Day 13309, & Spring is in the air...

Ahh, Spring...

Flowers blooming, grass growing, bees buzzing, airlines merging...

I have been pretty worked up over the last few days. According to Jay, I have been mean, hateful, and angry. Mayhaps this is true, but it isn't you, dear...

Anyway, just to catch you up, as it has been awhile since my last post:

Issue #1- The democratic primaries are just plain annoying. If one more issue gets tied up in race or gender I just might scream. Hasn't anyone realized that these two are just petty and foolish? Childishness is not a race or gender issue. It is an issue of maturity. I am beginning to wonder if I wouldn't make a better president.

Issue #2- Gas prices. I know that this isn't news, but it is very annoying. If it costs me 50.00 to fill up, so be it. But, of the 50.00, the government is getting 9 bucks. So, McCain suggested that the US suspend the gas tax for the summer. Good idea! Then, his critics said that such action would further the budget deficit. Really? Cause that's odd? Are they saying that the budget for the year was written under the assumption that the government would be getting .50/gallon this year? Hummm, interesting. It is like they planned it. I am not one to throw around conspiracy theories. This just really ticks me off.

Issue #3- Some oppose the Delta/Northwest idea. They say the deal isn't fair to the employees, the shareholders, or the consumers. Well, maybe the deal isn't perfect. I think it is preferable to 80000 lost jobs, an enormous stock loss, and the loss of TWO airlines. After all, Delta lost 6.2 BILLION dollars in 3 months!!! Really? Said merger is a bad idea? I will have more on this as I develop my strongly worded letter to the editor...

Saturday was Jay's birthday. Jay is one of those people who like to celebrate the birthweek. I am not one of those people and I refuse to do it. That said, I will pretty much deal with whatever he wants to do on his actual birthDAY. For example, I let him drive. Secretly, this is a selfish maneuver. It is my way of avoiding his critique of my driving and most certainly prevents a minor argument.

Anyway, off to the Farmer's Market we went. Why? Well, apparently we needed...

A pot. And, apparently, just any pot would not do. "We" looked and looked for just the right pot. This was fine, as there is really nothing I would rather do than hang out at the Farmer's Market on a Saturday morning before I have gotten my full coffee fix. We didn't ever find an acceptable pot during this morning trip. Maybe the afternoon would prove to be more successful.

After Jay's family dropped off their gifts, cards, etc, we were off to his favorite pond supply/garden/fish retailer.



I am much better with this than the earlier excursion. Who does like to look at a pond or two? We went with the plan of choosing a few new koi for the backyard. Easier said...

Upon arrival, Jay begins to think about all of the things he can do to change his pond. Coincidentally, all of these new ideas cost money. I point out that he said that the last time we enlarged the pond, he said that was going to be it. I also pointed out that the new pump, filter, etc that he bought last month should eradicate his newly acquired inferiority complex.



But still...


A man can dream...
(And, no, this thing is NOT going in our backyard!!!)

Anyway, back to the task at hand. We had to select a fish or two. I, of course, wanted to go pick out the biggest fish we could afford. Jay, the realist, wanted to buy a smaller set of fish. Apparently, he felt that if we got an expensive fish home to the pond it might die. He easily convinced me that I didn't want to gamble away such money on a fish. We shopped in the small fish section.


I should mention...

Jay takes fish selection VERY seriously...

After we selected our three new mini-koi, we headed home. Not so fast! "Let's stop at Home Depot and see if they have a pot." Damn this wretched pot dilemma!!! Now, I love Homo Depot as much as the next queen, but I never love it on a Saturday afternoon. Again, as it is Jay's Birthday, I don't object. And, we found a pot. The ficus has a nice new shoe.

Happy Birthday, Jay!

Meanwhile, I have been running a bit. Went out to the greenway for my run last Wednesday morning. Sunny and 65 outside. I successfully ran a warmup mile in 9:45. Off I went... No stoppin', no walkin'...

5 miles in 0:47:50.

Thursday was an easy elliptical day, then training. Friday, my ankle was bugging me, so it was elliptical again. Boring!

Then Saturday, while Jay's family was over, I hit the greenway again. 5 miles in 0:46:18. I fell in right behind some guy who was running a perfect 9:15 ish mile. I followed him. That seemed to help, until I had to turn back at the 2.5 mile marker. I decided not to request that he cut his run short for my benefit. But still, I was pleased. I held the pace on my own.

Sunday, I drank some beers.


Monday, I felt good and decided to give my newly planned street route a try. Hills. Big ones. Ouch. I plowed through my 2.6 mile route in 26:15. Not bad. Big hills at a 10 minute pace. OK. I'll take it.

Tuesday, leg weights, with a mile elliptical and a mile treadmill warmup. Again, I felt good. Training was good.

Last night, however, I couldn't sleep. My legs felt tight. Today I was a bit stiff. But, over my first few hours, I walked it out. Or, so I thought...

Tried for a 3 mile run, but by the beginning of the third mile, my left ankle, right calf and shin, and left knee were all giving me stern warnings. So, I walked. 3 miles, 36 minutes.

Meanwhile, Nat is here in 48 hours for the marathon. I am excited. It has been 15 years. Maybe I will drink a beer for each year...