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Monday, December 26, 2011

Eyes Wide Shut

On Christmas Eve I visited my old friend who I don’t see very often and who I don’t like very much. She once was abusive towards me and threw me onto the ground. She is boring, yet always there waiting for me. She is dependable. She cleans up well. She allows me to step all over her. She’s a haven when it’s cold outside and I have nowhere to go. You’ve got to know who I’m talking about:

The treadmill

It was a decent 7 miles at a slow pace. I was unknowingly in the throes of a UTI, so was feeling kind of off. I distracted myself by observing the guy next to me. He had his incline set at about 10%, making his treadmill look like a steep ramp at some skating park. He ran at a pace he could maintain at that incline. He was working HARD and I hoped I wouldn’t have to do CPR. It was then I noticed something unusual. He was running with his eyes closed.  Yes, he was. I will never understand how he could do that and maintain his equilibrium. I should have asked.

After the run and spending the next few hours battling crowds at Pet Smart because Emma needed that one last gift for Betty Sue, the guinea pig, I spent the afternoon in urgent care. It was awesome. Lots of sick people and grumpy nurses. After I learned of my high white blood cell count, I got some antibiotics and hoped I wouldn’t wet my pants.

The rest of Christmas Eve was a blast spent with friends. Christmas day was all about family and gratitude and gifts and wine and roast beast. See for yourself:

Look! I’m like the guy on the treadmill!

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Lucky got a new bed. It is a Christmas miracle his lipstick is not hanging out:

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Every one of my gifts was running/triathlon related. So weird because I never talk about/write about/obsess about those things.

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The mother of all GPS watches. This thing is bigger than my head.

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No tie shoe laces for a quick transition:

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Even this gift was about fueling myself to run:

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Something about the word “cavity” just doesn’t sound right

Or, warming myself up after a run:

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And something to keep my strength up, the Shake Weight! Hopefully it will not make me look like I’m doing something obscene like these people  (hilarious if you have not seen it yet).

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Huge thanks to Kate, my secret blog Santa, who went me this horseshoe necklace in honor of my beloved dog, Lucky. With three legs, one eye and an obsessive need to lick himself 24/7, he truly is lucky to be alive. Thanks Kate. Love your thoughtfulness and you taking the to send this to me! It might even bring me some kind of crazy PR in 2012.

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What the heck is this a picture of? Take a guess.

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Have you used the Timex Ironman GPS? I am debating if I will keep it or not because the reviews were only so-so.

What was your favorite gift you got this year?

Ever run with your eyes closed?

SUAR

42 comments:

  1. Um, I can't even close my eyes in yoga without falling over so I would never try to run that way!

    I got a juicer this year that I'm pretty psyched about. Now I want to juice everything :)

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  2. Glad you had a great Christmas! If I tried to run on the treadmill with my eyes closed you would find me splattered on the floor within 10 seconds. My favorite gift was a mattress pad warmer for the bed from my hubby. Soooo cozy (the I-pad wasn't bad either)!

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  3. Sounds like the perfect Christmas...well, minus the UTI - bleh! Thank God for antibiotics. Hope you're feeling better and get out to use that great watch (never heard of it).

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  4. My balance is incredibly poor, so I'm reluctant to close my eyes even when I SLEEP. If I ran with closed eyes, I'd surely die.

    Have fun with that Shake Weight!!! Soon you, too, will tone and shape the muscles necessary to "jerk off a rhino and extract cum from a stone." And if that's not the real message of Christmas, then I don't know what is.

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  5. No Timex...still using my trusty Garmin 305, bigger than a toaster. But I'm also using Endomondo on my Droid, which doubles as an MP3 player. Love Endomondo...talks to me with current, real-time updates about pace and projected finish time.

    I didn't get a 70.3 ornament (maybe I should actually *DO* one first...), but was very happy with my assortment of new socks. I'm a sock whore. Really, I am.

    Merry Day-After-Christmas!

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  6. Is that Lucky licking the Guinea Pig?

    Is Emma pretending to be Lucky?

    I hace the Timex and I love it. It is the only watch that actually does well in the water. I used Karen's 310XT and it didn't do very well in the water and was all over the map in terms of the distances.

    I also think the usability for triathlons for the Timex is easier. What I am having problems with is uploading the data to Training Peaks, but if you don't use TP (I hope you do, but you know what I mean) then you don't have to worry about it.

    I vote Timex over Garmin 310XT but it is a preference thing.

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  7. OMG - we call it the lipstick, too.

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  8. I understand the running on the 'mill with his eyes shut. I always feel weirdly dizzy on treadmills and closing my eyes helps...plus I hate staring at the dash...it reminds me of trying to read in the car, which makes me feel car sick. Needless to say I only do the mill when I am on the road. Merry merry!

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  9. You're going to love LOVE LOVE the speed laces! They have served me great!!

    Love the ornament too!!

    Merry Christmas!

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  10. Check out Lucky and Betty Sue! That is truly a merry christmas.

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  11. Lucky Lucky and lucky you!
    I run with my eyes closed on occasion…usually outside in the dark when I can't see anything anyway!
    Cutest pic of a dog and a guinea pig i've ever seen :)

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  12. I can close my eyes on an indoor bike and the elliptical. The TM... not so much.

    My favorite give was a pair of peridot set in sterling silver earrings from my husband. He has never bought me jewelry (except for our rings) so getting me something in our daughter's birthstone was surprisingly sweet and thoughtful.

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  13. Um yeah I do find myself closing my eyes when I run. But I do it outside. I know I must really look weird to my neighbors. Hope I don't get hit by a car one of these days.

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  14. Very cool Christmas ! Sorry about the UTI and I hope that resolves for you quickly.

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  15. I zeroed in on the word "cavity." Glad you caught it too :)

    Sometimes if I'm working really hard on the rowing machine I will close my eyes, but never while running.

    Merry belated Christmas!

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  16. I have a 3 way tie for favorite gift. Garmin, Iopd Nano and bike trainer! I may suck so much less in next year's bike portion of the tri! Maybe I will almost keep up[ with you at the Irongirl! Glad you Christmas was great!

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  17. I'm glad you got it. :) The necklace, not the UTI. That sucks.

    I've run with my eyes closed when I'm really worn out on our paved bike trails. Not for all that long, obviously, but long enough that it's pretty stupid. No way I could on a TM; I'm lucky to stay on those things with eyes wide open.

    Best gift was definitely finally getting a Garmin. I've only been coveting one for about 3 years.

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  18. I can't even chew gum with my eyes closed! I giggled when you talked about having fake contests with the people around you on the 'mill...I do that, too! Merry Christmas!

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  19. Ugh UTI's must be going around, as I'm coming down with one as well. I wish I didn't have to spend $30 at the urgent care just to have them tell me what I already know. Hope you're feeling better!

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  20. DC Rainmaker said that the Timex watch you got was the best one in that price range, but for double the price the Garmin 910 that is coming out is his pick. I don't think any of the watches are "small" when they do all the cool stuff. I'm still running with a $7 sports watch from Walmart so I really don't know what I'm talking about.

    Favorite gift this year is all the stuff I bought myself (running tights, running shirt, cycling tights, pink Yankz, lights for my bike, Bodyglide). Finances weren't quite where we needed them to be to get a Garmin, but I'm praying Mother's Day will be a different story. :) Can't run with eyes shut at all.

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  21. I can do about ten steps with my eyes closed. I think it's because the treadmill is just so boring that I fall asleep for just that long. It must be the loss of balance that wakes me up....

    Lucky Lucky! What a dog!

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  22. Merry Christmas. Santa left you an early gift of a UTI - I'd rather have a piece of coal in my stocking. Thank goodness for fast-acting antibiotics.

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  23. Yes, I've run with my eyes closed. Several times. Outdoors. Mainly because it was so dark that there wasn't much difference between having them open or closed. Not for long, a few dozen steps or so, then open to make sure nothing terrible is about to happen.

    I figure that last photo is a muskrat trying to disembowel Lucky, but since muskrats are kind of thin on the ground there, I'm guessing it's a cat.

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  24. I have tried running with my eyes closed and I always feel as if I will fall immediately!! Sorry about the UTI, and having to go to Urgent Care to deal with it, they SUCK!! Sounds like you had a good Christmas despite the UTI and treadmill run.

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  25. I had to laugh when I saw your comment about the Ironman GPS watch. Here's a picture of it on my wrist. I swear it's bigger than my fist. http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0_OUGu3sRbE/TqomSgD6UcI/AAAAAAAAHIs/aLmXYALN574/s1600/P1000321.JPG

    I tried to use it but the watch part was so big it put a bruise on my bony little wrist. I ended up selling it on ebay and bought a more reasonable sized Garmin 310xt.

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  26. Merry Christmas, Beth, to you and yours. Thanks for a great blog!
    That shakeweight was INSANE. Why exactly were those women holding it right THERE? Lurid. What was the soundtrack for its commercial, ZZ Top's "Pearl Necklace"? ha ha ha

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  27. Oh gosh a lady in the basement gym at my work walks on the treadmill with her eyes closed. I figured she was multi-tasking by getting in a nap and exercise (albeit slowly) at the same time. She also does these very strange "stretching"/dancing/tai chi type moves which actually makes me uncomfortable to watch.

    Nice gifts! I got protein powder and a knee strenghthening DVD (which were on my list) so sorta running related gifts.

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  28. Sorry to hear about the UTI but it sounds like you had a wonderful Christmas as did Lucky.
    The pic must be Lucky and the Guinea pig.

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  29. nothing can dethrone the mighty Garmin! ok, not that ive tried anything else either....

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  30. That is one huge watch! I bet it will give you a nice bicep if you run with it.

    Sometimes during a race I will close my eyes momentarily. I can't do it for long without running into someone but sometimes I need that moment of darkness to get me all centered again. It really helps! I swear.

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  31. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  32. p.s. I thought this post was going to be about that Tom Cruise soft-porn movie.

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  33. I would probably try to close my eyes while running on the treadmill, but our little workout room is directly across the hall from the condo office, and it is all windows. It is a very busy walkway and I would never live down the jokes.
    Most likely they would post a sign in there stating that we weren't allowed to close our eyes, due to liabilty issues.
    I do close my eyes when I walk down the street when I am really tired. I love to multi-task and nothing beats sleeping and walking at the same time.
    I would have been here sooner to comment, but I got lost on youtube looking at all of the shake weight videos.

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  34. The Garmin 610 was a pleasant surprise. If boyfriend didn't get the hint after my 305 died after 4 long years together, then he may have died after only 1 long year with me...just kidding. But it is the greatest gift. Ever.

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  35. Awesome Christmas gifts! I love the 70.0 ornament and the lucky necklace. That is so cute!

    I hope you hand your family have a wonderfully Happy New Year!

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  36. The only timex Iron man i had was the non-gps one - was very nice until I met my Garmin 405 CX. Now I am addicted to the Garmin. I forgot it once (earlier this week) and in my OCDness, I had to download an app on my iphone in the parking lot of the park so I can have something to tell me my pace at the end...Sick huh?
    I know I didn't answer your question, but is your timex also water-proofed?

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  37. Such cool gifts!

    I am so happy Lucky is doing better! Porter always has his lipstick out.

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