fast pace. I think adrenaline was kicking at the beginning, and I never slowed down. It felt good to run fast, and I found myself imagining doing that pace the whole way through the marathon (yeah, right).

I was very glad we decided to go at that time, especially when we woke up Sunday and it was already 80 at 8:00 in the morning. And the memory that made! Anyone can say they got up at 7:30 Sunday morning to run. Not everyone can say they ran at midnight the night before.

And the few cars that did pass us...I think I would pay to hear the conversation inside the car at that time.

Not Running Related--But Just As Frustrating!!!!

I am on the hunt for a new white blouse. And one would think I was looking for something as odd and off-the-wall as a white jumpsuit.

I currently have a white blouse, however, it was a hand-me-down (or up) from a 12-year-old girl, who has since grown into her once large-boned body. Said white blouse fits me perfectly--except it is cut for a 12-year-old girl, not a woman.

I have scoured stores upon stores for a white blouse. Yesterday I was THIIIIS close to stopping a sales associate and asking her if I was being unreasonable and pretending white blouses existed. My list of requirements isn't too much to ask for, I wouldn't think. Loyal blog readers, please let me know--am I being totally high-maintenance with this?

1) White Blouse must be short-sleeved. This does not mean 3/4-length sleeve, sleeveless, short-sleeved because the sleeve is rolled up and buttoned, puffy little-girl-meets-adult sleeve, or sleeveless with lots of white fabric strips hanging down the arm. Just short sleeves.

2) White Blouse must come to my waist. This does not mean white blouse has a black belt and fabric that continues to your knees, nor does it mean white blouse is gathered with a drawstring at the waist, nor does it mean white blouse doubles as a belly shirt, nor does it mean white blouse gets tucked in and therefore is attached to a body-suit type bottom, nor does it mean white blouse is long but made to tie at my belly button. Just come to my waist.

3) White Blouse must be fitted. This does not mean pulled by a ribbon around the back, buttoned at the sides, nor does it mean it is long and hip-hugging. At the same token, I don't want it to hang on me. A little fitted around the waist would be ideal, thank you.

4) White Blouse must be a dressy material. This does not include linen, wool, velvet, cashmere, nor any other material that would not be suitable for summer. A silk or stretchy material would be great. NOTE: This also doesn't mean gauze. Yes, white blouses exist where the description includes "Gauze". This is the equivalent to see-through. If I want a gauzy blouse, I'll wrap myself in a bandage.

5) White Blouse must be white. Not silver. Not Cream. Not Grey. Not Beige. Not Nude. Not Tan. Not White with Silver Thread. Not Taupe. Not Opaque. WHITE.

6) White Blouse must be my size. Although yesterday in Macy's, when I did see one remaining blouse that fit requirements 1-5, I never so badly wanted to be a 2XL in my life.

I'm not quite sure what I'm doing wrong. Any of the specialty clothing stores I regularly shop at does not carry such an item (i.e. Gap, Old Navy, Charlotte Russe, Ross's). Any of the basic department stores are too simple, carrying items that have no shape (i.e. Boscov's, Kohl's, Walmart).

Being a woman is hard--if Ted wanted a white shirt, he'd pull up in front of the first department store he ran across, go in, go to the shelf, pick up his size, proceed to the check-out, pay, and leave. All in the time it takes for me to find a parking spot.

I don't think I'm being overly picky. But until said white blouse is made and carried by local retailers, I will continue to hunt, and wear a white blouse made for someone 15 years younger than me.

It just amuses me that if I was scouring for a white shirt with pirate sleeves and elastic neckband with black belt that I could wear as a dress or a shirt that was see-through, I would have so hit the jackpot. But a simple white blouse is obviously too much to ask for.