Remembering Dates
I have a very weird skill of remembering exact dates of events. For example, when Steven says “when did we go skiing in Colorado?” I start to think of significant dates nearby and instantly remember that it was on Valentine’s Day/President’s Day weekend in February of 2009.
It works that way with any other event – I remember significant* dates around it and picture a calendar in my head until I figure it out.
Steven, however, is not very good at remembering dates, so I am in charge of birthdays/anniversaries/etc. I just read an interesting article about a very small study that showed people remember birthdays closest to their own. This is an example of the “self-reference effect” in memory, which makes memories you relate to easier to remember.
I think this might be true for Steven. He always seems to remember his friend’s/family’s birthdays in months around his (as well as remembering the one friend who has a birthday on Halloween).
Are you good at remembering dates (birthdays, events, etc.)? Do you think you are more likely to remember those closest to your own? Do you think this skill even matters?
Seriously, I do like being able to recall things, but having so much on information on my website, I can look up almost anything there too! And you can see most of your friends’ birthdays on Facebook… so… is there even a point in remembering things?
Speaking of remembering things, today is my nephew’s 6th birthday and my parent’s 31st wedding anniversary! Happy Birthday Nicholas (Nicky)! Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!
Here’s a picture of Steven with our nephew Nicky. Aww, isn’t Steven great with kids? (???)
And my parents…
Alright mom and dad, new goal – take more photos of you two! Where one of you, ahem, is not making faces. Most of the photos I have of you two look like this:
or this:
*I usually use “significant” dates of holidays, birthday and our engagement as milestones.
Track me/see me at the Chicago Marathon
Some Chicago Marathon logistics:
If you want to track me while I am running the Chicago Marathon this Sunday the 10th, click here and enter my bib number: 16784.
I am not sure how many text updates it will send to your phone, but I will warn you that I will probably be running from around* 8:00 am to 1:00 pm, so the messages might be spread out.
My goal is to run between 11:00-11:15 minute miles, and hopefully finish under 5:00 hours. If I don’t, I won’t be upset.
If you are going to be at the race, you can look for me around those pace groups (maybe 10:45-11:30).
I am hoping to be wearing this outfit:
With these letters. If they don’t work, I’ll use electrical tape.
I have a feeling it’s going to be too hot for that shirt though. So I might wear this and just put “KIM” on it:
If it is freakishly cool I will wear this:
I am doubtful about that! Highs in the low 70s this Sunday. BOO on that! Yesterday everyone at work was excitably telling me it’s supposed to warm up this weekend. Yeah. Not so excited.
I do know it will probably be cool at the start, so I did get a $3 Salvation Army jacket I can throw away:
I’ll post what I decide to wear this Friday or Saturday, but I wanted to get this post up, in case you are too busy to look at it then!
If you are going to the expo, I think Erin and I will be there at some time on Saturday. We are still getting that figured out.
Some Chicago Marathon thoughts:
I am SO SO SO SO SO excited for the race. I am going out there to have fun, and I have a feeling I will find it. The only thing stressing me out is potentially meeting up with a few blogger friends and OF COURSE, making sure I see Steven during the race! I told Erin last week that I was more worried about seeing Steven while running than actually finishing the race!
I do wonder if I have some sub-conscious stress though. Last night I got an awful migraine (pounding headache, sensitivity to light, throwing up) and I wonder if it’s from stress? I don’t feel stressed!
Any marathon tips for me?
*The race officially starts at 7:30 am, but who knows when I will cross the start line!
Data’s Toonces Audition didn’t go so well
Most mornings, Data sits by the garage door crying to go outside. So today, I let him go play in the Datsun for about 10 minutes while I made my lunch, thinking that would make him happy.
Nope. He still sat crying at the door after I brought him in the house. So obviously, he was saying he wanted to go with us to the train station!
Oops… maybe not? I recognize that look of terror when I see it!
Steven said Data sat on the dash, in front of the steering wheel, the entire way home. Good thing there are not many drivers out at 5:30 am!
If you have pets, do they mind going on car rides?
Data does the deep “I’m dying” cat moan when we put him in the cat carrier in the car. This morning, he was loose (well, in my lap) and it was more of a “WTF are you doing?!” meow.
When I was in high school, my friend got a newborn kitten (the mother cat was killed in a car accident or something) and I told my friend we should train it to ride in the car from a young age, and we did! The cat liked the car. My friend would come meet me for lunch at school (she had graduated) and bring the cat. Fun times.
Data's Toonces Audition didn't go so well
Most mornings, Data sits by the garage door crying to go outside. So today, I let him go play in the Datsun for about 10 minutes while I made my lunch, thinking that would make him happy.
Nope. He still sat crying at the door after I brought him in the house. So obviously, he was saying he wanted to go with us to the train station!
Oops… maybe not? I recognize that look of terror when I see it!
Steven said Data sat on the dash, in front of the steering wheel, the entire way home. Good thing there are not many drivers out at 5:30 am!
If you have pets, do they mind going on car rides?
Data does the deep “I’m dying” cat moan when we put him in the cat carrier in the car. This morning, he was loose (well, in my lap) and it was more of a “WTF are you doing?!” meow.
When I was in high school, my friend got a newborn kitten (the mother cat was killed in a car accident or something) and I told my friend we should train it to ride in the car from a young age, and we did! The cat liked the car. My friend would come meet me for lunch at school (she had graduated) and bring the cat. Fun times.
Training Week 50
My next race is the Chicago Marathon on October 10.
Day 344 | September 27, 2010: strength
Strength + Stretch (done during my lunch break):
| 1 Arm Curl: 3 x 15 @ 25 lb | 6 Biangular Lat Row: 15 @ 45 lb, 2 x 15 @ 60 lb |
| 2 Pectoral Fly: 2 x 15 @ 45 lb, 15 @ 60 lb | 7 Hip Abduction: 3 x 15 @ 115 lb |
| 3 Lat Pulldowns: 15 @ 45 lb, 2 x 15 @ 60 lb | 8 Hip Adduction: 3 x 15 @ 55 lb |
| 4 Shoulder Press: 3 x 15 @ 20 lb | 9 Leg Curl: 15 @ 30 lb, 15 @ 40 lb, 15 @ 20 lb |
| 5 Biangular Chest Press: 15 @ 30 lb, 2 x 15 @ 50 lb | 10 Seated Leg Press: 15 @ 90 lb, 15 @ 110 lb, 15 @ 130 lb |
Day 345 | September 28, 2010: 5 m run
Every good run begins with a warm-up… of walking the cat!
I ran 5 miles in our neighborhood while Steven biked behind me. It was fun to have Steven to chat with (although, I should have been keeping my mouth closed so bugs didn’t fly in). The run felt nice and easy (okay, okay, I had slight left ankle irritation for a little bit) and I was able to speed it up for the last mile.
Aww, too bad that picture turned out blurry!
Distance: 5.0 | Start Temp: 63° | End Temp: 58° | Time: 51:02 | Avg Pace: 10:12 | 1: 10:29 | 2: 10:22 | 3: 10:25 | 4: 10:10 | 5: 9:33
Day 346 | September 29, 2010: rest
Day 347 | September 30, 2010: 5 m run
Another 5-miler in our neighborhood, with Steven following me on his bike. It was an easy, uneventful run. Well, except for the Golden Retriever that jumped up on me at .3 miles in to the run. Annoying.
I felt like I could have kept running. I haven’t had that feeling all summer after my runs. With each one, I felt like I gave it my all and was done. I think it’s these cooler temps making me feel this way – I LOVE IT!
Note to self – wear longer shirt with those shorts!
Distance: 5.0 | Start Temp: 63° | End Temp: 59° | Time: 52:36 | Avg Pace: 10:31 | 1: 10:39 | 2: 10:39 | 3: 10:48 | 4: 10:27 | 5: 10:01
Day 348 | October 1, 2010: rest
Day 349 | October 2, 2010: 8.5 m run
I’ll be honest – I did NOT want to get out of bed for this run. I had a nasty cold and was all congested. Going out in the mid 40 temps for a run did not seem like a good idea.
But I bundled up and headed out to Grant Woods Forest Preserve. Normally, I would have shed the jacket in the first few minutes, but I forced myself to keep it on.
It ended up being a nice run. A bit windy, but nice. I could have kept going (which at this point, is a good sign).
During my run, I was thinking about how I usually do my long runs on prairie trails, and next week, I’ll be running in the city, with thousands of other people. How different that will be!
Run stats: I walked one minute at mile 4 and took a Strawberry Banana GU. I wore the Brooks Adrenaline 10s sans inserts. I drank less than 16 ounces of water (crazy!).
Distance: 8.5 | Start Temp: 45° | End Temp: 46° | Time: 1:30:18 | Avg Pace: 10:37 | 1: 10:56 | 2: 10:49 | 3: 10:53 | 4: 10:36 | 5: 11:02 | 6: 10:39 | 7: 10:36 | 8: 9:54 | 9: 4:50
Day 350 | October 3, 2010: yoga
I did the YogaWorks Beginners DVD, and felt less flexible than I did a week earlier (the last time I did the DVD). And my neck was really tight again.
Week Summary: 18.5 miles
Well, marathon training is almost over. And it’s time to get cheesy. After my 8-miler on Saturday I thought about the first 8-miler I did during marathon training, with Erin, on my birthday (July 31). It was such a big deal to hit 8 miles at that point. And now 8 miles is a breeze. It’s amazing.
If you are new to my blog, here is a bit of history – I was supposed to start marathon training in mid June, but three stress fractures set me back, and I had to start over with running again in July, after a month+ off from running. I added 1.5 miles a week until I was back up to the training plan – in the end of August! (Here is the plan I followed).
While I didn’t really “start at 0” and go up to 20 miles, it DID feel like I was starting over and I am amazed my body could do it! Amazed and proud.
Okay, enough cheesiness! I think for this last week before the race, I will really focus on my short runs and yoga. Not doing any yoga this week kind of threw me off. I may throw strength training in there, but maybe not.
One more week until the Chicago Marathon!
Right now, speed is not everything
Watch out! There may be a lot of Chicago Marathon inspired posts this week! I will definitely post my race outfit and my bib number so you can watch for me or track me via text messaging.
Every once in awhile, I chat with another train passenger who gets off at the same stop as me. I’ll call him Bob. I’m not sure why Bob and I started chatting, but we found out we both run, so that is usually what we talk about.
On Wednesday Bob asked me if I have any races coming up. I told him I’m running Chicago in two weekends. I asked Bob if he done any races lately. Yes, he said, he ran a 5K in Palatine last weekend. I asked him how it went.
“I won.”
“What? You won the whole race”?
“Yes.”
Wow. His time was 18:39 (6:01 pace). He told me he was shooting for under 18:00. He seemed disappointed.
He asked me what my time goal is for Chicago.
“Uh… I just want to finish without any injuries,” I stuttered. “Under 5 hours would be nice though!”
Bob is so nice and encouraging. He knows about my stress fractures. He knows my running is not my best right now. But I still felt like saying it:
“It won’t be my best race. I am sure I will run a faster one in the future.”
Gah. He obviously is just excited that I am running again, and there I was, feeling like I needed to be running faster.
I am just happy to be running. At all.
And that conversation reminded me of it.
I might be “fast” someday again. I might not be. If I can still run, I will be happy.
To me, right now, speed is not everything.
What are your fitness and exercise goals? Speed? Endurance? Strength? Flexibility? Just doing it?
Friday Question #131
Have you tried video chat on your computer? Why or why not? If yes, do you like it?
I tried video chat for the first time when I was in DC in May. My tiny netbook has a camera in it, so it was easy for me and Steven to talk to each other (using gchat).
I used it again (once) when Steven was in Kansas City over the past few weeks, then we used it on Saturday to talk to his dad and brother, and later, my sister.
This is how we greeted Steven’s dad and brother:
We have dual monitors set up, so I had the chat open in one screen, and Darth Vader and Yoda soundboards on the other screen, so I could press the buttons to make Darth Vader and Yoda noises when they answered the video call. Ha ha ha. I think they liked it.
Don’t worry, I didn’t wear that mask the whole time, and I don’t wear it around the house or anything…
Oh look, there’s Steven!
Yeah, yeah, I am a dork.
Like I said last week, I really like video chat, especially compared to talking on the phone, so I am going to try to convince more people to do it with me. I just feel less distracted than talking on the phone. And it feels more personal! Okay, and you can be really goofy.
Who’s your cheerleader?
Me and my mom, from our first half marathon
In my Chicago Marathon outfit post on Monday, my mom left this comment:
Wow your race is on 10/10/10? One of the teachers I work with is getting married on 10/10/10. Wear the bright yellow/green we can usually find you in that outfit.
To which I responded (in an email):
Wow, the way you wrote that, it almost sounded like you were coming for the race. 🙁
I have known for awhile that my parents aren’t coming for the race, and that bums me out, because they are (especially my mom) my #1 cheerleaders. But, my mom almost made up for it by writing back with this:
I will be there in spirit holding a big ass sign that says:
KIM’S REALLY GREAT, DON’T FORGET TO HYDRATE,
REMEMBER YOUR POTASSIUM CHLORIDE WILL HELP YOUR STRIDE!
AND AS YOU’RE CROSSING THE FINISH LINE WITH YOUR COMPUTER CHIP
GRAB A GATORADE AND TAKE A BIG SIP.
HIP HIP HOORAY
HIP HIP HOORAY
KIM’S THE BEST
WHAT ELSE CAN WE SAY!!!!
I immediately emailed her to ask if she made up that up. And… when she didn’t respond directly to that question, I called her (ha ha)*. She said she made up that poem just for me! She did some research in an online running dictionary to write it! Isn’t she clever?
You’re not off the hook mom – I expect to see a picture of you with said “big ass” sign in my email on 10/10/10 in the afternoon!
Who is(are) your cheerleader(s)? Whether it’s running, another sport, or just life in general, who cheers you on? Who encourages you?
Obviously, Steven gives me all of my day-to-day support. He was incredibly supportive when I decided to switch jobs and it really showed me a lot about him and our relationship. At that point, I knew I would have his support in any decision I made.
My parents have always been supportive of all my extracurricular activities. My dad went to every soccer game I played in high school, even though our team was awful. And of course, they’ve always supported my life decisions too. Except for maybe a year in high school. Sorry about that, mom and dad.
They came to Kenosha, Wisconsin for our very first half marathon!
Me and my parental units
My sister** and Erin also come to mind. You can talk to them about anything, and you know they have your best interest in mind. You know they want the best outcome for you.
Writing this, I think the reason I am bummed my mom (and dad, but let me explain) won’t be at the race is because she has no shame or sense of embarrassment – LIKE ME! I know she would make ridiculous signs and be a complete nut cheering for me.*** My dad is not as crazy as that. And neither is Steven. But that’s okay. There will be LOTS of people cheering! And really, I am happy that Steven can be there at all.
*And when she didn’t answer her cell, I called my dad’s… turned out my mom dropped her cell phone in the bathtub. Buah ha ha!
**My sister was at the first 5K I ever ran! (scroll to bottom of this page)
***Ha, now that I think about it, I bet my sister-in-law Courtney would be a fun spectator. I think she also… doesn’t hold back. Ha!
Who's your cheerleader?
Me and my mom, from our first half marathon
In my Chicago Marathon outfit post on Monday, my mom left this comment:
Wow your race is on 10/10/10? One of the teachers I work with is getting married on 10/10/10. Wear the bright yellow/green we can usually find you in that outfit.
To which I responded (in an email):
Wow, the way you wrote that, it almost sounded like you were coming for the race. 🙁
I have known for awhile that my parents aren’t coming for the race, and that bums me out, because they are (especially my mom) my #1 cheerleaders. But, my mom almost made up for it by writing back with this:
I will be there in spirit holding a big ass sign that says:
KIM’S REALLY GREAT, DON’T FORGET TO HYDRATE,
REMEMBER YOUR POTASSIUM CHLORIDE WILL HELP YOUR STRIDE!
AND AS YOU’RE CROSSING THE FINISH LINE WITH YOUR COMPUTER CHIP
GRAB A GATORADE AND TAKE A BIG SIP.
HIP HIP HOORAY
HIP HIP HOORAY
KIM’S THE BEST
WHAT ELSE CAN WE SAY!!!!
I immediately emailed her to ask if she made up that up. And… when she didn’t respond directly to that question, I called her (ha ha)*. She said she made up that poem just for me! She did some research in an online running dictionary to write it! Isn’t she clever?
You’re not off the hook mom – I expect to see a picture of you with said “big ass” sign in my email on 10/10/10 in the afternoon!
Who is(are) your cheerleader(s)? Whether it’s running, another sport, or just life in general, who cheers you on? Who encourages you?
Obviously, Steven gives me all of my day-to-day support. He was incredibly supportive when I decided to switch jobs and it really showed me a lot about him and our relationship. At that point, I knew I would have his support in any decision I made.
My parents have always been supportive of all my extracurricular activities. My dad went to every soccer game I played in high school, even though our team was awful. And of course, they’ve always supported my life decisions too. Except for maybe a year in high school. Sorry about that, mom and dad.
They came to Kenosha, Wisconsin for our very first half marathon!
Me and my parental units
My sister** and Erin also come to mind. You can talk to them about anything, and you know they have your best interest in mind. You know they want the best outcome for you.
Writing this, I think the reason I am bummed my mom (and dad, but let me explain) won’t be at the race is because she has no shame or sense of embarrassment – LIKE ME! I know she would make ridiculous signs and be a complete nut cheering for me.*** My dad is not as crazy as that. And neither is Steven. But that’s okay. There will be LOTS of people cheering! And really, I am happy that Steven can be there at all.
*And when she didn’t answer her cell, I called my dad’s… turned out my mom dropped her cell phone in the bathtub. Buah ha ha!
**My sister was at the first 5K I ever ran! (scroll to bottom of this page)
***Ha, now that I think about it, I bet my sister-in-law Courtney would be a fun spectator. I think she also… doesn’t hold back. Ha!
Evolving personal style
When I first saw Steven this morning, he laughed at my outfit and said, “I thought you had tissues stuffed in your shirt.”
Ha. I guess it does look like that! This is what happens when I try to be “fashionable”…
I have NO sense of style. My wardrobe in high school and college was jeans and a t-shirt. When I first started work it was always a button-down shirt (usually untucked, yuck) and dress pants. After working for about a year (and losing some weight, I might add) I discovered blouses and sweaters. Now I usually wear a “nice” top with dress pants. I still have a lot of work to do if I ever want to look “polished” or “put together” (that would be nice).
How has your personal style evolved? Do you feel like you have a sense of style?
I wish I knew how those people who always look so nice did it. My attempts usually fail. I just feel like I look… disheveled or something. Although, I did try something new to me, fashion-wise, this week that I wanted to mention – wearing a scarf.
I have a coworker who wears a scarf or wrap nearly every day of the week. It’s crazy. I, on the other hand, have NEVER worn a scarf or wrap as part of my work outfit. I only wear scarves in the winter, to cover my face when I’m outside.
Steven’s mom gave me this silk scarf a few years ago.
Kim = crazy cat lady.
I decided to take it to work with me on Monday and have my coworker show me how to wear it.
Voila.
Funny, the best picture in the series was one with my head cut off.
I liked the way it turned out!
Do you ever wear decorative scarves or wraps?
Hi! I’m Kim, a 40-something-year-old living in northeastern Illinois with my husband Steven, and our cats, Khaleesi, Apollo, Starbuck, and Eddard aka Ned. My current main hobbies are running, painting rocks, flying, reading, and eating. I follow a vegan lifestyle and work in an account management role. I write about a variety of topics and consider this a “life” blog – a place I can share anything that’s on my mind. Please visit the “About” page to get a better idea of who I am! 🙂
