balls, bats and beavers!

the oregon state university baseball team won the college world series tonight with a 3-2 win by the hair of their chinny-chin-chins over unc. the college world series. as in, they are NUMBER ONE BABY!! enjoy...

hot hot heat

WHEW.

so it got hot in portland. in spite of my namesake hearty shrub, i wither in hot hot heat. melt like lipstick on a hot black dashboard. so i thought run = early. get it in. early for me, this morning, meant 10 am. by the time i got home and ate a little snack, drank a little water, and dressed for my run, it was 10. ah well, already pushing 80.

my trees. remember my posse - the trees? how they playfully smack me with wet sloppy branches in the winter and spring? how i high-five them back like a crazy woman? well, they're even better in the summer. they give me shaaaaaaade. i live in an old neighborhood, and on some streets those trees provide a solid canopy of cool, dark shade. and with the light breeze that is a-blowing... i was staying plenty cool.

and then, there were the stretches of sun. the air was still fairly cool from the morning. but when you're running, and already hot, and your blood is pumping throughout your body, and your face is red and you hit one of those sunny stretches - your face feels like it starts to sizzle and pop like bacon. even if it is just for a moment, you can feel the sun focus in on your face like a heat seaking missle. i'd eyeball the nearest patch of shade and lengthen my stride - the extra effort rewarded the instant the shade covered my face...cooooool relief.

and i did something i never thought i'd do. i ran in shorts and a bra top. well, sort of a bra top. not a t-shirt, like a stretchy tank. but it didn't cover my belly - it kept riding up just over my belly-button. and i got tired of fighting it. so my inner-tube was exposed. and my auxillary ass - the one i keep right above my current ass, just in case of emergency. the one that in these days of low slung pants (and running shorts) oftentimes brazenly exposes itself to the world. ah well...

beachy

*looks around*

anyone still here?

i am. not as often, but i am. just got back from a biz trip to la la land, where i'd hoped to run along the beach of santa monica, redondo or hermosa. but the best i could muster given the time was a lovely bike ride from redondo to hermosa with stacey, where we plopped down for a spell in front of the ocean and watch the earth do it's sun, sand, water and tide thing.

i've been having good runs and not so good runs. the not-so-good ones usually involve side aches and heavy legs. sometimes i fartlek those and walk. i'm fine with that. i know there will always be another run, another opportunity for a good run. like last night. great run. late evening summer sun, cool air - the smell of family barbecues everywhere. the only drawback - bugs. clouds of them. i was inhaling them at an alarming rate. i felt like a baleen whale swimming through krill. poor things would just slam into the back of my throat and summarily be either violently coughed up or humanely swallowed. a few poor souls got stuck in the sticky no pest strip that was my lip balm. ah well, a hazard of the season.

hot weather coming up. 90+. heather doesn't run in hot weather. this should be interesting.

helloooo sailor!

today i ran down to the waterfront. i had intended on running down to catch sync or swim's second heat in the dragon boat races, but i didn't make it home in time. but i decided to run down there anyway, just to spend a little time immersed in the freakshow that is the rose festival.

if i'd been thinking clearly, i would have headed down holladay and gone over the steel bridge (my favorite bridge), but for some reason i had it in my head to go over the broadway bridge. it was beautiful, actually, and the breeze coming off the river was nice. i ran south on naito parkway and into waterfront park. it was packed - running the waterfront reminded me of bloomsday - dodging people left and right. only i was the only one running. everyone else was walking, and had their eyes on whatever was around them - huge grey navy ships, the deep fried onion flower in their greasy mits, rickety-ass looking rides loaded with screaming kids, the ass of the hot chick in front of them. it was difficult to keep up a decent pace, but i was enjoying bathing in humanity. i passed sailors in full dress, military police, sticky children, moms pushing strollers, carnies, hookers, skate punks, clutches of teenage girls... it was fantastic.

i reached the riverfront esplanade area where the dragon boating takes place and turned around to go back. i walked most of the way, wanting to take in all the stuff i missed running past the first time. i stopped to watch people pay $50 to be flung into the air on a giant sling shot and wished i was doing it. it would scare the poop outta me, but i love that feeling. the people fling 300 feet up in the air and spin around... it looks exhilarating.

i decided to catch max to speed my way back home because i had clothes i needed to put in the dryer. big mistake. i caught max at saturday market and it was packed to the gills. i ended up wedged between two very cushiony people. i felt bad for everyone around me because i could smell my sweaty armpit as i reached up to grab the bar. but i couldn't take it in there. i decided to get off at the rose quarter because i was just too claustrophobic. i ended up running back from there, and i'm glad i did. it added up to about 5 total miles ran, and i sorely needed that.

and a snake pooped on me today. that doesn't happen every day.

NEXT!

the next run.

there. i've officially put it out there. now i have to do it or i'll feel like a giant ass. anyone care to join...? hmm...anyone...?

it is a trail run along the clackamas river. there's an 8K and a 15K (along with a couple duatholons), and right now i'm leaning toward the 8K. mainly because i've been slacking hard. i'll see how i feel in the next two weeks and make a final decision mid june. but serious training must commence once again. tomorrow should be cross training (maybe a hike?) with a "long" run on sunday. last week my long run was 5 miles, and it hurt. so i think i'll ratchet down to 4 miles and work my way back up that hill. FARTLEK!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM! to my favorite gemini - the only woman i know who can be a hippy (leather peace symbol necklace anyone?) and a catholic school girl and have it make perfect sense.

photo by julian - quite obviously my hot bod steamed up the lens. sorry 'bout that - it's rough being this fine.

very special delivery

did you know that you can send poop through the mail? i didn't. not only can you, but you are encouraged to by your doctor. they even give you an envelope, which i've now dubbed a poopvelope.

what does this have to do with running? absolutely nothing. just overall health, went in for a complete physical and apparantly sending poop-o-grams to your doctor is now a part of this.

seems a bit rude.