Category Archives: Haiku

Trivia!

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On Tuesday nights, our team “Optimistic About Fourth Place,” plays trivia at Shameless O’Leery’s, a local watering hole. Some weeks, we do really well; like last week, we won second place! And that was actually the second time we won second place (see! it wasn’t just a fluke), which comes with a $20 bar gift card and some bragging rights at the office. Other weeks, we don’t do so hot; like this week, we finished somewhere in the neighborhood of fifth. Win or not, we have a grand time, and I am so glad to have friends who like to do this kind of thing on a week night.

For fun, here’s some recent trivia questions for you! If you know all the answers, then you should definitely come play on our team!

  1. Is Bob Dole dead or alive?
  2. What do you call a group of raccoons?
  3. Locate the following horse leg parts: pastern, gaskin, and cannon (this was a visual round question)
  4. Who stole the record number of bases – 1406 – during his baseball career?
  5. What is the fewest number of moves you would need to make to win a game of battleship?
  6. What is the name of the Greek goddess of wisdom?
  7. What is the sum of the first three prime numbers?
  8. What is the name of the world’s third largest ocean?
  9. What do these three things have in common: Jelly Bean, KitKat, and Ice Cream Sandwich?
  10. Name the four US presidents who were assassinated while in office.

If you want the answers, you can ask my friend Google.

Marathon!

Finish!

Marathon complete!
Three : Twenty-Two : Forty Eight
Blissful exhaustion.

I ran the Redding Marathon yesterday! I finished in 3:22:48 (three hours, twenty-two minutes, and forty eight seconds), which was significantly faster than my goal time (three hours thirty minutes) and is also a solid qualifying time for the 2016 Boston Marathon, a sought-after and celebrated achievement in the running community (my age group qualifier is three hours thirty-five minutes). I am pumped!

The start!
The start!

The race was excellent. My training plan prepared me well, and I had very little soreness until the final 10k (6.2 miles). That was tough! But it’s a marathon, so it should be hard, and despite the complaints from my legs, I was able to finish at a solid pace. The only thing I would change for next time would be the weather (as if I have any say in the matter); it was misting from the start and turned into a light rain at about mile 15. It wasn’t awful, but it was very wet and by the end, a little cold. Still, on the whole, it was a great event, and I am extremely pleased.

On the course
On the course

I would like to give a special shout out to everyone who sent inspirational texts before and during the race: Mom & Dad, Paige L-N., Liz S., Annmarie D., Laura B., Katie S., Cara K., and David D.! Your well wishes were much appreciated! And I am guessing more of you would have sent messages if I had announced that I would carry my phone, but that was a last minute decision based on rain, but plan for it next time (because there will be a next time).

I am also super grateful to have had friends meet me at the finish, they even had signs!

The signs are now hanging in my apartment.
The signs are now hanging in my apartment.

I also appreciated all the post-race celebratory messages! There are too many to individually recap, but I loved every one of them.

Thanks everyone for your support! I look forward to running more marathons in the future and you all make it that much more rewarding and fun!

Happy finisher with gummy bears!
Happy finisher with gummy bears!

Below is my playlist for the marathon, it was carefully orchestrated, so I’ve included some of the behind-the-scenes logic for entertainment. Enjoy!

Redding Marathon Playlist:

  1. Uptown Funk
  2. Uptown Funk
  3. Uptown Funk – yes, I like to listen to songs more than once, particularly if they are a current favorite
  4. Poker Face
  5. Just Dance – a little Lady G. early to remind me to relax, have fun, and dance!
  6. MANiCURE
  7. Bad Moon Rising
  8. Bad Moon Rising
  9. Bad Moon Rising
  10. Rockstar
  11. Rockstar
  12. All The Right Moves
  13. All The Right Moves
  14. Steve McQueen – like my Lady G. interludes, Sheryl has some good songs to “keep going” without too much adrenaline
  15. C’mon C’mon
  16. Soak Up The Sun
  17. Diamond Road
  18. We Were Rock & Roll
  19. Club Can’t Handle Me
  20. Uptown Funk
  21. Timber – this is my hill climbing song, because “it’s going down”
  22. Timber
  23. Timber
  24. Bad Romance – came on right about halfway and was much appreciated; it’s a song I have to be careful not to overuse
  25. The Edge of Glory
  26. The Edge of Glory
  27. Teeth – another Lady G. interlude
  28. Just Dance
  29. G.U.Y.
  30. Gypsy
  31. Timber – another short hill going down!
  32. Shake It Off – I might have been singing out loud at times… hope the other runners didn’t mind
  33. Payphone – “even the sun sets in paradise!”
  34. Payphone
  35. To The Dogs Or Whoever
  36. Feel This Moment
  37. MANiCURE
  38. MANiCURE
  39. I Knew You Were Trouble
  40. I Knew You Were Trouble
  41. Give Me Everything – time to run the final 10k!
  42. Give Me Everything
  43. Babel
  44. Up Around The Bend – classic!
  45. Uptown Funk – yep, this song Again, and I enjoyed funk-ing it up the whole time
  46. Uptown Funk
  47. Dance Apocalyptic – fast beat = fast feet
  48. Bad Romance – second play could not have come at a better time, I had just struggled over some small hills, there was about a 5k to go, and Lady G., she knew I was caught in a Bad Romance
  49. I Will Wait – this song is a reliable method for getting 105% out of my legs, even when they really would rather not, so “paint my spirit gold”
  50. I Will Wait
  51. I Will Wait
intimidation neck tat
intimidation neck tat

Preoccupation

Race Outfit

preoccupied thoughts
race bib, outfit, weather, food
marathon draws near

A little more:

I am running the Redding Marathon tomorrow, January 18. It starts at 8 AM pacific time on the top of Shasta Dam and traverses the Sacramento River Trail to the Sundial Bridge (course map). I have been training for 14 weeks using a Carly-fied version of the Hanson training plan. I am nervous, but I think I am ready. Please send good thoughts!   : )

From Friday:

Selma

‘Selma’ reminds us
peaceful protests overcame.
Still there’s work to do.

Elaboration:

I saw the movie ‘Selma’ on Friday night. It was excellent: powerful and moving, but also difficult to watch. Being confronted by heinous acts on a big screen made me cringe with disgust and remorse, but I am grateful that the movie triggered these feelings, because I am afraid of what could happen (and maybe is happening) if we forget the courageous acts of these many ordinary people. They have done so much for us and our country, and now it is our turn to continue their march.

For an illuminating interview with the director, Ava DuVernay, visit this link: The Sounds, Space And Spirit Of ‘Selma’: A Director’s Take.