FANTASTIC TREO APP

Ok people, remember when i was singing the praises of my beloved Treo? Well, I still love it. And, as wonderful as it was when it came out of the box all shiny and new and unscratched, it is even more wonderful now that i have gotten a hold of some really cool applications. My current favorite (due to my propensity for napping in the car during my lunch break) is TreoAlarm. It's MUY easy to set, and the fact that it has like 8 different alarms you can set to alll different times makes it even more awesome because I don't have to re-set it every time I need an alarm. It also has a weather display that you can update as frequently as you like, and the clock display is much better than the regular ole' treo clock.
Places TreoAlarm has come in handy:
1) spending the night at M's house when i had to get up earlier than him
2) Waiting for my training appointment to start when i got to the gym early and needed a nap
3)Remembering not to take an hour long 'break' at work when i sit in my car and snooze
4) Making sure i wake up on Saturdays for Team in Training Practice
5) Pretending i have a phone call to get out of talking with someone i dont want to speak to

and so on and so forth. If you have a treo, i highly recommend you try out the product. You can download it at www.treoalarm.com, or if i see you on the street, i'll beam it to you. (and you can REGISTER it there!)

FANTASTIC TREO APP

Ok people, remember when i was singing the praises of my beloved Treo? Well, I still love it. And, as wonderful as it was when it came out of the box all shiny and new and unscratched, it is even more wonderful now that i have gotten a hold of some really cool applications. My current favorite (due to my propensity for napping in the car during my lunch break) is TreoAlarm. It's MUY easy to set, and the fact that it has like 8 different alarms you can set to alll different times makes it even more awesome because I don't have to re-set it every time I need an alarm. It also has a weather display that you can update as frequently as you like, and the clock display is much better than the regular ole' treo clock.
Places TreoAlarm has come in handy:
1) spending the night at M's house when i had to get up earlier than him
2) Waiting for my training appointment to start when i got to the gym early and needed a nap
3)Remembering not to take an hour long 'break' at work when i sit in my car and snooze
4) Making sure i wake up on Saturdays for Team in Training Practice
5) Pretending i have a phone call to get out of talking with someone i dont want to speak to

and so on and so forth. If you have a treo, i highly recommend you try out the product. You can download it at www.treoalarm.com, or if i see you on the street, i'll beam it to you. (and you can REGISTER it there!)

More crazy

As of tomorrow, i'll be exactly HALFWAY through my marathon training, and in the midst of all this, I have elected to do another marathon. (ok, the decision is about 90% made, anyway). Mind you, I haven't even run HALF of one yet (as I said though; that will change tomorrow) but I'm already about to get signed up for another one. Why?

Yeah, funny the ways in which people are motivated. Personally, I'm motivated by a Tiffany Necklace. Not just any old one, mind you; they don't carry it in stores. If you finish the Nike Women's marathon (in san francisco), you get a custom designed Tiffany Finisher's Necklace.
I must have one.

So, I guess I'll have to buy stock in Icy Hot...hopefully they'll give me some free coupons for some of their instant cold inserts for their knee brace.

But, as for updates for my current marathon: Tomorrow, we hit mile 13. I've finally started to comprehend that there's NO WAY that i'll be able to complete this thing injury free if I don't do my midweek trainings. Of course, i realized this as my midweek trainings have nearly TRIPLED from what they originally were!!! (we started out with 20-25 minute runs at the beginning; now we're at 60-70 minute runs, three times a week). My knees are sort of ever so gradually making peace with me (i think), and as usual they don't hurt when i run, but make me their b**ch afterwards. I've gotta figure out a way to get around that; i think i may start taking some serious glucosamine....Wait, i guess that means they're not making peace with me then...
Thats ok, i'll just get Michael to massage them for me and i'll be ok. (Michael is my sweetie, btw....and he gives a killer knee massage. I know, interesting credentials to have, but if it works, it works!)

At this point, i've run in the rain and in some serious cold. I'm not looking forward to running in the heat, because as sweaty and yucky as i get in the cold, i'm not looking forward to what the heat does to me, and that includes the tan lines in strange patterns and places. I guess i'll just have a runner's tan...But, if i'm going to run in a marathon in october, i suppose I'll have to just DEAL with it because I have to train through july, august, september AND october. So, i better make friends with the heat. (and some sunscreen).

New Excuse

In my quest to become a 'real' runner, that is, someone who can finish a marathon, I have discovered that preparation for such an event actually requires a major equipment overhaul. Now, earlier in the year, and last year too, I told you guys about how I have to stop spending money and cut WAY back on the shopping.... and I've done fairly mediocre with that task.
What I have realized though, that in order to make sure I complete the marathon injury free and without major damage to my insides, it is necessary for me to
SHOP!!!!!!

That's right, all out shopping spree. I get to purchase a whole lot of new stuff, including:

New Workout Wardrobe:
Why? Because if you run in plain ole cotton, the moisture will weigh you down, and possibly get you sick. Furthermore, you'll chafe, which is a major b#$%^. Thus, you need workout clothes made from TECHNICAL fabrics, that wick moisture away from the skin to keep you drier.

New Running Shoes- 2 pairs:
There are 3 foot types, (Flat, medium and hi arch), and all sorts of foot behavior (pronate, supinate, etc..) that cause the need for different types of shoes that offer different types of support. My feet, apparently, require me to purchase shoes in the "Neutral Plus" category, for people with high arches and a large build (Now, anything over 150 is large; I think that's crap but whatever...) Running in shoes with inadequate cushioning for your frame, or an inappropriate level of support/construction for your foot behavior, will cause all sorts of nasty problems. These problems include blisters, shin splints and heel spurs, and (heavens!) toenails turning black and falling off repeatedly. Now, the blisters, heel spurs, and shin splints I can deal with. But BLACK TOENAILS? Hell naw. My feet are gorgeous, and I will NOT have my toenails falling off if I can help it. Where are they going to paint the flower during my pedicure?

Furthermore, for all of the functions of your shoe to work properly, you must give them time off. This means you must rotate your shoes to keep them from wearing out too quickly.

Special Socks:
Lets see; these socks will provide moisture wicking so your feet don't overheat and start acting badly, they have seamless construction (and double layering) to prevent blisters. And, I must have the no show kind because a sock tan is horrible.

Hydration System:
This one is my personal favorite; you get to purchase what is essentially a water backpack. This
is the one I purchased. Yes, it's pink. It's got a tube that hangs over your shoulder and you grab, bite, drink, and let it go. Thus, you take care of your long term hydration needs, and (and this is a major plus for me!) you can avoid the gatorade shower type incident that arises when you attempt to unscrew a bottle of gatorade when you're running. This thing requires absolutely NO coordination.


Interval watch:
I figured out that the most efficient way (for me anyway) to actually consider COMPLETING a marthon is to do it in run/walk intervals. A watch exists that you can set to go off at different intervals, and you run or walk depending on which interval it is. I'm looking for my perfect time split; currently, I think i'll probably do 4 minutes running/1 minute walking....


And so on and so forth. Thus, if you REALLY want to have an excuse to do a whole bunch of necessary shopping, the trick is this: Take up a new sport.

Oh, and by the way; please help me out in my quest to cure Leukemia/Lymphoma... go donate at my page: http://www.active.com/donate/tntgla/tntglaSBender

Its official: I've gone crazy

Why, you ask? Well, I've decided that I am going to run a marathon. I will be participating in the San Diego Rock N Roll marathon on June 4th of this year, as a member of Team In Training, the group that raises funds for Leukemia and Lymphoma research. There are ulterior motives all across the board, mind you; here are some of the reasons I'm doing this

1. I need a challenge now that I"m done with school
2. Training for a marathon will invariably cause me to lose weight
3. My sister's wedding is coming up in September (see 2)
4. I'm going on vacation with a friend of mine who is a size zero (see 2)
5. I need something to add to my extensive list (!) of "Things I have accomplished"

Oh yeah, it's a good deed too. (Let's face it; all of us know someone who has been affected by some form of cancer. I've lost 4 family members to lung cancer alone...another cousin currently has cervical cancer, and an aunt passed away of liver cancer)

That said, I will be hitting EVERYONE up for donations. To avoid the multiple hits you're going to get from me (via email and postal mail) feel free to click on the link below to go ahead and give to the cause. I have to raise $2100, and I need you to help me. And, for those of you who refuse to help me help myself with Tupperware, you owe it to me to help me help someone else.

Donations anyone?
http://www.active.com/donate/tntgla/tntglaSBender

Ode to the Treo

One of the privileges of being a person with a job is that you can buy things. I, in my neverending quest to acquire the "new hotness" have just purchased a Treo 650, which I have not used yet but already I love. Hence, the Haiku for Treo

so very shiny
unscratched and never dropped. yet.
my brand new treo

You mean I get an expense account too!!!

I'm realizing now that I am actually an executive... a junior one, mind you, but an executive nonetheless. (With more education than damn near everyone IN that entire building!) Anyhow, when I started to prepare for my las vegas trade show, I started asking questions about meals, food allowances, etc... and my office mate said "Just expense it". Wait a minute.. you mean I buy stuff, get rewards points on MY card, and then hand the bill over to you and you PAY FOR IT!?!? I can't believe it!! Actually though, I figured out that there's an even better way to expense things. Let me illustrate: I went to the airport and sat down with our Vice President and one of our sales reps for lunch. They paid. I quickly figured out that if I go to lunch with someone who is more senior than me (or just has a larger expense account), they'll pay for it, and I don't even have to worry about getting reimbursed for anything... I just eat free. AND, because we only eat at FABULOUS places, then I ate REALLY well. Example:

Dinner at Roys:
Filet Mignon stuffed with goat cheese, atop a lovely bed of risotto
Asian Pear salad with gorgonzola and citrus vinaigrette
Chocolate souflee
2 Guava mojitos

Dinner at 'The Steakhouse"
Fliet Mignon (Yes, Again!)
Grilled asparagus with Horseradish hollandaise
Onion ring tower
Whipped potatoes with cheese and some other good stuff
Knob Creek & Coke
Really Good Cabernet
Really Good Port

and so on and so forth.

Apparently, depending on what salesman you befriend, you also get to gamble for free too!!!! I located our New York salesman, Cesar, on the blackjack table after dinner (and yes, he's a cutie..even my mom says so) and I sat down beside him. He asked me to join him, and I had to decline, because we were sitting at a $25 table. His response: No problem. He floated me a couple chips and I proceeded to play. And lose. But not all of it, and none of it my own. So I came out ahead. Yay!

Today, I turned in my expense report. I managed to squeeze in three extra days of parking (I stayed for my birthday), and I will be reimbursed this friday for approximately $500 bucks. I LOVE it.


I'm just dreaming up stuff for the next show...

I Like Work

Working has proven to be an interesting adventure, especially the part about switching industries. Earning money is nice. Having an office is also nice (haha you cubicle rats!) Furthermore, I cannot put into words how pleasant it is being in a place where 100% of the people can read! Suffice it to say that I am easily amused.

Imagine my delight, then, when I realized that I not only have subordinates, but I also have weight to push around!!! Can you believe it- MINIONS! I have people I can tell what to do! And they have to listen. For instance, a little while ago, I had a conference room reserved to watch a training video. Someone decided they wanted to eat lunch in there while I was on a short recess, and I got to kick them out. They tried to argue, but I won. They left!!!

Then, I had a mailing that needed to be sent out (i'm in charge of direct marketing).... I printed the labels and then handed them off to be put on envelopes that needed stuffing.... all 1500 of them! And I got to walk away and leave it to someone else!

I'm definitely going to like this telling people what to do thing....