Gait Analysis = Complete

I am proud to say that I completed one of my half-marathon training to-dos today...I went to Fleet Feet Sports and had my gait analysis done.  Survey says?  I am a mild pronator.  I can work with that.

The gait analysis was actually pretty interesting.  My specialist measured my foot in about 6 different ways, watched me walk, put me in neutral running shoes, and then video-taped and watched me run on a treadmill.  From behind.  Luckily, I'm strategic and purposely wore my favorite running pants.  They make my butt look pretty awesome.  I knew there was a chance the specialist that would watch me run would be a cute boy...and he was.  A-dor-able.  We had a pretty fun 45 minutes together, including him being super patient as I tried on 7 pairs of running shoes.  I think we're going to be running buddies, which I am uber-happy about.  (We decided we were running soul-mates because I decided on a pair of shoes that happen to be identical to his...and he didn't tell me until after I decided, so there was no persuasion involved)

But anyway, I left with a great pair of Brooks running shoes!  And I even took them for a test-run afterward.  I did an easy 4 miles....sorry, CB.  I know you told me no more than 3, but I just couldn't help myself.  They felt pretty great, I have to say.  I need to run once or twice more to fully decide.  Fleet Feet will let you return shoes within 30 days of purchase if you don't love them - even if you've already run in them.  Awesome.

The bad news from my run?  My right knee was bothering me enough at the end that I had to take a couple of breaks to walk it off (luckily it doesn't hurt when I walk).

The good news from my run?  I saw the greatest sweater in the history of the world.  I snuck up on the guy just so I could snap this pic:

I may start a hunt to find myself one just like it...

Trying-to-Become-a Runner Update

Official countdown to half-marathon = 81 days.  That's a little less than 3 months for me to get my act together and go try to rock the Rock 'n Roll Half Marathon in our nation's capital.  Oh boy.

So how is the training coming along?  Um...it's coming.  That's about all I can say.  I haven't been doing my very best quite yet, though I have had a successful last week, running a total of about 20 miles.  (For all you long-distance runners, I know that doesn't sound that impressive, but please try to remember that I am a total amateur at this point)  My longest run was 7 miles and I completed it in 1 hour 3 minutes.  Not too bad of a time, right?  Especially considering that it was right around freezing temperatures, and I was out in a gross mix of rain and sleet.  My face probably never looked more disgusting than when I returned from that outing.

I'm even proud to say that I woke up nice and early today (the day after Christmas....when I should have been shopping!) to go run a cool 6 miles with my bestie, CB.  She's borderline professional runner, so I'm pretty proud that I kept up with her today.  Nevermind that it was her "slow, easy" run for the week.  We did the 6 miles in 58 minutes 26 seconds.  I'll take that.

CB is going to give me my official half-marathon training plan later this week.  I can't wait to see what she has in store for me.  And aside from that, here are the other things that are on my to-do list:

1. Going to get a gait analysis (I'm pretty sure I subconsciously favor the inside of my left foot when I run...probably rightfully so, since I've had surgery there twice in my life and it still houses 4 metal screws)

2. Getting new running shoes (based on results of gait analysis)

3. Continuing to build the perfect running playlist.  I get closer everyday. 
***Newest awesome addition?  "F**k Me Pumps" by Amy Winehouse.  This song would be perfection if it weren't for that one uncool line..."Don't be mad at me 'cuz you're pushin' thirty, and your old tricks no longer work"...R.I.P. Amy, but also bite me a little bit.  I'm pushin' thirty and it just so happens that all of my old tricks still work.  And I even have some new ones, thank you very much.

4. Looking at (and probably purchasing) GPS running watches.  Let's be honest...I'll never be taken seriously as a runner without one.

5. Drinking more water (and less adult drinks) after long runs.  Apparently if I don't drink enough water after a long run and then have 2 glasses of wine, I'm tanked.  I'm just sorry JP had to be the first witness to this last Thursday evening.  And the half-marathon is on St. Patty's Day.  I plan to drink a LOT of green beer after the race.  So I need to be more prepared for those after effects.

6. Figuring out what to do about a runny nose while running in the cold weather.  Seriously, why does it just turn on like a faucet in the cold?!  I'm open to ANY advice anyone has.  And if there are no better fixes out there then I plan to shove cotton balls up my nostrils.

Stay tuned as the journey continues.  It will hopefully be successful, but at the very least it will be entertaining.

Have a Holly Jolly, Very Merry Christmas!

An Olson family Christmas...never disappoints. There's nothing like being home for the holidays, and especially when there's so much entertainment! Here are the 2011 highlights, starting with the trip:

* Heading to O'Hare on Christmas Eve afternoon, ready to fight the massive crowds that the newscasters were warning me about, only to find it completely deserted! To a very frequent traveler, there's nothing quite like the sight of an empty airport. Serenity now. Here's the proof (look how happy Bieber is!):

* My wake-up call on this Christmas morning? My dad coming in and saying "Merry Christmas little girl! Shitter's full." (Although I have to say, that never gets old)

* Checking my phone right after that, only to find that someone had texted me at 12:30am to say Merry Christmas...and the text included a link to that exact clip from Christmas Vacation on YouTube...MF, did we just become best friends?! I think we did.

* My parents making a traditional Christmas dinner all from scratch, but also including a little something on the side....knowing that I would throw a hissy fit if it wasn't included:

(My dad even said he took it out of the can ever-so-carefully, so as to not disturb the "can lines" that I love so much...he knows me too well)

* Watching bit and pieces of A Christmas Story on and off throughout the day on TBS, only to finally watch the whole thing at once in the evening (no-commercials version though, of course)

* Eating so many of my mom's delicious Christmas cookies that I think I might barf...multiple times during the day

* Waking up in my flannel pajamas, wearing them all day, and then going to bed in them again (which I fully plan to do)

* And my personal favorite? This exchange between my parents and me:

Parents - "Are you eating turkey these days?"
Me - "Not really.  I still haven't eaten any poultry in about 2 years."
Parents - "Really? Still?"
Me - "Well....I accidentally ate hot wings with LM and LK last weekend...after the bar crawl...a little intoxicated."
Parents - "Perfect. We'll just get you drunk then before Christmas dinner. Problem solved!"
Me - "Fair enough. Game on."

I hope everyone else has an equally entertaining holiday.  Merry Christmas to you and yours!

Makin' Santa Proud

I think there might be some new additions to Santa's "Naughty List" after this past Saturday.  Not me, of course.  I'm 29 years and holding strong on the "Nice List"...let's hope anyway.  Although this picture doesn't help my case...

I don't have a Smokey Joe...so what would I even do with the coal?!

Saturday was the 3rd annual SANTA Monica Pub Crawl, back in my old stomping ground in Southern California.  Aaahhhhhh...it felt real good to be back.  It was lucky I was there on the right weekend, for this fabulous event.  The idea?  Everyone dress up in ridiculous Christmas-themed gear (or as my girl LK said, "dress like Christmas threw up on you"), buy an official SMPC bracelet (the money goes to charity, so really it's the gathering of a bunch of philanthropists?), and then head out on a 7-stop pub crawl all over Santa Monica.  Annnnnnnnd party your butts off and have the time of your life.

Though we crawled with a larger group...shown here:

...this was my core crew...the Boo-Boos (LM, me, LK) reunited:

And this was my absurd outfit:

We started the afternoon with a nice bottle of champagne, and of course some dancing.  No one will be surprised that there was a lot of Justin Bieber played.  And don't worry...the Biebs doll most certainly came on the whole pub crawl with us:

As did Puss in Boots.  He and Biebs most definitely bonded.  It was adorable, and a little creepy.

We proceeded to visit 4 of the 7 bars.  Why only 4?  Because we're geniuses, that's why.  Towards the end we just skipped ahead to the last bar of the night and got in right away and secured good spots before the masses showed up.  Worked like a charm.  We also stopped in the middle somewhere to eat large amounts of pizza and garlic knots at Joe's.  Delicious.

Highlights of the crawl include:
* Lots of bows everywhere....on packages, AND on "packages" (I'm talking to you, DF)
* Buddy Tape!!! Bright, neon green...and all over us
* Fun holiday drinks with fun holiday names...my personal fave = Yellow Snow
* Mechanical Santa hats (even though they're a little creepy)
* Giant reindeer heads
* Dancing on pool tables (until you get yelled at and have to get down)
* Public accountants...NOT
* Carrying half-eaten pizza in your purse (nice work, LK)
* LM missing every, single set-up for pictures (love you)
* Christmas pajama tops...with missing bottoms
* Man pee on the floor (and unintended fake pregnancy)
* Pool cues in place of stripper poles
* $3.00 PBR tall boys (sooooo good)
* Demanding that I get 8 bean burritos from Taco Bell....then convincing the taxi driver to take us there...only to find TB closed....BOO
* Dancing so much your legs are sore the day after
* Hanging all afternoon and night with some of the coolest people ever

I believe there were more than 300 pictures taken throughout the crawl.  Here are some of the choice shots:



Mmmmmmm....PBR

Queen of the Buddy Tape

"Act like you just got your dream present!"

"Act like you just got socks but are trying to look happy!"

"Act like you just got a lump of coal."

Singing Bieber toothbrush, given to me by DF.  Best present ever.

Artistic shots....taken in the bathroom

Yum, blue shots

Ugh...not so tasty

I'm still trying to figure out who took the shot of my butt...

Don't be fooled. I was highly unamused by this knucklehead.

I forget the point of this one.

Biebs and Puss enjoying recovery brunch at Cabo Cantina on Sunday.

Is it possible to go ahead and buy tickets for the 2012 pub crawl yet?  If so, I'll take three.  Cheers!

A Most Perfect Thank You

Yet another class of new hires has already wrapped up...I continue to be amazed at how fast time is flying in 2011 (and that 2012 is just 2 weeks away). This group was pretty fantastic, I have to say. We had a lot of fun with them, and they made our jobs very enjoyable. In trying to think how best to describe this group, I kept coming back to one specific example that I think sums them up very well.

One evening last week we were playing the emergency department game, where they work in teams to manage 4 hospital departments for a fake 24 hour period. Normally the groups come up with some fairly interesting and creative ideas of how to better play the game...but this group came up with the best one I've heard yet. This was the exchange:

Group - "Are we allowed to run our ER like a military hospital?"
Me - "...I'm gonna need more to go on than that...what in the world do you mean?"
Group - "Well, you know at military hospitals they treat patients in the hallways...they don't have to be in hospital beds. Can we do that here? As long as each patient still has a doctor and we log/pay for all the hours?"
Me - "Wow. I can't believe I've never heard that one before...interesting."
(Pause. I ponder the question, and consult with JP.)
Me - "You know what? It doesn't say explicitly that you can't do that in the directions, so go for it!"

So they did it. They started moving their patients (blue beads) into the hallway from the waiting area, and moving hospital staff (white beads) out with them. And this is what their ER looked like at the end of the game:
Note that they're only given 25 beds for the ER...but they are also treating 15 patients out in their "hallway." I've got to give them credit. It was a damn fine idea. And they ended up winning the game...though there was an "accidental cheating" situation in one of their other departments...so we're a little unsure how that affected everything else. The jury's still out. But they do get an A+ for creativity and "thinking outside the box."

And just when they couldn't get any better, they gave the instructors thank you cards and gifts. How very sweet of them. And very well chosen gifts. Remember how I coveted this Justin Bieber doll back in New York at Dave & Buster's?

Well the gang hadn't even seen that, but learned enough about me this week to give me these thank you gifts:

Hi-lar-ious. I absolutely swooned when they presented it to me this morning. To the class - you guys are too much. Thanks for being awesome, and for fueling my Bieber Fever fire even more.

They'll probably be happy to know also that my little Bieber doll will now be accompanying me everywhere I go. I will be capturing photo ops with him as he travels around the country with me. Here's his first one, post-being-let-out-of-the-package:

Biebs already made a friend at LM's place in Santa Monica! He's a little jealous of his friend's ability to grow facial hair though. And also a little peeved that his friend could totally kick his butt, should he so choose.

Goodbye, Little Brother...

Dear Farley,

"Our Farley has now gone to a better place. Rest in peace."

That's the text message I received about you this afternoon. By far the worst I've ever received. I knew it was coming, since I had already talked to mom and dad earlier and knew the situation. But somehow, that didn't really soften the blow.

Farley Olson, my little, non-human brother, you passed away today. You were such an important part of our family (this was what I wrote about you just about one year ago - Prince Farley). I haven't yet grasped the fact that you are gone, and that I can never hug or kiss you again, and that no more breaths will pass through your little body.

From the very day we went to get you and bring you home in June 1996, you changed my life. Some humans might think that sounds kind of ridiculous when referring to a dog. But I stand by it. You really did. To a little girl who had been dreaming of having a dog for so long, it was a life-changing day. I will never forget it. It started many years of perfect moments like this:

I finally had my little buddy! You and I were instant best friends. I never wanted to put you down or be away from you, and I started campaigning to let you sleep in my bed right away. (It took a couple months to break mom and dad down, but we succeeded eventually)

And in the 15 and 1/2 years since that day you came home to 902 Bavarian Court, you have become a permanent part of Olson history, and of my history. You were the best little brother I could have ever hoped for, and I'm so grateful for every moment I had with you.

I think the next time I write, I'll have some of my favorite moments with you to share (there are too many to even begin to count), but for right now I just want you to know what a great dog you were, and what a fun little buddy you were, and how very much you were loved. I will never forget you. And you may not be here physically anymore, but you will live on in my heart forever.

Our big brother, Matthew, told me earlier that it's okay, and that you're back in the sheeps meadow now. I think that's true. Right back where you belong, our little white puff-ball.

Love you always, little brother.
Linds

Makin' it Weird

Sometimes I just want to make it through a check-out lane in peace. Sometimes I don't want the cashier rummaging through my stuff anymore than he/she has to to ring things up. Especially when it's a guy. And he's approximately 20 years old. To my check-out friend at the Tigard, OR Target...why did you have to make things so weird this evening?!

I was trying to check out in peace, and part of my purchase was new pantyhose (blah) for work. My coworker, JP, swears by this certain brand so I figured I'd finally give them a try. Before we get to the exchange between Mario and me, here's the visual for you:
Mario - "Whoa. Look at that!"
Me - "What?"
Mario - "These." (he puts his finger right on the butt of the pantyhose model)
Me - "What about them?"
Mario - "That's crazy. It doesn't even look like she has anything on at all! When you wear these it'll look like you don't have anything on!"
Me - "Um...yeah, pretty crazy."
Mario - "Maybe you'll forget you have them on then and you'll think you forget to wear them."
Me (in my head) - "Forget I have them on?! Obviously you've never experimented and tried them on...they are impossible to forget about! Clearly invented by some A-hole man who thinks he's hilarious."
Me (out of my mouth) - "So what's my total?"
Mario - "Is this making you uncomfortable?"
Me - "Kind of, yes."
Mario - "Sorry. It wasn't meant to. I'm sure you'll love these and look great in them."
Me (in my head) - "Aaaaggghhhhhhh!!!"
Me (out of my mouth) - "Do you take American Express?"

Ugh. Why do people have to make situations so weird? I get uncomfortable really easily sometimes. I think people just pick up on that and try to capitalize on it. Not cool.

Although I could have been buying much worse. Part of me wants to go back to that Target tomorrow, make sure Mario is working, and then check out in his lane again, but this time buying tampons, Ex-Lax, an eye mask, K-Y, rope, WD-40, duct tape, marshmallows, chocolate sauce, and a Slinky. I'd probably be sweating profusely from discomfort. But it would be worth it, since I'm pretty sure Mario's head would explode.

Mama/Daughter Day 'o Fun

Aaaaaahhh, it was almost a week ago already, but I had the very distinct pleasure of a mommy/daughter day with Miss Cindy in NYC! It was quite the full day, and oh-so-much fun. My mom and I have always had fun together, but I swear as time goes on, it gets even more fun. She's a riot, and usually up for just about anything...such as kissing a creepy Italian dude statue:

We did a LOT of walking around NYC. Luckily, my mama and I are both huge walkers. We love it. And could do it all day, until the cows come home. We started way down in the East Village and then eventually made our way up to Rockefeller Center (with stops along the way) for the Christmas tree lighting!

We tried to find as many other Christmas trees as we could along the route, including the Washington Square Park tree, seen in these pictures:

My last apartment in NYC was just a few blocks south of WSP, so during the Christmas season I would walk by the tree under the arch at every, single chance I got. Unfortunately, just the tree was up last week...no lights yet.

We did some shopping throughout the day (not surprising). We found this awesomely-named store on University Place, but were disappointed that it was just a pet accessories store. We thought, by the name, that it might be something else...
And before you go calling me gross, just know that mama bear is the one who pointed it out first! (But then I was the child who laughed about it for a good 10 minutes after)

We obviously had to hit up Macy's to see the be-yoo-ti-ful decorations:

And made some stranger (with a suspiciously Australian-sounding accent) take this picture for us:

His response when we asked him? "Oh, I must look trustworthy...you don't think I'm going to run away with your camera?" Response in my brain? "Check out my sweet running shoes. And I've run exactly one 5K. Don't even try it...obviously I would chase you down, catch you easily, and then tackle you/pull your hair." My actual response? "Oh, of course not, hahahaha."

We needed our energy to keep up with the walking and then outlast the crowds at Rockefeller Center. Nothing better for that than to carbo-load with a delicious NYC street pretzel!

So many gorgeous decorations to take in throughout the city...I particularly liked these new lights on 6th Avenue:

It looked like a string of lights from Godzilla's Christmas tree fell onto the street.

Eventually we made it up to the main event!

We got our sweet spot, and planted ourselves there for more than 5 hours in total. Good thing good company makes the time fly!

I barely took my camera out during the whole thing, since it was so nuts, I was sure I'd drop it and lose it in the massive and densely-packed crowd. BUT, I did have to take it out to capture this beauty that a 12 year old girl was holding right next to us:

Justin Bieber was in the line-up of performers, so there was an insane number of young, bouncy, screaming girls everywhere. I may have gotten a little bouncy and screamed myself a few times (come on...the Biebs....just too cute), but was mostly overwhelmed by their madness. I even had a little Bieber fan behind me, who couldn't have been more than 6 years old....but she had the left hook of a boxer. How do I know that, you ask? Because she punched me TWICE (once in the lower back and once in the arm) when I was blocking her view of Bieber. I was way too close to kicking her after that second punch, but I let the spirit of Christmas (and my age) win out, and let her be.

What an awesome experience, doing the tree lighting. It was my 3rd time doing it, and it never gets old. I didn't even get a picture with the tree amongst all the madness, so I got the next best thing...a picture by the subway stop sign:

All I want for Christmas is a super fun, holiday-spirited day with my sweet mama....oh, I already got it! Thank you for spending such a wonderful day with me, mama. You're the perfect partner for such a thing.

Okay, so now all I want for Christmas is a Kindle. Pre-loaded with the 3rd Hunger Games book.