Last Race of 2013!

Nov9

When I was talking to my trainer last week about when I was going to start training again and what was coming up next, the number of races that I had done for the year came up. At the beginning of the year, I knew it was a double-digit number. However, it turns out it is closer to 20 than it is 10. In fact on the calendar were 16 races and still time to add a few more.

So much for being done with racing today as I did a 10K that started and ended at Navy Pier. It was the third year of this particular race and I have done it every year. The race wasn’t too bad. I was on track to take about four minutes off my best 10K time, but it just wasn’t meant to be today. I’m actually ok with that. Especially considering that if I am honest with myself, I have really slacked since the marathon. Continue reading →

Thigh Gap, Collarbone Pop and Other “Skinny” Indicators

Nov8

Earlier in the year, Lululemon had a huge recall / problem with their yoga pants. All because they were extremely sheer / see-thorugh. While some in society didn’t see this as a problem, for a lot of people it was.

At the time, the reason for the problem was that the fabric was inferior. Now, a new reason has emerged as the reason for the problem and it has a number of people very angry and irritated with the company. The reason is that some women’s bodies just aren’t made to wear the pants. In other words, if you experience a problem with them being too sheer or they pill, well it is your fault and not the quality of the fabric.

As you can imagine, this has many people up in arms. How dare he say this? Your clothes don’t fit because you have the wrong body type? A lot of people experienced sheerness and pilling in the thigh area because they rub together and thus the problem happens. For some people, they get this and understand it is what happens. For others, it is just not acceptable, especially if it happens within a short time because you would assume that a product that costs as much as a pair of Lululemon pants wouldn’t have this issue. Continue reading →

Random Thoughts: The Fall Edition

Nov7

Since I am trying to write a blog post each day this month, it seemed like a good time to do another one on the various random thoughts that go through my head. Nothing in particular other than just the randomness that occurs when I am working out, running, or getting annoyed at work because there are too many chatty men around causing me to be unable to think.

So without further ado, here are some random thoughts: Continue reading →

Exploring an Obsession

Nov6

A while back I had a session with my trainer where I ended up telling her the funniest story she has heard from me. As usual, my session of a fantastic workout (thanks Stephanie for that!) also led to a discussion of what had been going on the past week. Since we had last spoken, it has been “interesting” to say the least and when I said it was a crazy week, it seemed odd because it was only Tuesday.

In any event, conversation went from the oddness of cemeteries and burying dead people and my fake Jewish Boyfriend who I wasn’t really dating and he wasn’t dating me because of the whole conversation of converting when dealing with an interfaith relationship. At least we didn’t say we were dating each other. And yes, there was a reason I had the fake Jewish Boyfriend. I don’t go around making up boyfriends just for the hell of it. Especially when that time can be put to use in actually dating a real person. Continue reading →

My Month of Burpees

Nov5

yeah, fun is not burpees and burpees are not fun

I. Hate. Burpees. For those who know me well, that statement is not a shock. In fact, it is probably common place knowledge. Despite my hatred of them, I will do them when my trainer makes me do them or they show up in a group fitness class I will take.

Despite doing them (usually with a reluctant smile), I have not come to enjoy them. In fact, burpees are my least favorite exercise. Sure there are times when I end up doing an exercise I don’t like, but eventually I will start to enjoy it. One such exercise was pigeon pose in yoga. I hated pigeon because I couldn’t really do it thanks to having really tight hips. However, the more I did it, the more I started to like it and actually start to crave it, especially after a long run. Continue reading →

“It’s a Door”

Nov4

Generally, I do not run into too many people who may have mental issues when I ride the train in Chicago. At least not on the train line I am on 99% of the time. Last night however, I did encounter what can only be described as a woman who has some problem.

If you are unfamiliar with the El trains in Chicago, most of the stops on a given line the doors will open on one side of the car or the other. On the Brown line, they usually open on the right with a few exceptions. If I do not get a seat or just feel like standing, I will stand by the doors on the side of the car where the doors will not be opening so that I am out of the way. I did this last night like I normally do.

Continue reading →

I’m a Bad Person: the Pink Edition

Nov3

Thank goodness October is over! In general, it isn’t a bad month per se. There are fun things that happen like the Chicago Marathon, Halloween and of course some people really enjoy the month because it is their birthday month. In general it isn’t so bad. However, in the past few years, I have come to loathe October. All because of the color pink. By itself, pink isn’t such a bad color, but given how it has been twisted, etc., I despise the color. And this led me to be viewed as a bad person last month.

As I have said in a prior post, sometimes I am an awful person. And when I decide to be one. I go full on bad. Now that October is over and I will not be overly assaulted with pink, it now is a good time to explain why I hate pink and why you should probably be offended more by it as well.

In case you’ve lived under a rock and are unaware, October is also known as being breast cancer awareness month. Just that title says something to me and not positively. Pink is the color for breast cancer or I should say breast cancer awareness. My annoyance has a lot to with money and because there is an assumption that people are kind of stupid. Additionally it is just annoying because we let the stupid prevail in this matter. Continue reading →

Halloween Bravery

Nov2

Apparently, this month is in addition to National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), it is also National Blog Post Writing Month (NaBloPoMo). This is where you will write a blog post daily for the month of November.

I haven’t actually ever participated in NaNoWriMo, but I do have several books I’ve started on. I do need to get around to finishing them as they might be of interest to someone. In any event, I think I will try my hand at writing for 30 days straight here and my first thoughts are about Halloween. Yes I am off a day, but oh well, I can do 29 posts in November. Continue reading →

Marathon Reflections

Oct17

at the swirlgear booth at the expo

As I was thinking about what I would say about the 2013 marathon, a couple of versions came to mind. The first one told all of the positive and none of my true feelings. That was a version contemplated to keep those who would want to say that my feelings aren’t legitimate away. With an all positive version, they’d have nothing to try to make me not feel.

Then there is the completely honest version where I express how I feel. The version that would lend many people to say I should feel a particular way because. A version where they would try to drown out how I feel and make it seem illegitimate.

Anyway, I’ve decided to go with the latter version because being honest is far better than trying to not be real in life. And I don’t care that people can’t handle how someone really feels about this. So here is my tale of running the 2013 edition of the Chicago Marathon. Continue reading →

“I Wanna see you be Brave”

Oct15

today’s song is a reminder to just be BRAVE

Another day, another song that says something. Today’s song is Brave by Sara Bareillis. It is a song inspired by a friend of hers and you can listen to her explain about it here. In any event, it is a message that can apply to anyone about anything.

Those times where you don’t say things you really want to because you are afraid of hurting someone else’s feelings. Or those times when you just want to say fuck you to the friends who take you for granted and are never there for you when you need them, but if you aren’t there for them, there is hell to pay.

Perhaps it is a situation where you just want to tell people to leave you alone because the sudden interest in your life is annoying when there has been no interest previously. Or maybe even tell someone to take their own advice when they advise you to do something that you already do, but they don’t do it themselves so it makes no sense for them to advise you.