It's August

I haven't been posting in a while. It's probably because nobody reads this blog. LOL!

We are moving into a new house this weekend and will stay in Portland another year.

Spring Classic

12. Gabrielle Johnston 245 38 F 1:56:21 12 0:29:48 222 1:21 0:52:38 173 1:52 191 0:30:42 210 Portland, OR

These are my results for the Spring Classic Duathlon today April 11, 2009. This is my second race of the season but my first duathlon. I had a good time. I enjoyed the race especially since it didn't rain but also because there was a wide range of participants. There were the usual wanna be pro triathletes with their P3 Carbons, Felt DA and Hed Wheels in addition to the middle of the age groupers like me, 60 to 79 year olds too and lots of first timers. I finished in the top 50% of my age group and headed straight to the Starbucks drive-thru across the street. All in all it is a good day! Where else can you pay $70 to race into a headwind at the airport while airplanes are taking off a couple hundred feet above your head?

Wife v. Husband

The dualing husband and wife will be squaring off at the "Up the Crooked River Duathlon" on May 3. Ed thinks he can beat me and I know he has forgotten how to ride a bike. The duathlon consists of a 5k run, 40k bike and a 5k run in Prineville Oregon. Good luck, Edward!

Peterson Ridge Rumble - Congratulations Ed

Congratulations Ed for running the 30k distance at the Peterson Ridge Rumble in Sisters Oregon on Sunday. He finished 30th overall at 2:48 for a 20 mile run (the race director made an error in the distance as it was supposed to be 18 miles).

You know you're an Ultrarunner if:

1. Your wife tries to introduce you to your three children and you reply "Three?"
2. You spend more time in the drug section than the food section of the local market.
3. You wonder why they don't make all running socks a dusty brown color.
4. You have more dirt on your shoes than in your garden.
5. You think that flagel and ibutrophin belong on the breakfast table.
6. You get more phone calls at 5:00 AM than at 5:00 PM.
7. You don't recognize your friends with their clothes on.
8. You have more buckles than belts.
9. You postpone your wedding because it will interfere with your training.
10. You keep mistaking your boss for Norm Klein.
11. 6am is sleeping in.
12. Your feet look better without toenails.
13. Your idea of a fun date is a 30-mile training run.
14. You're tempted to look for a bush when there's a long line for the public restroom.
15. You don't think twice about eating food you've picked up off the floor.
16. You can expound on the virtues of eating salt.
17. You develop an unnatural fear of mountain lions.
18. When you wake up without the alarm at 4AM, pop outa bed and think "lets hit the trails together".
19. When you can recite the protein grams by heart of each energy bar.
20. You don’t even LOOK for the porto-sans anymore.
21. Your ideal way to celebrate your birthday is to run at least your age in miles with some fellow crazies.
22. Your ideal way to celebrate the new year is to run as far as you can afford to with some fellow crazies.
23. Your ideal way to have fun is to run as far as you can afford to with some fellow crazies.
24. You know the location of every 7-11, public restroom, and water fountain within a 25-mile radius of your house.
25. You run marathons for speedwork.
26. You have more fanny packs and water bottles and flashlights than Imelda Marcos has shoes.
27. You visit a national park with your family and notice a thirty-mile trail connecting where you are with the place your family wants to visit next, which is a 100-mile drive away, and you think "Hmmmm".
28. Someone asks you how long your training run is going to be and you answer "seven or eight ... hours".
29. People at work think you're in a whole lot better shape than you think you are.
30. You actually are in a whole lot better shape than you think you are.
31. Your weekend runs are limited by how much time you have, not by how far you can run.
32. You always have at least one black toenail.
33. You buy economy-sized jars of Vaseline on a regular basis.
34. You tried hashing, but felt the trails were too short and easy.
35. You think of pavement as a necessary evil that connects trails.
36. You’re read this and relating to some of it.
37. You rotate your running shoes more often than you rotate your tires.
38. Your friends recognize you better dressed in shorts than in long pants.
39. You really envied Tom Hanks' long run as Forest Gump.
40. You carry money around in a ziplock bag because store clerks complained that your money's usually too sweaty.
41. Any time a plain old runner talks about her aches and pains, you can sympathize because you've already had that at least once.
42. You put more miles on your feet than on your rental car over the weekend.
43. You don't need to paint your toenails; they're already different colors.
44. You start planning the family vacation around races and vice-versa.
45. You say "Only a 100K to go."
46. When you start considering your next vacation on the merits of its ultras
47. You spend you entire paycheck on running gear, ultrabars, and entry fees.
48. You become a quasi-expert on different detergents so as to not "hurt" your tee shirts.
49. You leave work early to hit the trails
50. You wear t-shirts based on if you've had good work outs when you've worn them before.
51. Have a trail shoe collection that would make Imelda Marcos envious.

Run, Race, Run, Race, Run, Race

How do you know you're married to an ultra runner? There's 4 pair of muddy running shoes outside your front door and 2 clean pairs inside the front door.

A read an article today in Forbes magazine entitled Inside the Endurance Athlete's Mind. The article states that "many endurance athletes also have common personality traits......... These traits include persistence, endless curiosity, a lack of fear when it comes to failure and a sense of boldness."

Hmmm...

100 Runs in 100 Days - Closed Yesterday

Ed completed his 100 runs in 100 days yesterday. Out of 500 participants Ed finished top 35 in frequency, top 75 in distance and top 79 in time. Congratulations Ed... 100 runs in 100 days is a great start to the year!

Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?

I took the final exam on Monday for my Math 20 class. It is basically middle school math. Most of which has escaped my 38 year old mind. I got an A on the final exam and an A in the class. I guess that means I'm as smart as a fifth grader. Here is an example of a problem on the exam: Find the prime factorization of 120 using either repeated division of the Tree Method. There were several questions on finding the area of a figure, finding the volume of a figure and finding the perimeter. All in all I feel more comfortable with using math on a dialy basis and the class was well worth it. I'd like to continue the math in the fall or winter.

Biz Cards

My business cards are here. Now I can start letting people "officially" know I'm available for their real estate needs. Based on what I've read, new real estate brokers usually make their first sales to their friends and family. I don't have any friends here.. maybe two or three and my family lives in Vancouver, Washington where I am not licensed - yet. I will have my work cut out for me. I am going to work on educating myself on the buying process and becoming an expert in the contracts involved in the process. It is a buyers market and there are some fabulous opportunities for low interest mortgage rates and residential houses for sale on the market. What is really great about Vitality Home Realty is that we make a donation to a local charity on behalf of a buyer.

Snow Again in Portland???

When we moved here we were really concerned about the rain. That was a mistake, we should have been concerned about the snow. It was snowing again this morning for 3 hours. The flakes were big and fluffy. I was going to go out for a run but I'd rather not get frostbitten.

This picture is right out our front door about 45 minutes ago. It's 10:43 a.m. on Monday March 9. Where is spring?

Three Hour Cycle Marathon at Bethany Athletic Club

On Saturday I participated in a thre hour cycle marathon
at Bethany Athletic Club. Even though I don't enjoy sitting on a stationary bike for three hours, the marathon was fun. They had six different spin instructors each with their own workout and style that made it interesting and fun. Into the second hour my legs were ready to quit but I stayed for the entire three hours. http://www.bethanyathletic.com/

Tea Thyme and Lavender

I found this little second hand shop that carries mostly antiques and some gifts. The name is "Tea Thyme and Lavender." They have alot of french country antiques and the most adorable setup in her little store. Located in Beaverton Oregon on Angell Avenue and Farmington Rd. The owner makes real french pastries with lavender in them and also offers a full tea setup if you want to sit and enjoy tea time.

Gab's a Broker!

It is official! I am now licensed as a real estate broker in the State of Oregon. Because I am a new broker, I have to work under a Principal Broker for three years before I can work on my own. I will be working under Parvaneh Kalantari at Vitality Home Realty. What is really great about Vitality Home Realty is that the brokers donate 3% of their commissions to a local shelter for people who are in transition and need a place to stay. There is also a cancer nonprofit that the buyer can choose to give their donation. The buyer can write off the donation on their taxes. Vitality Home Realty is small and doing big things.

My info can be found at http://www.vitalityhomerealty.com/brokers.htm.

I finished michelle the autobiography of Michelle Obama. I enjoyed it and now I'm starting Barack's book the Audacity of Hope. He's got a couple of other books and I want to read too. I enjoy reading on the bike at the gym. I usually get 1 or 2 chapters in one workout. http://www.barackobama.com/index.php. On his website if you check out the American Recovery Act and choose your state and see how many jobs were created in your state - 44,000 in Oregon.

Peterson Ridge Rumble April 5, 2009

This photo was taken of the start of the Peterson Ridge Rumble last year - 2008. The offer 60k and 30k distances. It is held in Sister's Oregon on Sunday April 5. The course is scenic Peterson Ridge on mountain biking and hiking trails. The website states: "Mud is very likely, and snowy sections are possible." They allow dogs on the 30k. I remember the poochies looking pretty tired toward the second half of the race.

http://www.fleetfeetbend.com/rumble/index.html

Spring Classic Duathlon April 11

My year isn't shaping up how I had originally hoped. I've registered for the Rock n Roll Seattle Marathon on June 27. I have decided to join the tri club at the gym on Mondays and Wednesdays starting March 1. I found a duathlon on April 11 that looks like a good way to start the year. 5k run followed by a 15 mile bike finished with another 5k run. The course is flat.

You find the race info at www.racecenter.com.

There it is

I'm still learning about the iPhone and it apparently doesn't sort photos, when you download them from the phone, in the order in which they were taken. I have the sweat, tears, mud and BLOOD photo!

Ed will be running in the Peterson Ridge Rumble on April 4 and also the Timberline Marathon. I'll keep you posted on the stories from the trenches!

Blood, sweat, tears and er.. mud!

100 runs in 100 days is still on and Ed is placing about 12th overall in frequency. Despite our family illness and the snow here in Portland, Ed has continued to run even on the track at the gym. This week he started running outside and was slipping around in the trenches in Forest Park as the trails are awfully muddy! He took a photo of what is supposed to be an injury but I'm wondering where it is. He claims that a stick was in his leg and he had to pull it out. Do you see any blood? Me either.

Amgen Tour of California

The Amgen Tour of California starts on V day in Sacramento California. A couple of my favorites, Lance Armstrong and Levi Leipheimer will be racing the 750 mile course from Sacramento to Escondido. In its fourth year, a new jersey will be added called the "Breakaway From Cancer Most Courageous Jersey." Hmmm... I wonder who is going to get that one?

I am looking forward to watching this on Versus!!

http://www.amgentourofcalifornia.com/Peloton/jerseys.html

Race Calendar 2009

I have registered for Rock n Roll Seattle on June 27, 2009 and am doing the full marathon. (http://www.rnrseattle.com/) I am also planning to join the tri club at the gym and do some local triathlons over the summer. The 2009 calendar came out for the races in the Pacific Northwest. (http://www.trinw.com/) I am also still planning on doing Barb's Race on August 1. (http://www.vineman.com/). We'll see the year turns out!

My goal is to wear the same tri suit that I wore the first time I did Barb's race in this picture! Do you think I can do that?

Michelle Obama

In an effort to get to know the new President and his wife, I'm reading the book "michelle" a biography by liza mundy. I am half way through. I am enjoying reading about Chicago from a historical perspective and Michelle Obama's family, her high school and college education at Princeton.

I ran across a good paragraph in the book regarding the discrimination Michelle experienced at Princeton.

"For the most part, her classmates' families had not sent their children to Princeton because they believed in diversity and inclusion. One of her new roommates, Catherine Donnelly, was a white woman from New Orleans whose mother, Alice Brown, had taken a job at a private school so her daughter could go there and increase her chances of getting into a good college. For Catherine, daughter of a single mom, Princeton was a much-worked-for achievement, as it was for Michelle. But when Alice Brown found that her daughter had been assigned to room with a black girl, she spent the night calling alumni friends and everybody she knew on campus, trying to get her daughter's rooming assignment changed.

"Mom just blew a gasket when I described Michelle," Catherine Donnelly, now a lawyer practicing in Palmetto, Georgia, would acknowledge later. "It was my secret shame." Both Donnelly and Brown would later give newspaper interviews, inspired by the candidacy of Barack Obama to engage in a public discussion of race. Brown would experess her contrition and confirm that indeed, the joke had been on her. Here she was trying to protect her daughter from the influence of a young woman who would grow up to be a potential first lady. She said she regretted it."

michelle a biography by liza mundy 2008 simon & schuster new york, ny

I also have the book The Audacity of Hope" by Barack Obama and I'm going to read that one next.

Training

I hope to start training again in a couple of days. For every viewing of this video "Dream" brooks running will make a donation to breast cancer research.

http://www.brooksrunning.com/Fun+Stuff/Watch+Videos/Dream/802

Playroom Project Almost Complete

We are all starting to get better from being sick. That means we can go out to the grocery store and buy diapers and also run errands. Since I won't be posting the final picture (probably) I am just going to get this up as proof that I actually did make the changes in the playroom as I wanted. In order to fund the entire playroom transition I posted a few items on Craigslist to sell. I need $200. I've made $50 so far by selling Cadie's old car seat. We had planned to use it as a second one but let's get honest, she's too big for it. I posted an ad and realized that I needed to check to be sure that it hadn't been recalled or anything. I had to edit the ad 3 times because I'm not the marketing genius that I thought I was. I had to completely clean the car seat wash the covers, take it apart and try to find the manual. This took a couple of hours. I finally found someone who wanted to buy it and she called me to tell me she was coming so I rushed home from Target and waited for 2 hours. She never came. I gave it to the next woman in line. I have never spent so much time haggling with buyers. Maybe it's a Portland thing.

Because I currently don't have income I am drawing on this article for inspiration. http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/money/making-extra-money-without-getting-a-second-job-350892/

Lancy Pants

Here's my little tribute to Lance Armstrong. I wish him a great year! At the age of 37, you should see the shape Mr. Armstrong is in. There's a couple photos and a really great quote from Lance "I'm coming. And I'm coming on behalf of eight million people who are going to die around the world this year, and I think it's a noble reason to get back on my bike." (Outside Magazine February 2009 p. 46).

(I'm still sick and missing training.)

Progress in Playroom

One setback in Cadie continuing to have a 102 fever and a bad cold so I"m stuck inside. I'm getting sick too. I did manage to build the stand for the dresses. It's kind of wobbly but I will fix that when I can get out and about again. One regret is there is paint on the garage floor from the mirror and the chairs. I need a workshop.

Here is the mirror. I used pink enamel with gold. It is coming out better than I originally thought it was. I sanded the old mirror and cleaned it and used spray paint for the pink enamel and brushed on the gold. I've done 3 coats now and it's drying. Cadie is very sick with a high fever and a bad cold so my errands and fabric store have been put on hold. She had to stay home from school and she is very lethargic. Poor baby!

Playroom Project Update

The chairs and the mirror have been painted and are drying. Next, we've got to get to the fabric store for some princess fabrics.

Princess Playroom Ongoing Project

I bought some boards at Home Depot to create the hanger for the princess dresses. I bought a $6.00 cork board at Goodwill and I plan on covering it with pink and white polka dot cloth (saw it at Pottery Barn Kids) and I bought a $9.99 mirror that is pretty heavy and solid that I'm going to paint either gold or pink. The white chairs were $2.00 each at the Library Second Hand Store and I'm going to make pink covers with my sewing machine. There is also a baby doll chair that I paid $2 for at the Goodwill and I am going to paint that. We'll see how it turns out!

Playroom Project

This playroom is a mess, I know. The project this week is to make it into a princess room with tea table and dress up area. I've got my work cut out for me for sure but I know I can do it. Cadie is really into dressing up as a princess and having tea. She's growing up!

Sunday's Snow

We had a family outing to the gym today. I lifted weights and Ed ran his laps around the indoor track. The highlight of the day was my early morning drive in the snow down Thompson towards Cornell and the trees were all white with snow, the road was completely covered with snow and it was very quiet. Lance Armstrong finished 39th in the Tour Down Under but he did very well in his sprints and I'm looking forward to seeing him race more this year.

Saturday's Cycling

I rode 45 minutes easy at the gym indoors watching snowflakes fall. I wonder if it's sunny in California? HR was between 120 and 140.

I heard Lance Armstrong is racing in the Tour Down Under. TiVo recorded it and now I really want to watch it. I wonder how well he did? Lance is my hero!

The Motivation Continues

I am going to run Rock N Roll Seattle in June with some ladies and I received an email with this motivational link.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDnrLv6z-mM

If you have 7 minutes to watch it, it would be worth it.

100 Runs in 100 Days

Ed is participating in the 100 runs in 100 days on slowtwitch. Currently Ed is 7th out of 565 people in frequency and top 25 in distance and speed. The challenge is currently on day 40 and Ed has logged 52 runs and 223 miles so far. Go Ed!!

Fridays training

Today I did a short ride OUTSIDE from my house up to Skyline. It's a climb for about 5 miles and then back down. I couldn't find one of my gloves nor could I find one of my toe covers. That short ride froze my fingers and toes. But it felt good getting outside. We'll see if I will continue to ride outside when the rain starts. (The pic is my backside on the bike course of Ironman Boise 70.3. Yee haw!

Getting to know my iPhone

I finally figured out how to upload photos from the iPhone to my computer. I've got over 625 pics on that little thing. Here's a shot of Cadie in gymnastics yesterday at OGA. She loves gymnastics and even when I took out of class in November and December she asked me every day "are we going to gymnastics today" and wanted to do the hand cheer each night before bed. 1 - 2 - 3 GYMNASTICS. Gymnastics is one of her favorite things to do.

the distance of truth

I watched the dvd "the distance of truth" http://www.thedistanceoftruth.com/ and it left me feeling inspired. A quote from the movie:

"One hour of life, crowded to the full with glorious action, and filled with noble risks, is worth whole years of those mean observances of paltry decorum, in which men steal through existence like sluggish waters through a marsh, without either honor or observation." - Sir Walter Scott

The Badwater Ultramarathon (www.badwater.com) is known as the toughest footrace on earth. The race is 135 miles from Death Valley to Mt. Whitney in temperatures of 130 degreesF. "the distance of truth" follows a Canadian ultramarathoner, Ferg Hawke as he competes against some of the greats, Dean Karnazes (http://www.ultramarathonman.com) and Pam Reed - the first human to run 300 miles straight without sleep.

This dvd makes me think, "Have I done enough?"

Oregon Broker's License

After 160 hours of real estate education classes at Portland Community College, $3000, background check, National and State testing, interviews and commitment, I am sending in my Oregon Broker's License Application today. If all goes well (cross-fingers) then I will be licensed to legally sell and manage real estate in the state of Oregon.

Wednesday is Ballet for Cadie

There are four parents and me with cameras and telephoto lenses all trying to get a good picture of our 2 and 3 year olds in ballet class. We are so proud and optimistic! When we got into the car, I asked her what she learned in ballet and she said "Kevin pooped his pants today."

Gab's Training

First day of cycling training for Gab. The weather is still too cold for my taste (28) so I had to ride indoors at the gym on the bike. I rode 55 minutes with 12 miles of hr below 140 then 5 minutes cool down. I've got a lot of work to do on my base!!! This picture was taken at the Treasure Island Triathlon in 2004 by muddypuppy.com. I miss my old bike. Sniff. Sniff. Can you see the San Francisco skyline in the background? I miss SF. Sniff Sniff.