William B. Pond Park

This morning, Husband and I arranged to meet my friend "D" at the gate of William B. Pond Recreation Area for a walk along the American River. She said she used to run here with her husky several years ago, and that the walk was "wild" and scenic. She was right. Although there were many people in the area, most with dogs, the equestrian trail was unimproved and provided many beautiful vistas of the river, such as this one.

So, with the good company, we walked and talked for almost two hours before returning to our respective cars, which we had parked on the street outside the park. She showed us published photos of her son, who is a free solo climber, and while we were admiring them, Parking Control cruised by and warned that we were parked in a No Parking zone! We never even saw the signs! So lucky we got back to the cars when we did, and we escaped without tickets. This time. We'll sure look for better parking next time!

Summer's Winding Up

Lazy, hazy days of summer? Well, mayby hazy; certainly not lazy!

L returned from London on time with lots of photos, which she promptly uploaded to MySpace. She says she has them on the laptop on her desktop, and will move them into the "shared" folder so others NOT on MySpace can also see them. She enjoyed the trip: found King Lear "awesome", and was most impressed by Windsor Castle. The "Eye" was operational and she took the ride. (It was closed for repair when P visited a few years ago.)

She jumped right back into lifeguarding the day after she returned, and has been keeping otherwise busy with her summer homework: books to read, movies to watch, and fundraisers to attend. Oh, and she also has been asking for driving practice. She's doing really well, but I still get nervous when she accelerates towards brake lights ... And we've already been shopping for school supplies - filled a bag at OfficeMax and got the 15% discount.

I've decided to try another - shorter - walking race. I've made reservations for a trip to Hawaii this month, and am waiting for the registration form for the 5k Rosie Wall Memorial run/walk. It begins at the Kailua Fire Station, goes along North Kainalu to the end of the road, and back. It begins and ends just a block from Mom's house, so it couldn't be more convenient! I'm thinking that I should practice in the heat, because that's going to be the challenge: heat and humidity.

I set a new personal goal of shedding another 10% of my current body weight. I've been mostly successful during the last 3 weeks, but we had a going-away party this week at work, and I had pieces of BOTH the chocolate cherry and the carrot cakes. But I discovered my Curves workouts are worth a few more exercise points than I thought - wish they were enough more to cancel out the cake - but no. So I've got to walk more and be vigilant about choosing healthy foods.

Walking is Hot Stuff

Our first summer heat wave arrived yesterday, with temperatures pushing 100.  The high pressure area is expected to stick around through the weekend - great for the pool; not so great if you're doing a long race.

This is my Avenue of the Vines half-marathon race weekend. I did my last walk this morning; tomorrow is a rest day, and Sunday is the Big Day.  At our training meeting on Tuesday, we received our red singlets, driving directions, and tips for surviving the race: eating, drinking, clothing, rest, sunscreen, mental prep, and walking strategy. Tomorrow, Marty and I will drive to Stockton to pick up my race packet, and on the way back, we'll swing by the Woodbridge Winery to get the lay of the land. I'm all stocked up with Gatorade and powerbars, and will be attending the Pasta party tomorrow afternoon at the Old Spaghetti Factory in Elk Grove.

I know I will finish; my team mates say they will stand by the finish line for as long as it takes me to get there!

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