No race weekend

Yes, it is probably a first - there were actually over 7 local runs this weekend.  And I didn't run any of them.  Instead, I went to the Martini Ball yesterday afternoon/evening.  It's a fun affair and a great people-watching event.  This morning, I woke up early, planning on dropping in on a 10k.  However, after I walked to the bathroom on my danced-in-heels feet, I decided that I'll just clean the house today instead of pounding my feet on the trail. 

Warding off the mal de ojo

So, after a day of squeezing into the 4" opening of the driver's side door of my podcar (while the door was scraping and the car was hurting), trying to climb in through the hatchback, and trying to climb in the passenger door (and over the center shift console), I'm starting to get mad about my smushed podcar.  Especially since I didn't hear anything from the dealership or their insurance company today.

But then I went to yoga and then rolled the egg on the podcar to free her from the mal de ojo (evil eye).

Afterward, you put the egg in the glass, under her 'bed' (my driveway). But nobody told me what happens if a stray cat scarfs it up --- like that orange guy there. I'm guessing I may have a Pet Sematary/Steven King situation on my hands tomorrow.

 

 
But, to welcome myself back to reality tomorrow, maybe I won't dread crazy possessed cats and, instead, call a great contact a friend sent me who could actually get things rolling in regard to fixing my car.

My poor podcar's mal de ojo

The driver's side of my podcar is cursed.  Cursed, I tell ya.  The whole rest of the car is not - some dog scratches and minor dings, but no damages.  But, back to the driver's side, the cursed side.  A couple of years after I bought the car, an uninsured lady backed into that cursed side at the free spay-neuter clinic, where I was volunteering.  It just caused some dents, but no functional problems, so I didn't file against my coverage.  Then, I was in my first accident in over 15 years and sideswiped an SUV (barely) last Fall.  Driver's side.  Cursed side.  This time, since I was paying for his damages (taillight), I paid the deductible and fixed my driver's side.  Cursed side.  And I believed that, perhaps, it had become uncursed.

Until today.  I routinely took my car to the dealership for 40,000 miles service (basically oil change/tire rotation).  And when I came out, the driver's side, cursed side looked like this -

Yeah, I kind of noticed that big ol' dent when I couldn't fully open the driver's side door.  (And, because my car is very, very dirty - that one clean, dented spot kind of stood out.)  CURSED, I tell you.

So, I don't know who put the mal de ojo on my podcar's driver's side, but I'm not taking chances.  Tomorrow, I roll an (organic, cage free) egg over the driver's side, CURSED side, crack it, place it in a glass of water, and set it under the podcar.  (I'm sure the stray cats will LOVE this.)  And I hope that this will remove the mal de ojo.

And then I head to the bodyshop to have the dealership repair the damage. 

Shamrock Shuffle 5k

yep, last week it was trail runs that I didn't like.  This week, it's 5ks.  Somehow, in the past year or so, they seem to have gotten longer - and made me uglier.  Really - I'm not making this up.

As evidence for my illogical conclusion, I present the following -

BEFORE:

Ah yes, happy to hang out with friends on a (very humid) Saturday morning in the park.  And then (dun dun dun) - the DURING and AFTER:

Yep, that's the look of "seriously? THAT slow?"
But, I always run with a purpose - beer

and dogs

(this is Ceci - super photographer) Thanks to Ceci and http://www.iaapweb.com/ and Scotty Dog for the pics!

Prickly Pear 10 mile/50k trail run

Um, yeah, I definitely ran the 10 mile and not the 50k. I always volunteer for this race and, this year, I decided to tackle the 10 miles of trails.  I'm not sure why I've been running so many trail runs this year - it really needs to stop, since I am not a very good trail runner.  Today, I got my butt beaten by a gal over 70 y/o - but not by much and at least I didn't fall down.  Yep, I celebrate the little things. 

I arrived at the park around 6 a.m. to help set up aid station #1.  Here is the station crew, in our annual port-a-potty prerace pic.

The 50k crazies started at 7:00 a.m. so, after they passed our stop the first of three times, I headed over to the start for the 8:30 not-so-crazy one-loop 10 mile start.  (and I was already yawning)



This run is less technical than the goat trails of Paesano's 8 miler a couple of weeks ago, but the last time I ran these trails (in November), I fell, gave myself a black eye, and separated my right shoulder.  Like I said, I am not a very talented trail runner.  So, I took it easy, and had a nice run.

A deer ran with me for a little bit, but did not charge me like the mean deer did to a guy on Thanksgiving.  Here's the finish, where I cruised in on the tail of the 70+ y/o female - eating her dust and looking like a crazy trail running chicken. 

And then I ate a rice/pico de gallo taco, drank an Alamo Ale, and headed back to aid station #1 to help feed/cheer those bloody, dusty, crazy 50k runners.  Thanks to Jenna, Tom Lake, and Jazzy for the pics!

Lions and tigers (but no bears)

I love tigers.  I have always loved tigers.  They are the neatest animals ever.  If neatest were a word.  And I have a buddy who volunteers at a big cat shelter - who gets to help tigers.  But they also need help (as the folks who previously owned the tigers as 'pets' came to find out - tigers eat a lot and require a lot of care).  So, the Carolina Tiger Rescue gives them a great home.

I know many of us are facing furlough, high gas prices, crazy governors, et al. - but please consider donating a (tax deductible) dollar or more (every dollar counts) to the Great Human Race. My buddy, Laurie (USN-Ret) (who is NOT a runner) and her husband, Mark (USA-Ret), are fellow troops from Sarajevo. Laurie is currently pursuing her 15th or so career as a vet tech and volunteers at the Carolina Tiger Rescue. This is the facility that recently took in 3 tigers and 3 lions from the Wild Animal Orphanage, just outside of San Antonio, saving the cats' lives.


the donation site is http://www.active.com/donate/ghr2011/lmb0(like I said, a buck or so is welcomed)

and, if you want to learn more about CTR and their cats, please check out http://www.carolinatigerrescue.com/ There are some great vidoes of Nitro, a former junkyard tiger who is blind and loves to chuffle at his keepers.

I know it's hard to imagine that folks own 'pet' tigers and 'junk yard' tigers, but it is fairly widespread. There are currently more tigers in captivity (not zoos - pets and guard animals) in Texas than live wild in Siberia.  As I've told many of you before, I worked hard for over 2 years to shut down a local tiger breeder - just outside of loop 1604 in San Antonio. And, in a city where the mentality is, if you don't need a pet any more, you 'set it free,' that becomes troublesome with really big cats. So, rescues like CTR are vital, especially as the wild tiger population sadly declines.

First Friday Cruiser Ride

Here are some pics of us at the Viddora condos during the First Friday Cruiser Ride last Friday.  Thanks to Kent and Peter for the pics!

not tired

Well, I was when I tried to roust myself out of bed, but I received a message from Ruben to run the North Salado Creek Trail at 8.  But I made it there and it was a nice run.  It's a prepared trail from the South end of McAllister Park, through Ladybird Park, through Los Patios - then you have to hike a bit under Loop 410, and we turned around at Tobin Park.  Part of the route was boardwalk, which was a little frosty/slippery heading out, but nice coming back.  Wildlife seen:  2 cats, 3 deer (closely seen by my buddy, Johnny O).

After that, I headed to Empty Bowls at the SW School of Art.  You purchase handmade bowls and get a bowl of soup - all to benefit the SAMM shelter. So, I bought some new bowls and enjoyed cream of asparagus soup, black bean chili soup, and (my favorite) squash almond soup. 

And then I came home for a nap and am suddenly not tired, even though I could really use a nap.  Especially since I'd really like to stop watching this awful Spurs-Lakers game.  Next up - Prickly Pear 10 mile trail run at McAllister Park on Saturday.  I'm pretty sure that will make me tired.

Tired

It was already a long, busy weekend before the weekend evenbegan.  My neighbor, Emilio Ortiz, died last Sunday, so Thursday and Friday involved visitation, rosary, funeral, and reception events.  One great thing was that some of his vatos from the valley played corridos outside of the church and at the reception.  I really liked that. 

Friday night was First Friday Cruiser Ride - starting from Guillermo's then heading to a buddy's new condo at the Vidorra Condos near the Alamodome (I want to live downtown), then to Alcapulco drive in, then Beethoven Maennerchor (super crowded). 

I didn't realize how much that all took out of me, but Gwen the pitoodle did and repeatedly hit the snooze button on Saturday morning. So, we missed the start of the Dog Jog in Garden Ridge and just showed up for a beer (me) and a sausage (her).

I was going to drop in for a 5k tomorrow morning, but think I'll just hit a new trail with a buddy for free for 8 miles or so.  Then, I'm going to take my stinky self to the Empty Bowls event for some pretty bowls and good soup.  Then, I'm going to crash.

Thanks to scotty dog for the pics