As previously mentioned, today's race was canceled. I am quite disappointed, but I do understand. When Josh and I got to Kirkland, practically every street we drove on was a sheet of ice. Couldn't imagine having to try and run on roads under that condition.

We're supposed to get an e-mail sometime next week that will explain how refunds will work (if they do give us refunds,) or how they'll offer some sort of credit towards another race put on by the same organizers.

I did get a t-shirt though.

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Lately, I've been watching movies that I haven't seen in years. A few weeks ago, I watched Beverly Hills Cop and Red Dawn. Last night, I watched The Karate Kid - you know, this was actually a really good movie, even after all these years.

Interesting observation about that movie - Miyagi's wife died at Manzanar - one of the Japanese concentration relocation camps that were set up at the beginning of World War II. Manzanar, for those who don't know, is located about 6 miles north of Lone Pine.

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There is the chance of diving tonight, but I'm not sure I'm up for it. Besides the cold, I'll have to drive back to the other house to get my gear and I need air in my two tanks. We'll see.

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Buffalo is trying to make a game of it.

Josh did manage to take some pictures:


Olive, with her antlers (I forgot her jingle bell collar,) and me with my Santa hat.



And another picture of the same.



Olive eventually got used to her antlers, but she was really cold.



Josh said he needed a picture of this guy on the left - skirt, fake pig tails.



And the Christmas tree - complete with wagons.

The race was canceled. Boo.

Representin'

It's cold!!

We'll leave in about thirty minutes - hopefully less.

Josh is heading up to Kirkland with Olive and I. I think that that's cool he wants to go - I'm not sure what he's going to do for the hour and change when we're running, but he's a big boy, he'll figure it out.

Weather.com is showing Kirkland is at 30° but it feels like 18° and no snow. At 9:30 when the 12k starts, they show it being 28°, feels like 19° and cloudy, and again no snow.

I look like a walking advertisement for Brooks - my shirt, shoes and tights.

Starbucks will be had soon . . .

All of a sudden I'm listening to Queensryche singing a Christmas song . . .

Adventures in Van Sharing -

Yesterday, our driver e-mailed a few of us to make sure there was going to be a driver after work, since she was trying to leave early. I told her that I would definitely be there (I took a different train into work.) Five rolls around and I make my way to the van and there are two riders there who are glad to see me since neither of them knew if there was going to be a driver or not. Brian makes a comment "At least we have a driver, and hopefully the van starts."

Now it sounds like Twisted Sister singing a Christmas song to the tune of We're Not Gonna Take It

Now, why would the van starting be an issue I wonder. It seems that the driver's door didn't get closed the whole way, so the dome light stayed on. All day.

Long story short - van won't start - dead battery. Luckily we are able to flag down the other 5ish van and catch a ride with them to the train station.

Fast forward to this morning - I knew I needed to catch a different van to work, but our normal driver had no idea there was a problem so this morning, poor Stacey was looking so lost at the train station. She kept looking for our van and started to panic a little bit because she couldn't find it - and of course, no other riders were around because no one else came in today.

Contact Metro and they have some piss poor excuse as to why they won't come and jump the van, so Stacey and one of her leads jump our van. It's running for about 30 minutes before we leave tonight. We go about 100 feet at the most, and our van dies. In the middle of the driveway at work. Dead. Let's just say that those big Metro vans are quite heavy, and when there's no power, it's quite difficult to steer it too.

Our group did learn that when faced with problems, our reaction is to laugh. And laugh hard we did.

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I'm bribing Olive with treats so she'll learn to accept her antlers. I'm not sure it's working. Been telling her that I'm wearing a Santa hat, she has to have antlers.

My new shirt arrived today - it's a little more form fitting than I was expecting, but I should have known that since I already own the short sleeved version.

Josh might come up to the race with me on Sunday. He kind of surprised me when he said he wanted to go last night. I might have a photographer!

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Now it sounds like Live singing a Christmas song . . .

I was wrong. Someone called Larry Norman.

My first Christmas card arrived today. And it wasn't from Comcast!

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I found out the other day, that not only do I get some fancy luncheon (eventually) for being at work for five years, there's also some sort of cash bonus (small, but still something extra.) And we should be getting our holiday checks pretty soon.

Oooh - Gary Ho Ho Hoey is on now.

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Baby in the back pack turned one year old yesterday. There was cake and cards and singing and everything this morning on the ride in. It was actually kind of fun. I took pictures, which I'll post soon, but protected since I don't necessarily have permission to post them publicly.

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I got new Christmas music.

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Gas was $1.45 at Costco. It cost me less than $13 to fill up. That kind of freaks me out a bit.

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A friend of mine from work - who actually works in Spokane - is in town this weekend. We're going out for foods and drinks tomorrow. That'll be fun. She's going to see Olive - whom she saw when Olive was just barely two months old.

Olive the Other Reindeer Run - weather update!

I keep checking the weather because I'm really curious about what to expect come Sunday morning. Weather.com is showing a high of 28 with a low the night before of 27 with rain snow (for Kirkland.)

While the cold isn't concerning me too much (tights, long-sleeved winter Under Armor and a new long sleeved running shirt, plus gloves and my Santa hat,) the moisture the night before is a concern because it will freeze. Right at mile 6 or so, there is a very steep long hill you run down. I'm worried about slipping. Just have to be careful is all.

See Sunday there? That's the day of the Olive the Other Reindeer Run. When I ran this race two years ago, it was during ice storms and the temperature at the start of the race was about 33 or so. This year - just a tad cooler.

Thinking tights for sure.

What the hell iTunes?

I just came across the second song that was ripped incomplete. Here I am jamming out to Orion and it just stops 2:49 into it and it's over. The other song I know of is a Clutch song (from a CD that I of course sold off before moving to the new house.) At least I have Puppets in storage so it can be reripped.

By why does iTunes do that? Lame.

Made it to the library - grabbed a new book since I just finished my last "owned" book yesterday. I planned on going last night, but I always forget which nights they're open past six. Friday is not one of those nights of course.

Also put a couple of other books on hold and added quite a few to a saved list. Added a whole series from one author but one - because Tacoma doesn't have it. So weird. Does that mean I'm going to have to buy a random book?

Took Olive to the dog park today. She ran and ran and played and played and then was tired out, so she kept close to me until I decided that we should go home. Tons of boxers there today - one was called Loki. He was a young one.

Not sure what is on tap for the rest of the weekend. W is in Portland (last text was really weird.) Might go diving tomorrow night. Also need to run either later today or sometime tomorrow. Need a good 5 miler or so with Olive since we only have 8 days until our 12k race - the Olive the Other Reindeer Run. :)

Even though I'm still a bit sickly, and I haven't even successfully ran the Seattle Half Marathon that will be on the 30th, I just registered for my next race:



This is the race I mentioned a few days ago - I ran it two years ago and had a pretty good finish time, so there's always the hope of beating that, proving to myself that it wasn't a fluke time.

Plus, this year, Olive is going to run it with me. I have decided that she'll wear some antlers, and I'll hunt down some cheap jingle/sleigh bells to put on her harness during our run.

On my drive home tonight, I realized that she already has the most perfect name for this too:

Olive - the other reindeer.

See, I'm witty and pretty cute too.

I was just talking to Olive.

She seemed really interested in running this year's 12ks of Christmas up in Kirkland. She also didn't seem to mind the idea of tying jingle bells to her harness and maybe even letting me put either a Santa hat or maybe some antlers on her.

My only concern is will I be able to not lose my mind running with jingle bells for nearly seven and a half miles?

Am I reading the 12ks of Christmas site right - you can run with your dog?

Two weeks after a half marathon . . . you know, I might be able to pull that off. Definitely be able to do the 5k, but the 12k . . .