Browse Category: go beak go

Putts and Pie

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This morning I played 9 holes with Jimmy and Tinou. It was a cold day and the course was pretty crappy. On Hole 5, the green didn’t really look much like a green. In fact, it was yellow and patchy. Overall, I had horrible day on the course but my chip shots weren’t too shabby for a change. The boys pulled through despite the yucky conditions and Jimmy managed to squeak ahead of Tinou by one stroke.

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In the afternoon, Jes and I attended Ryan and Michelle’s Pie Party.  There were 3 savory pies and a grip of sweet pies.  We actually voted for our favorite and the savory pork pot pie won.  It was pretty good.  My apple pie didn’t win but it was almost gone by the end of the party so I’d say it wasn’t a complete failure.  Here are photos from the party.

Run Together

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Last night we had a carbo-load dinner at our place and Jes made some tasty risotto and penne. This morning I got up at 5 am, made my coffee and peanut butter sandwich, and got a ride to the Start Line from Victor. Thanks, dude! I started the race with Vyl but I lost her in the crowd somewhere in the 2nd mile. I ran the rest of the race alone since I couldn’t find Susie but I still had a great time. The weather was very pleasant – sunny but cool. The hills were as difficult as I remembered but I survived. I even scored a finisher’s necklace AND t-shirt when I crossed the Finish Line since they weren’t checking bibs this year. Yes! This year’s race went rather smoothly. My pack didn’t bother me, my earphones stayed in my ears the whole time, and my iPod and Nike+ sensor did a great job recording my race. I guess the only hiccup was that my Garmin stopped working a couple weeks ago. Boo… Afterwards, we had brunch at Home Plate with the Bangs, Tammy, and Angela, which really hit the spot. The rest of the day was spent in my PJs and watching TV. Oh yeah, my finishing time was 2:20 and some seconds.

Here are some photos from Wednesday night’s NikeTown party and today’s race.

Genius

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It’s T minus 2 days until the half marathon and I’m feeling excited to be running my one and only event this year. With that excitement also comes a sense of skepticism. When I first registered for this race two years ago, I was one of the first among my circle of friends to know about it and thought it would be an interesting race to sign up for. Now in it’s 4th year, the race has gotten a lot of hoopla and has lost a bit of its athleticism (at least in my mind). Sure, it’s for a good cause and you still have to train (sorta) but there’s something about this race that some purists would scoff at. Nowadays, it seems more like a fun excuse to buy really cute workout clothes and pay 80 bucks (registration) for a Tiffany necklace that you receive after “running” 13.1 or 26.2 miles with hundreds of other women. Yes, I am guilty for using the finisher’s necklace as a part of my motivation but running is running and that’s what I’m really here for.

On Wednesday night, ClubRunSF held their last training run of the season with a 3-miler and then big carboload party, which was quite a spectacle. Just imagine 500+ women in a 5-story NikeTown fueled with excitement, money to burn, and a little alcohol and you’ve got one of the best marketing schemes ever.

This year’s race colors are pink, white, and plum, which make for a very cute line of running shirts, shorts, caps, jackets, and anything else running-related. To make matters worse they give us a 20% discount off of all purchases made that evening and a chance to win a pair of $900 Tiffany diamond earrings. Let me give you a little perspective on the “devotion” these ladies have to the event and their Nike “madness”. In the middle of the party, the fire alarm went off. As a result, the entire store needed to be evacuated. Everyone was asked to put down their merchandise and go downstairs and hang out on the sidewalk. You’d think that this would lower their overall sales but think again. I’d have to say there were at least 475 of the 500 women still outside and waiting in the cold for a good 30 minutes for the chance to file back into the store to continue shopping. That’s devotion for ya.

At the end of the night, I too bought something. I got myself a hoodie to make up for the one I did not get the first year I ran this race. The race was still in its infancy two years ago and sold out of almost every item by the time I had arrived in SF for the weekend. You may think I’m being silly but most girls who have entered this race once before will continue to register (regardless of whether they plan to train or not) and purchase a new race outfit each year. As I’ve said time and time again. Whoever came up with this race for Nike is a genius.

Oh yeah…and let me share with you the additional marketing twist to this crazy race this year. They’ve decided to incorporate Apple into this marketing scheme by introducing their faker Nike+ challenge. Basically, if you didn’t get a spot in the actual race, you can register with Nike+ and use your iPod sensor to log 13.1 miles on the actual race day for a piece of the excitement. I am one of those suckers and will be running (unofficially) alongside Susie and Vyl on Sunday for a Tiffany keychain (not necklace) and a loser-time t-shirt that both get mailed to me 4-6 weeks after the race. Fortunately for me, registration costed half the price and I may actually walk home with a finisher’s necklace too if I’m sneaky enough. Yes, I admit it. I’m a sucker for great marketing too. Now if only I could figure out a way to get a piece of all this…

Weekend Stuff

I think I had a pretty well-rounded weekend.

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On Saturday, we watched college football all afternoon. It started out at the sports bar next to our building where we watched Cal play the Ducks.

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Afterwards, we went upstairs to a friend’s old work building to hangout on the deck with some Coors Light. That was pretty random. We then ended up at Victor and Susie’s where we watched a very strange UCLA game. By the end of the afternoon, everyone had a nice buzz goin’ and both Cal and UCLA won.

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imgp0621.jpgThis morning I woke up bright and early for the 12K (7.46 miles) Bridge to Bridge Run with Susie. It’s a scenic run that starts at the Ferry Building (Bay Bridge), continues down The Embarcadero, over to Fort Mason, turns around at the Golden Gate Bridge, and ends in the Presidio. It was a beautiful morning and the course was nice and flat. Afterwards, we came home, showered, and had some Dim Sum at a nice hole-in-the-wall nearby. The afternoon was spent running errands in Daly City and now Jes is over at Victor and Susie’s building an entertainment center…no thanks to Jimmy. 😉

I also finished uploading the photos from Michelle’s Baby Shower and Frank & Kathleen’s Wedding.

Ah…what a fun, yet productive weekend.

Hills and Popcorn

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San Francisco has a lot of hills. I went on the Saturday Nike ClubRunSF Training Run and it sure was hilly. I managed to finish about 7 miles today and it felt pretty good. The training runs are pretty cool but it’s really easy to get lost. We went through neighborhoods, a little forest, golf course, and along the shore. It certainly is beautiful and really does keep me occupied.

Last night I went to see my second movie of the year with the Bangs and Sokol-Juns. We went to see Superbad, which was a pretty funny movie. And of course, the two contrarians (Jes and Vyl) decided to go see The Bourne Ultimatum instead, which actually made our movie more enjoyable. I also didn’t realize how expensive everything has gotten! A bottle of water is 3 bucks!! Ryan was nice enough to share his popcorn with me and the guy behind the counter gave me some tap water in a cup. Solid.

House Rules

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This morning I got up, ironed Jes’ shirt, and then plopped myself down on the couch for the rest of the day. Jimmy had some work to do before going to the dentist at lunchtime so we hung out side-by-side all morning. Before he left, he looked at me and said, “Did you wear that to sleep last night? If you did, you have to change your clothes today.” Huh? Yep, apparently it’s a house rule because he “[doesn’t] run a sloppy house”. So I followed the rule by not only changing once but TWICE. Jimmy cracks me up.I pretty much spent the day taking care of a bunch of things. Most of them were related to finances. Since we are expecting to close tomorrow morning, I went online and changed our billing and mailing addresses for all our accounts and also worked on our new budget. Also, in an effort to minimize paper waste and things we have to file, I made sure we had paperless statements for everything. It’s the least I can do to declutter our new home.

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This afternoon I went for a run along the bay. The neighborhood is so cute and has a pretty nice running trail along the water. I took my GPS and measured a 2.4-mile loop. I think I can actually add more distance if I go out farther before returning to the house.