Tag Archives: nikki

Until the sun comes up over Santa Monica Boulevard

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Well, last night I went for my first 5k-training run outside. And it went fine, surprisingly, all things considered. Here’s my path:

As you can see, this is more than three miles, something I did not remember. I had made another path, but this almost-square was easier to follow. I couldn’t remember where the two mile and three mile markers were, which probably slowed me down because I didn’t really have mile-goals so I didn’t know how I was doing. Somewhere around Gower and Santa Monica, Sheryl Crow was just stuck in my head, on repeat, as I jogged down Santa Monica in sunglasses, sun setting over the Hollywood Hills.

I probably finished around 40 minutes. The run from Santa Monica to Sunset is entirely uphill, which I knew, but I didn’t know any other way to stay below Sunset. I thought that Sunset and Sycamore was the three mile marker, and at that point I was at 43:08, so I am guess I was around 40-41 at the actual three mile marker.

I did try to run the entire first mile, which did not happen. I blame this on my foot, which has been hurting on the arch, on my left shin, and on my two-week lapse. Nikki seems to think I can run a mile before slowing down to walk. I disagree. I work in short bursts. We’ll see…

Before I left for my run, Jeff made a comment about getting one of those running lanyards that you can put around your arm, so you don’t have to, you know, tie your key to your shoe. “Well, after this weekend, I don’t think I am going to be doing much running,” I said as I tried to finagle my key onto my lace.

“What? But…you can’t stop running! You’ve inspired me! You’re my hero!” he said. Now, everyone that knows Jeff can imagine the voice he was using — his half serious, half in jest voice, that usually ends up in him speaking in an accent (Spanish, Indian, etc.) But I could tell he was (somewhat) serious.

So maybe after this 5k, I’ll keep running. Or maybe I’ll take a break and do some serious swimming. I know my Dad is starting his 5K training, so it looks like I’ll need to at least keep it up to run one with him in the fall. We’ll see.

All I know is last night I had a cookie after dinner, and I didn’t feel a little bit bad. So maybe running isn’t the worst thing that’s happened (or been forced) into my life.

blistered feet, as your spinning round my mind…

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Well folks, I took a two day break, which was mostly uncalled for, so to make up for it I made myself get up on a Saturday morning to run. I was two days behind! It’s like I screwed up the whole training schedule and I’ve only just begun! To make sure I went (and he went, too) Scott this time said he’d pick me up. (We were supposed to run together on Tuesday, and on Wednesday we had a six-am yoga date, and I was stood up both times.) 7:57, Saturday morning, and he was downstairs, ready to go.

The result? Always run with a buddy. I ran my mile in 13:00 flat, at a .5 incline (because Lauren told me too, and there are only 2 people in the world that can boss me around: Lauren, and my sorella.)

My fastest mile yet, at an incline too. And my iPod was on my team this morning, too. So, even though I went to bed at 1:00 am after another successful pizza night, I think it was worth it.

Today includes: bball with my five year olds, archery with my ladies, a few hours of getting stuff done and then a girls’ night in. I cannot wait.

For those of you who read my sister’s blog…

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…I haven’t really had need to post. She’s documenting well (minus the fact that I did not see Canada at all this trip, because that was a JW-fam adventure.) I have also been eating like there’s no tomorrow, will probably not fit in my bridesmaid dress, and am heading to Chicago today for more eating.

But first, I am picking up my laundry from all about the house and trying to pack up my stuff. And I am ill, so apparently my lack of sickness on the west coast has more to do with climate than I thought…

At least I am not the only sick one. I am sitting at the kitchen table with my parents, both sick, both on computers, both taking turns with me coughing.

It’s good to be home.

Jeff comes tomorrow, but not until after a full day of wedding dress shopping and I am sure eating. Then comes more wedding dress shopping, a break for a Groupon use at Nordstrom Rack, and maybe some more food.

Here goes nothing, folks.

Delicious? Tired? Obnoxious? Lampshade?

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5gts:

1. My sorella is engaged to a one JW. Read about how it happened.

2. It is cloudy/rainy in LA and that, my friends, makes for a good October.

3. Back from the Ranch. Killed a chicken with a cleaver. Pictures to come.

4. Soccer has started for the season, and the kids are as cute as ever.

5. It’s already Wednesday. And Jeff’s parents come Friday. How exciting!!

Triathlon Blues

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This is my sister.

This is her climbing a wall in LA. She’s afraid of heights, but when she came to visit, she insisted we go rock climbing, as it is something she wanted to try.

Nikki is having a little Triathlon Blues this week, and who can blame her? Her Tri is less than two weeks away, and she’s sick of getting up early, of only ever working out, and probably sick of writing about it. That’s where I come in.

When my sister and I were younger, we both played soccer. She was better (but I still maintain I was faster.) We played piano: she was better. We both wrote (she was better) and we both took joy out of being mean to each other (she, most definitely, was better.) I had a blog: she wanted one. (Hers is funnier.) Although I am mostly better at bossing people around, and baking, she is better than most things. I’d like to think it’s because she is two years older, so two years wiser, but I suspect it’s because she maintains the attitude of “oh yea? I can’t do whatever I want, just because I am a woman, short, and don’t have much directional sense? Watch me.”

And so, when my sister, who used to share an equal hate with me of running, declared that she loved running and was going to do a triathlon, (the idea of my sister swimming in open water made me laugh and want to call the Coast Guard all at once) I wasn’t that surprised.

She ran, a lot. She had already run 5ks, and a half marathon. With hills. Which had ALREADY surprised me.

She started swimming because the doctor told her she couldn’t run. Tendinitis be damned, this girl was GOING to work out, and you couldn’t stop her. This was nearly a year ago, and she’s now up to swimming a full mile, in OPEN WATER. Do you think I’ll be hoping in the Pacific any time soon to swim a mile? (Nope, not after this year’s special on Great White Sharks, and also, I can’t swim really…)

Then, girl writes on April 1 (so let’s be honest, she could have been joking) that in August she was going to do a Triathlon. SERIOUSLY? Is there nothing my sister won’t do? All I do is yoga, Nikki: you’ve beat me. You can stop now, I swear.

In June, my sister bought a bike.

For those of you who don’t know, my sister and I learned how to ride bikes at the same time. I am pretty sure I was up and off training wheels first. Her coordination is lacking, and although I bike through the streets of LA, I couldn’t foresee my sister EVER wanting to do so in Chicago. But here was the evidence, on her blog, of her, fearless (almost) and biking to the lake.

So let’s go over the timeline, one more time:

October, 2009: My sister gets tendinitis, and is told she can’t run. So she swims.

April 1, 2010: My sister decides that she’s going to do a triathlon.

June 11, 2010: She buys a bike

July 14, 2010: She gets into the open water for her first open water swim.

August 29, 2010: My sister will be doing her first triathlon.

Unfortunately, I won’t be there to cheer her on, and see how awesome she does. But for now, I am basically trying to tell her (and you, so you can tell her, too) that she is going to do fine. Better than fine. Great. Wonderful. She is doing something that I have never even considered. She is doing something that a year ago I would have found crazy. She has trained for almost 5 months for something, devoting most of her free time to it, and Tendinitis, coordination, avid triathletes be damned: she will win, because she will finish. And then, by September, she will be on to a new crazy project: the next one, I hope, will involved yoga, and getting herself to a handstand. Nikki: you will be wonderful. Get get ’em.