Author Archives: Chris

Pro(u)st

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The (in)famous Proust Questionnaire has been going viral this past week. Vanity Fair prints it in their magazine but since chances are slim to none that I will ever be interviewed by said magazine, voila:

1.What is your idea of perfect happiness? being with the person I love most

2.What is your greatest fear? losing the person I love most; being buried alive

3.What is the trait you most deplore in yourself? lack of creativity

4.What is the trait you most deplore in others? righteousness

5.Which living person do you most admire? Paula Radcliffe

6.What is your greatest extravagance? running shoes

7.What is your current state of mind? content

8.What do you consider the most overrated virtue? wealth

9.On what occasion do you lie? when I don’t want to hurt someone’s feelings

10.What do you most dislike about your appearance? my nose

11.Which living person do you most despise? Donald Trump

12.What is the quality you most like in a man? intelligence; sense of humor; strong work ethic

13.What is the quality you most like in a woman? intelligence; sense of humor; strong work ethic

14.Which words or phrases do you most overuse? awesome

15.What or who is the greatest love of your life? David

16.When and where were you happiest? with David

17.Which talent would you most like to have? creativity

18.If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? be more ambitious

19.What do you consider your greatest achievement? my successful marriage

20.If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what would it be? my dog

21.Where would you most like to live? Venice

22.What is your most treasured possession? it was Nelson

23.What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery? loneliness

24.What is your favorite occupation? running; spending time with friends; travelling

25.What is your most marked characteristic? honesty; loyalty; directness

26.What do you most value in your friends? their ability to accept me for who I am

27.Who are your favorite writers? Jane Austen; Charles Dickens; Bob Woodward; Walter Isaacson

28.Who is your hero of fiction? Jai Raventhorne in “Olivia and Jai”

29. Who is your heroine of fiction? Portia in “The Merchant of Venice”

30.Who are your heroes in real life? Gandhi; JFK; Albino Luciani; Peter Benenson; Barack Obama; all those who contribute to improving the human condition

31.Who are your heroines in real life? Margaret Sanger; Aung San Suu Kyi; again, all those who contribute to improving the human condition

32. What are your favorite names? Ella and Miles

33. What is your favorite color? blue

34. Who is your favorite painter? Georgia O’Keeffe; Marc Chagall

35. Who is your favorite composer? Mozart

36.What is it that you most dislike? injustice

37.What is your greatest regret? not going into medicine

38.How would you like to die? quick and unexpected

39.What is your motto? Born to run

Today’s Running Tip: Run for fun!

Runners who overdo it on races often dread the next time they have to line up at the start. Take a break! Stop training for the next PR or race goal and just run for fun for a while. Then sign up for a race without putting the pressure  of a specific finish time on yourself! You will rejuvenate and find your love for running again.

New Beginnings

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January! Always the first month of the year. We can truly leave the old year behind and look forward to new beginnings and possibilities for the current one that has just begun. This year I was more than ever to say “Good Bye” to the old year. A year that ended with such an immense loss for us.

January was the first full month we lived without Nelson and although we have (more or LESS!!!) adjusted to not having him by our side at all times, it has not been easy. The raw pain we felt right after he died has eased but we miss him constantly. I don’t cry every day anymore but it still does not take much to get me tearing up, especially when I come across something I am not expecting (a video of him on our camera taken just days before he passed away), or when someone asks about him. The mother of one of my best friends said it best: “Time does not actually heal wounds, it just allows them to scab over. And every scab can be ripped off at a moment’s notice!” I know that for some it is hard to understand that I could grieve over a dog like I do, but to us Nelson was truly a family member and the pain of losing him is just as great as losing a human one.

Our friends and neighbors keep asking if we will get another dog. Eventually we will, but for now we need to let our hearts heal and fulfill some travel plans. The last two years of his life we did not want to leave Nelson for extended periods of time as he was getting older and frailer, even though we had wonderful friends who looked after him lovingly. We had really only gone away for long weekends at the most and would love to travel more frequently and extensively now that we don’t have the responsibility of a furry friend at home. We will know when the time is right and we are able to love another but for now we will take a break and enjoy our friends’ dogs and cat.

The winter so far has been nothing but brilliant weather wise and January brought us temperatures in the mid 80s. I am not complaining!

I took a trip up to Santa Barbara to see my friend Wendy graduate with her Ph.D. from the school I used to work at. I am so incredibly proud of her as she had to overcome many obstacles to reach this admirable achievement. It was nice to see former co workers, some of whom are wonderful friends.

Talking of wonderful friends, one of our “oldest” came to visit us for two weeks. I met Barry on Thanksgiving Day in 1987 and David has known him even longer. For a while we lived close to each other and saw each other regularly, but then he moved to Tuscany (I KNOW!!!). It was nice to catch up and spend time together and we made plans to visit him this summer (I KNOW!!!).

And to wrap up a month of friendships and (re)connections, I went to my friend Hayley’s baby shower this past weekend. I met Hayley through Team in Training in Santa Barbara and have loved her from the day I met her. I actually knew her husband, Nick, before I knew Hayley and I could not be more thrilled that they are expecting their first child, a son, who is due in April. I cannot wait to meet Baby Mullen and a trip to NYC, where they live now, is planned. It was a lovely even with fabulous (running) friends, friends I love dearly even if I do not see them that much any more.

And speaking of running: I felt great all month, even ran through a short cold without feeling crappy. I have to believe that Nellie’s gentle soul was shining down on me. Let’s hope February will continue on this track.

Total Distance: 230.52 miles
Total Time: 51:39:22 min
Run Distance: 186.4 miles
Run Time: 23:44:22 min
Walk Distance: 44.12 miles 
Walk Time: 14:55:00 min
  • Shortest run: 5 miles
  • Longest run: 6.8 miles
  • Average speed: 7:38 min/miles
  • Strength & Endurance: 9 hours
  • Spinning: 3 hours
Today’s Running Tip: Running with a cold!
Even though this has been a mild winter nation wide so far, cold and flu season always brings up the question: “Can I run while sick?” The rule of thumb is that if your symptoms are below the neck (chest cold, bronchial infection, body ache) you should take a break from running and rest until you are well again. If your symptoms are above the neck (runny nose, stuffiness, sneezing) you can continue with your workouts.

17

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David&Chris

I never wanted to get married! Ever! Even as a child and young adult I found the institution of marriage so “old school”, something so mundane I did not want any part of it. In fact I still did not want to get married on December 1st, 1994.

Yet! Seventeen years ago today I woke up, went for a 6 mile run, took a shower, put on a pair of white jeans and black hiking boots, went down to the Santa Clara Superior Court House and tied the knot!

My mom was stunned into silence when I called her after the fact, . Believe me when I say that this had only happened a couple of times that I remember, one of which was the time I blacked out from alcohol poisoning in High School. Her only daughter, heck, her only child, had gotten married without her even knowing! In jeans! She eventually got over it and both her and my dad welcomed David into their lives as if he was their own son (the son my mother had hoped for when she was pregnant with me!).

17 years have passed since that day I threw out all of my resolve to never be a wife. I never looked back! To say that my change of heart was the right decision is an understatement. Although I had known for quite some time that David was the man I would spend the rest of my life with, license or not, I could not ask for a better husband. It has certainly not been all champagne and chocolate covered strawberries over here but we both realized early on that compared to what we had been through before we finally made our relationship official, nothing could tear us apart. Absolutely nothing! In fact every challenge has only brought us closer. Of course it also helps that David has the patience of a saint, is more driven than any other person I know and as hard a worker. His undying optimism has helped us weather many a storms, and so has his amazing ability to always work through any challenge that might be thrown his way. From the first day we moved in together David has always put me and our relationship first, has supported my need for running freedom, and accepted my weird attitude towards food and eating dinner as late as possible. He also buys me soy tea lattes and caramel frappuccinos whenever I want one or the other. We have had some incredibly good times together and I cannot wait for the adventures our future may hold.

Looking back on that day 17 years ago I quickly realized that this was really the only way I was ever going to go through with a “wedding”. David was game to do whatever I wanted, big or small, and the way it turned out was truly my day, including the reception dinner at TGIF (hey, it was good back then!).

At least my jeans were white!

In honor of our 17 years together here are 17 reasons why I love him:

*for his undying optimism even in the toughest of times

*for his love for Nelson

*and understanding how much I grief for this dog

*for always replying “not as hot as my lovely as my wife” when asked if a female celebrity is pretty or hot

*for his ability to fix everything and anything

*for his uncanny ability to budget

*for the fact that he can finish my sentences and often has the same thoughts than me at the same time

*for his impeccable work ethic

*for always looking out for others

*for always coming to my races and supporting me and my running buddies even though he is not a runner

*for his sense of direction

*for always making me feel save

*for the way he makes all of our friends feel welcome

*for always looking for ways to improve our lifes

*for not being afraid of new adventures and change

*for making me love him so much I would happily leave everything behind to travel with him in a Winnebago

*for making me laugh

Happy Anniversary, G1! I am looking forward to making forever last a lifetime!

Today’s Running Tip: Commit to a training schedule!

By committing to a training schedule and telling your friends, family, and especially your running buddies about it you will easily reach your running and racing goals for the year ahead.

It’s a Wrap

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Well, here we are again: the beginning of a brand new year. New beginnings. Filled with promises. 2011 was a tough year, both personally and in general. I have yet to meet someone who was not more than ready and happy that it came to an end.

I am not one who likes to hold on to the past too much or reminisce days gone by, so the obligatory Year in Review is not going to happen here. But you can always look at it here if you wish!

Personally, the biggest event of last year was the loss of Nelson in early December. Life without him is getting a bit easier but the void he left is ever present. A few of our friends and neighbors have asked us if we will get a new dog. Eventually we will, but only when the time is right and our hearts are open to love another. We will allow as much time to pass as necessary before we bring a new furry friend into our home and the meantime we will look back on our years with Nellie with great fondness and memories of how lucky we were to have him in our lives!

As we look forward to the year ahead of us we are excited about new possibilities, travel, elections, and good times spent with friends and family! And I look forward to another year of injury free running with some races thrown in for good measure.

Happy New Year!

2011 in numbers:

Total Distance: 2097.1 miles
Total Time: 292:15:05 min
Run Distance: 1842.2 miles
Run Time: 247:45:15 min
Walk Distance: 544.81 miles
Walk Time: 164:05 min

Best running month: 187.1 miles  (July)

Average speed: 7:47 min/miles 

Strength & Endurance: 85:45 hours 

Yoga: 18:14 hours

Bike Distance: 541 miles

Bike Time: 56:08:00 min

Average Speed: 15.3 mi/hr

Today’s Running Tip: Sticking with your New Years Running Resolution!

Everyone wakes up on New Years Day with the same thoughts: this year will be the year I will… (fill in the blank)! In order to stick with your running goals sign up for a race early in the year. It does not have to be a marathon, just a distance that you need to train for. A training schedule within the first few months of the new year will help you get used to a regular training plan and sticking with a routine!