CafeChatNoir

Here are all the various and sundry details from yesterday’s race.

I am still high as a kite from the experience. If you’re going to do a marathon, MCM is a killer first one to do. One of my friends who has done it 3x said that every time he hit the 14th Street bridge, he was thinking “I will never do this again” and then ended up doing it again. For me, when I was in Hains Point wondering if I was going to make the bridge (some confusion over the cutoff time for the bridge), I was thinking, “I am going to HAVE to do this again!” and by the time I was on the bridge, I was thinking about all the little things I’ll do differently next year. :-D

Around mile 23, I was w/my friend Lane and asking, “So, you say the San Diego Rock & Roll marathon is a really good one?!”

Totally doing another one of these!

5:46:06 – absolutely loved it and will definitely do another one. What a ton of fun.

So, yes, it’s 12:44 (well, 11:44 really, the computer will set itself back) and in about 6.5 hours I’ll be hauling myself out of bed for what should be an interesting day! They’re calling for 15-25MPH winds tomorrow – yikes! Basically, the conditions sound like they’re going to be the same as Shamrock, so at least I know what I’m getting myself into and I know how to dress for it.

In keeping with the theme of “don’t change things for race day” yet again it looks like I won’t be going into it with much sleep, but I never do, so I’m used to it. Slept hard last night and got in a good nap this afternoon, so it’s all good.

Lane’s been a godsend – he’s done 3 marathons and has had lots of very good realistic advice and has done a great job of making me feel very relaxed about going out and doing this.

I’m thinking things will probably shake out to around 5.5 hours, which is a 12:36 pace, which I think is doable, but whatever gets me over the bridge by 1:45 works for me. I’ve got my race plan (walk 2 mins @ every mile marker) that should keep things in check and keep me from blowing up. Have my reeses pieces and gummi bears in case I get the munchies along the way. Have my Garmin, which has the average pace display, so I can make sure I’m staying under a 14 minute pace without having to try to do math and run at the same time.

Well, I’ve gotten my “good luck and go kick ass” goodnight phone call, so now I can go to bed. :)

Yes, it will encompass an entire weekend, not just the 5-7 hours I’ll be spending on the course on Sunday morning.

Tomorrow my buddy Lane gets here (he’s the one that got so sick earlier this year) and he’ll be staying here with me and doing the 10K. Chippy & Trixie are coming for dinner tomorrow night as well – nice that the baked potato soup makes a TON.

Poor Lane is going to get dragged all over town tomorrow afternoon, cause I realized once I got home, I missed a couple things for the soup when I did the marketing, plus I have to go by the wine shop and pick up a case of wine, and with 2 more for dinner than I originally thought, some bread might not be a bad idea.

Then Saturday is the traditional pre-race-day breakfast out, then packet pickup and the expo, then about 10 of us are meeting up for dinner Saturday night at some Italian place over in Arlington (thank god we were able to get reservations, otherwise there is a good chance I’d be cooking for all of them) and then Sunday morning, it’s off to the races!

There is something very satisfying about being able to take a recipe that initially creates 6 gallons (yes, 6 gallons) of chili, be able to scale it, and then make changes to it because you know it’s close to what you want but not quite, and have it come out *just right*. :-D

It’s crazy easy…and truly came out exactly the way I wanted:

The initial recipe is at AllRecipes.com

My version:

1 pound lean ground beef
chopped onions – enough to look like the right amount when you toss them into the pot w/the beef.
2 decent sized cloves garlic, minced – 3 if they’re small
1c tomato sauce (1 8oz can)
1 small can tomato paste
1 tablespoon and 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

brown beef, garlic, onions

add the rest, simmer 1 hour, enjoy the heavenly smells in the meantime.

It wasn’t until they were talking about Dow 12K and the anniversary of the ‘87 crash on CNBC that I realized that today (well, technically yesterday at this point), it’s been 10 years since my Dad died. I’m sure it sounds exceptionally weird, but the actual date does *not* stick in my head whatsoever, it never has. I just know it’s the anniversary of Black Monday and 12 days after my brother’s birthday – and the 12 day thing I only know because my brother keyed into the fact that my Mom died 12 days after my birthday. Even knowing that, I have to sit down and count days if someone needs the actual dates.

When it hit me, it wasn’t anything horrid or terribly sad or anything, just “Has it really been 10 years?!” In some ways it feels like it’s been forever, and in other ways, like he just left. I’d like to think that he’s somewhere and able to watch the adventure I’ve made of my life and smile at it. I know his reaction to MCM and tris would be basically the same as ’s – “You’re nuts, but I’m proud of you.” – and would be scouring the internet for training tips for me. :) I know he’d be really happy at the fishing & kayaking trips of late – especially the fishing *while* kayaking my last dash out of town. So, though I miss him and my Mom every day, I can’t say I’m sad, just a bit befuddled that it could possibly have been this long.

I’ve had a few days of feeling slightly guilty about my escape from productive society, but then things happen that remind me that right now, I need to be living life on MY terms and not the terms set forth by the HR department of some corporation. Saturday night I got a call, “How would you like to hit the beach for a couple days?*” Well, come on, who could resist that? Sunday was finishing up a paper while sitting on the screened porch (50/50 score) followed by surfcasting (reeled in 2 blues on one line, go me) which was just awesome. Monday was kayaking on the sound again and rediscovering that I have NOT lost my casting skills, I just need a saltwater rig that fits my size. Tuesday was just a lazy rainy day at the beach, with a wonderful candlelight dinner at the end of it. This freedom to get up and go is what I’ve needed for a very long time, and I’m very grateful to have it.

The kayaking was freakin’ awesome. Last time, it had been 13 years since I’d been out, and over the course of the outing, I did get very comfortable in the boat, but when Dave pushed me off first, I’ll admit there were some nerves there. This time, he pushed my boat off and my first thought was, “He’d better hurry up, cause I’m not waiting for him” and off I went. Kayaking skills *do* come back quickly – a hell of a lot faster than riding a bike to be sure. Was quickly doing hard turns and stops with no issues whatsoever and enjoying the hell out of it. It didn’t go unnoticed as about halfway through the afternoon Dave declared me a natural in the water. Hell, I’m a Pisces, I should hope so. At one point he asked, “How ya doin’ over there?” to which I replied, “I’m mentally accessorizing my new kayak.” Seriously, I am definitely thinking about acquiring a boat – you can paddle in all the lakes up here, and it’s SO relaxing, and sit on tops aren’t prohibitively expensive.

Of course, as we were getting out of the kayaks, he says, “The cops are here.” Oh lord, NO – we weren’t doing ANYTHING prohibited this time!!! Turns out it was just one of the guys from the Sheriff’s department who happened to park in the general vicinity of where we parked and was doing paperwork or eating lunch or something and didn’t really care about us.

For those that hit OBX on a semi-regular basis, North Shore Outfitters in Duck is dangerous. (West side of 12, next shopping center past the ABC store) They’re the folks that have supplied me with a kayak the last 2 trips down there, and they are very well stocked with outdoor goodies by The North Face, Patagonia, Royal Robbins & Icebreaker among others. I now have a wonderful pair of fleecy microfiber pants, a kickass fleece type tank top and a good pair of shorts. It’s in the same little shopping center as the coffeeshop/bookstore, another place I managed to not be able to leave with *just* a latte. (And then discovered that Dave has the same book I bought – Wine and War – which may be research material for my next paper.)

While we were down there, I found a couple Lawrence Sanders books in the house, including one I hadn’t actually read yet – I figured his folks probably had brought them down, cause his writing tends to lend itself to an older generation. Well, while we were talking tonight, it turns out they were his – and he loves the McNally series as well, for the same reasons I do – it’s fun fluff, but well written, and you have to love the descriptions of what Archie McNally wears and especially the food descriptions. Lordy, we are dorks. ;) Spiffy to find someone else who also considers the fall of the family cocktail hour to be a sad, sad thing.

So yeah, that’s where I’ve been the past few days.

*It was supposed to be him & his Dad going down to get some work done on the house, and his Dad literally bailed at 9:30 Saturday night. (Legit reasons, and I can’t say I mind, I got a couple days at the beach.)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, – may Missoula’s next best police officer have a fantastic day!!!!!!!

…dealing with the estate stuff is draining. After I finished off the taxes, I went to fill out the annuity paperwork. To liquidate 4 contracts requires no less than 16 forms. I shit you not.

But, they’re all filled out, I’ve signed my 8 forms, and little bro needs to sign his half and in the mail they go.

Unfortunately, the living room now looks like a paper factory exploded, so the tax and annuity project has morphed into cleanup. Just what I love.

Feeling much better this morning. As I told the wonderful , who “gets it”, I think a couple hours of just being an angry little person did the trick.

Now it’s time to go box diving for those last four pieces of paper. Also need to get up to Staples for some ink cartridges – that will help for the things I actually have to print, don’t you think?

Gonna try to get the annuity paperwork kicked out once and for all today. Once that’s done, several other things can fall into place, which will be good.

The only really critical “deadline” (and even that is self imposed) is to get everything distributed by 12/31, just to keep this from creeping into another tax year.

But first, the taxes…

Well, after a Starbucks run. I feel like I’ve earned it. :)

Don’t know if you read the BB board over at TMF, but there is a thread going that made me think of you and realize I may have not properly thanked you last year for what you did.

Thank you again for the chocolates – because you were right – times like those call for chocolate. We had enough flowers and plants to start our own shop (not a bad thing, I love flowers!), and enough food to feed the eighth army (again, good, cause I sure as hell wasn’t cooking), but you were the one that realized chocolate was in order.

Thanks again, my friend.