fat girl chasing fat girl

Today was the Daylight Savings Dash at Penn State—Berks campus. My camera was exhausted again so I took photos with my crappy phone camera. Clearly I can't do a selfie with it. So, instead I took pictures of the sculptures and quilts.

It was warm, maybe 40 when we arrived and the sun was bright. I wore a fleece and then a zipped fleece and once we got started I took off the zipped. By the third mile I wanted to take off the other one.

 The Penn Sate Nittany Lion. Every campus has at least one.

There was only about 150 people. We did two loops of the course. All on asphalt so there was no climbing on snow banks. Bonnie is on her way to Kentucky for her grandchild's birth, so I had to go it alone. Did you know that an iPod unused for 5 months dies and needs to be recharged? Ooops. (It's charging now. Next time I need it it will be dead again. Why do I have it?)

One person in the back of the crowd was overweight....a bit bigger than me. I decided if she ever got ahead of me, she'd be my challenge person. (Even playing field.) Well it turned out she walked/ran. And passed me quickly. She was always a half block ahead. As soon as I got near, we encounter another hill and I'd be far behind again.  This game continued for about 2.5 miles. At one point I even saw her look back before she started to run.

Now I didn't tell her it was a competition, but clearly she sensed it.

The last half mile I finally passed her. I won by at least 1000 yards. My time was 51:29. Not bad for alone and hills.

My sister Pat was in the car. She didn't want to wait in the building. The car was warm with the sun beating in the window. Apparently while I was gone a Good Samaritan knocked on the window and asked why she was sitting in the car.  He was worried about her to the point he was going to call the police and have me arrested for "abusing the elderly". (Ouch.) She told him she was plenty warm and to buzz off. That's Pat.

Then we went to the Reading outlets. That's the most she walked in months.

dead last, but finished

Today was the Saucon Valley 10K, on the SV Rail Trail. It was dark and gloomy at the beginning, so I took the pix in the lot and left my camera and phone in the car. I took the iPod and put it in a zipper bag and put it in my pocket.

While waiting at the start line the skies opened up and it poured. I never noticed the race started. I didn't hear a gun, or an announcement or anything. People just started moving.

Last night I downloaded the stop watch app for the iPod. It was hard to set squeezing one finger into the zipper bag. I set it as I walked, so I might have started a little slow.

It was a rail trail. Flat, gravel and crushed stone. Normally at streets there are gates so people don't drive on them. All the gates were open and there was volunteers crossing everyone.

This was a run, but walkers were allowed if you could finish in under two hours. No support services would be available after 2 hours. I thought, no problem, right? Wrong.

I was dead last the whole race, and the longer I went the further behind I was. They had removed the cones at the turn around, I almost missed it. The second last crossing wasn't manned, and I thought shit, how slow am I going? The last crossing was unmanned and the gates were closed. I was really worried.

I finished in 1:44:something. I was going to take a pix of the iPod screen, but apparently it resets in the time it takes to walk to the car. Officially I'll be listed as DNF (did not finish) because they were giving out the awards when I came in, and nobody was at the finish line to take my tag.

Dead last but finished. Guess I should be proud that I finished, but I'm not. That is a 17 minute mile. Not good enough for the marathon.

When I got back to the car, there was a message from Lyd on my phone. She was cheering me on. I felt like the girl in the car commercial.

fat girl, downloading

I bought an iPod for the Historic Bethlehem audio files, and also for the longer training walks I need to do for the half. But an audio tour of Bethlehem is not real stimulating. In fact, it probably slows you down.

I hate buying music online. I don't ever know what to pick. I never really bought much music the old fashion way. I'm more a radio girl. But I needed a fast beat to keep me focused and as fast as possible.

Today I downloaded three albums on iTunes—Broadway (with a techno beat behind it, hysterical!), Disco, (like Donna Summers really needs a techno beat) and a remixed (dance) pop album. Then I googled free workout music and found an hour album from Secret deodorant. I downloaded the Low intensity because it said power walking. Maybe I should also do the moderate. However, it has ads. (Ya get what you pay for!) It's all one track and it's an hour. Then I downloaded one from Shape Magazine, and The Biggest Loser/Subway.

That should be enough music for the half, and then some.

I'll try it out at the 10K Monday. So far the Secret mix isn't bad.

heritage trail, day 2

Today's walk was more like a Volkssport walk since we played some of the audio on my new iPod, and looked at historic things, took pixs, and combed cemeteries.

The two sections were called Moravian Founders and  Victorian Bethlehem. We still have the Westward expansion (north of the river), The Steel and Farmland to Industry. Both on the preferred south side of the river.

We started at Broad and Main, and headed to first past the tomb of the unknown solider. Then off to the armory, and down 2nd to the historic area. Next we hit Main street, then up Market, out Linden and to the Nisky Hill cemetery. Showed Bonnie and Lydia where Eugene Grace was buried. It's huge, and he has a great view of his steel mill. Wonder what he'd think about the Steel shutting down, Steel Stacks, and casinos.

While there we found a cannon that said GAR, and the area was indicated by large metal balls. My guess they fit in the cannon. All the graves were Civil War vets. We fixed a bunch of flags, some were on the ground, and wondered what GAR meant. When I got home I googled it—Grand Army of the Republic. A fraternal organization for Civil War vets. I actually think I've heard it mentioned on History Detectives.


When we left the cemetery, we headed out Church where we saw a crazy new sculpture covered with binary numbers, and back up Main to the car.

When we got home Bonnie and I made tuna salad. Bonnie was appalled by the stacks of dishes in my kitchen. Well I am too. But I try and ignore them. My roomie and I are having a standoff. I want her to do the f*ing dishes. Since Bonnie did the dishes (thanks!), the roomie won this round.

Here's the problem. She's retired and sits on her skinny butt all day and does little—knitting and word searches. Occasionally she'll cook. To contrast that, I have three jobs, cook, clean, exercise, deal with family, facebook, blog, laundry, yard work, grocery shop every day because she can't decide what she wants to eat, deal with trash and recycling, .... Really is doing the dishes too much to ask? I don't think so. She'll do them twice a week, but only on two conditions. That I put all the old dishes away. And that there is "enough" to do. See, that's the sticky part. Usually there is not enough, till, like today, there is too many. Aargh. She wins. Gayle does dishes too. It's just easier and will not bring rodents. (Although I am careful to pre-wash before I make the stacks.) Tuesday/Thursday my class runs till 9:30—I won't get home till 10:30—so those days are no-go, but the other five are doable. And certainly before I know guests are coming.

Today we did 3.33 miles today. Plus we walked the dog. Not great, but it was fun. But the party is over.

Next Saturday I have two 5Ks—the George Yasso walk in Fountain Hill which is competitive, and The Seed Walk, which is not. Sunday we have a hike planned for all seven waterfalls at Bushkill Park. Labor Day I have a 10K, and then training begins for the half.

Also need to put music on that iPod. I am not good at picking music.