Top 10 tunes from my race mix....

Train Wreck (Sly & Robbie Mix) -Sarah McLachlan And Sly & Robbie
Sunday Morning - Maroon 5
In Your Eyes - Peter Gabriel
Naughty Girl - Beyoncé
Let's Go To Bed - The Cure
Superstition - Stevie Wonder
Please - Toni Braxton
Let's Groove - Earth, Wind & Fire
'Till I Collapse - Eminem & Nate Dogg
Breathe (2AM) - Anna Nalick
Love in an Elevator - Aerosmith

Nike Women's Marathon -- San Fran weekend in review

I did it! I completed my first Half Marathon in the beautiful city of San Fran this past weekend. Wow, what and amazing experience. I highly recommend it. I have to admit, I am sad that this whole experience has come to an end. I love having a challenge in front of me, so I now find myself thinking "what's next?"...full marathon? ummm...maybe!

Weekend in review:
Favorite quote: “last seen standing in queue” random Brit – runner-up: “next year, I think I will train” Kelly

Favorite motivational signage being displayed on the race course: “you’re hot, call me later—my number is 555-blah, blah” –runner up: “my wife is faster than ur’s”

Best body marking: “run b_tch, run”

Best race moment: mile 10 – arriving at Point Lobos, seeing the Cliff House and the incredible ocean views from the hilltop…then… feeling completely weightless as I floated down the hill. Ahh…only 3 more miles to go.

Worst race moment: being offered chocolate at mile 12 – the thought of eating chocolate at the moment was enough to make me wanna….

Saddest moment: missing my time goal by 17 seconds! Must I be so self-critical...

Rockstar post race recovery regime: Bloody Mary, vodka/soda, 3 bites of Mexican food…ummm, lunch of an elite athlete. Then a trip to the Bliss Spa for a lovely sports massage. Does it get any better than that???

Do you wash your hair with toothpaste?

Of course not!!

So, I haven't posted a beauty product reviews for awhile, so I thought I would share a good one with you. Check out Sweet Spot.

http://sweetspotlabs.com./

snip-it from their website:

FINALLY, cleanliness is next to fabulousness.

How is it possible that a woman's sweet spot is less deserving of the specialized offerings bestowed our face? Our teeth? Our hair?
Doesn't it seem odd that in today's world of specialized and sub specialized "mass customized" beauty products, that the very heart of a woman's feminity is treated as if it's the same as her arm pit? The same as her calf? Or worse--the same as that of a man's anatomy?

Treadmill Karaoke: Part II

Update...Treadmill karaoke was no anomaly. The singing genius was back at it today. Thankfully, mini was in charged up and ready to go. Secretly, I thought about muting mini, so I could get a good giggle. However, I was trying to focus on my run, so I didn't want distraction.

Finding inspiration

This past Sunday marked the end of week 11…only six more days until the Nike Women’s Marathon in San Fran! I am happy to report that I am ready to take on the challenge!

As I set out yesterday for my 11 mile run, I started thinking about people in my life who inspire me to succeed. Immediately, the person who came to mind was Cheryl Germany. Cheryl is a former co-worker and friend who lost her battle with lung cancer in the fall of 2001. She was an incredible woman – accomplished technology leader, triathelete, marathoner, cyclist and mountain climber. She was extremely driven and dedicated to everything and everyone in her life.

About four months before Cheryl passed away she did the Terry Fox run with some of her closest friends. At the time of the run, she only had one lung and was battling cancer, but she finished! Cheryl used to say "it's all about attitude".

I remember working with Cheryl like it was yesterday, she could get you excited about the smallest things. Although it is not a small feat, I am excited to run for the Leukemia Lymphoma society next weekend. I truly believe that it is all about the attitude and with the right frame of mind, you can accomplish anything.

Treadmill Karaoke...is this ever a good idea?

I arrived at the gym this morning all geared up for my boring 5 mile treadmill run. To my horror, I discovered that I left Mini’s frictionless case and headphones at home! I dutifully placed Mini in his Bose docking station last night, pulled him out this morning and forgot to take his accessories. Arrgghh. My idea of hell is running on a treadmill, staring at my sweaty self in the mirrors with NO tunes.

Ok, so I had to do the run, so I gave myself a little pep talk and was determined to make it through the 5 miles. My friend told me that when he runs he visualizes people, places, things etc, so I thought I would give it a go. I got a half mile into the run and so far, so good…and then it happens. The dude next to me starts singing “I ain’t missing you” at the top of his lungs – OMIGOD. 2.5 miles later and several dirty looks/glances in his direction, I decided to make my move to the other row of treadmills, so I could finish my run in peace. If you feel like singing, please use your inside voice .

The road to Hana

Ahh…the road to Hana…not my favorite vacation memory. From what I understand, the scenery is typically quite beautiful and the trip is worthwhile. Of course we will never know, because the day we decided to take the journey to Hana it was POURING down rain.

The road to Hana is only 52 miles, but it takes you almost 3 hours due to the curvy/winding road. Not so good for peeps like me who suffer from motion sickness. It’s not unusual to meet a car head-on around a curve, almost completely over the center line, with the tourist driver looking transfixed somewhere out to sea. You see them coming because they are all driving the standard issue rental assault vehicle; Jeep Wrangler or Sebring convertible.

Did we see any interesting sites on our journey? Well yes we did! A 7 foot tall pasty white tourist with his shirt off standing in the pouring rain in the middle of a one lane road! We had some great laughs, but wished we had stayed at the pool!

Great vacation reads...

I admit it, I spent a majority of our week in Maui lounging/sunning myself poolside at the Fairmont Kea Lani.

FINALLY finished reading "My Sister's Keeper" by Jodi Picoult. Then proceeded to read "Good Grief" by Lolly Winston and then read "Something Borrowed" by Emily Giffin. Read "Something borrowed" too quickly, so I picked up "Otherwise Engaged" by Eileen Goudge.

Loved "Something Borrowed"-- I finished my other book and it looked decent -- I barely looked at before I bought it. I wasn't expecting much because I have never heard anything about author or about the book. It was fantastic! Great writing and intriguing subject matter.

"Otherwise Engaged" was a good "what if" type of book, but a little too romancy for my taste.

"My Sisters Keeper" is probably one of the saddest books I have ever read. It was filled with ethical conundrums and emotional story line. Definitely recommend reading it!

"Good Grief" -- Overall I enjoyed this book. I found it to be funny, sad and entertaining.