NaNoWriMo progress update + more pumpkin poetry

NaNo update!

I’m at my usual pace around this time of year. In need-to-get-the-lead-out mode. Trying to pass 10k within the next 24 hours or so.
I’m amused at all of the writers in my G+ NaNoWriMo circle who are stressed out about being a couple thousand words behind. Try being about 10-13k behind! It’s really not the end of the world. Having done this event a few times I have the perspective of it being okay if I get to 50k and it being okay if I don’t, though I plan to finish this challenge. I can probably edit a decent story out of this year’s effort.

Because I want to post this poem before the end of the month, I’ll not hinge it on being current on the linear word count guidelines. Instead I’ll set a goal to make my minimum count needed to not fall behind any further today (about 700 more words for the night) and post the rest of Picking Pumpkins including the first stanza again. Enjoy!

Picking Pumpkins

For rows and rows they stretch
Round in shape, some tall and lean
All shades of orange hues
Anticipating Halloween
Wedged between husks of corn
Listing from side to side
A chilly breeze whips ’round
A truck bed fit for a hay ride

The lanes go around a small cluster
Of dried-up scarecrows
With straw hands and shiny buttons
Guarding the patch and its rows
With benevolent eyes and crafty smiles
They make a fine bunch of bumpkins
Pointing to and lighting the way
To the surrounding pumpkins

Visitors kick hay as they walk
Marking the aisles with their forays
A sign at the entrance reads “Which way?”
Mere steps from a giant corn maze
In a lot corner two people are deciding
Between the big one or the small
“Which to choose? Which to choose?
We cannot take them all.”

They determine the medium-sized ones
Don’t deserve much of their attention
They pass them by with no second thought
Growing hungrier for selection
The first person watches the second
The second one paces around
The best one for their journey home
Is one just right and just round.

The second one passes by
The right one and then it’s time
To hold it up to the light
And free the orange skin of its grime
It is a bigger pumpkin
With a slightly lighter hue
Of orange, enough to be reflective
She says, “Oh, this one will do!”

She pulls a device from her pocket
and opens the camera app
Aims it at the large round orb
And carefully takes a snap
She glances at the other
And shows her still-frame catch
They look at the photo feeling quite pleased
Grabbing hands, they leave the patch

What they both know is
A secret you can’t deny
For the real pumpkin is
The one you choose to let lie
Whatever you take away,
One may surmise
Could become a jack o’lantern or
A couple of spiced, warm pies.

Or it could become a forgotten gift
That may be left to rot
On the doorstep, in a front yard
The one that time forgot
Back to the earth, the squashy flesh
Will fade into rows of pine
And the crowds will come back to seize
A tree from a fake-flocked line.

Next time you find yourself in a patch
Take a photo, take a few
To capture the true essence of autumn
Any hue will do
Be sure to wander to the corners
And around all the bends
Once you decide, leave all as they lie
Now, you’re picking pumpkins.

Writing progress update + mini-book review: Canadian Culinary Road Trip

This week in my spare time I read a book, made progress in a couple others, wrote a story synopsis and a poem, and got caught up on some video lectures for a class. More videos were just posted so I have to catch up all over again which negates my sense of accomplishment on that. Oh well.

In NaNo news I should be writing a lot more; throwing content toward my word count instead of here. The good news is that I am at least writing something. Hopefully the action will get the creativity flowing. With Daylight Saving Time ending tonight I’ll have one more hour in my day to make up the writing debt. Whether I remember to turn my clock back before I sleep is another issue. All those gentle reminders from several punctual and caring social media friends are helping that effort. Thanks, my friends.

As a “reward” for myself, I’ll post my full poem once I catch up on my word count.
LA Local wrimos
How’s your Nano novel coming along? There’s a write-in at the South Bay Pavilion’s Panera Breads on Sunday, Nov. 6, from 4:00PM – 7:00PM.

Here’s the first stanza as a teaser:

Picking Pumpkins

For rows and rows
 they stretch
Round in shape, some tall and lean
All shades of orange hues
Feeding anticipation of Novemberween
Wedged between corn husks that are
listing from side to side
A chilly breeze whips around
a truck bed fit for a hay ride…

More to come next time.

Mini-book review: Canadian Culinary Road Trip

Canadian Culinary Road Trip by Isabel Fonte

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I picked up this book a few years ago at a book fair and finally got around to re-reading this as I was looking for some new recipe ideas. This book is a virtual road trip with some wonderful photos of the Canadian landscape along with places of interest with regional recipes from across the country. I’ve tried a couple of the recipes and highly recommend the “cream of carrot soup” and the “rappie pie”- (a sort of Shepherd’s pie) dishes.

View all my reviews

Pumpkins and prose

Happy Halloweenies. Pumpkin season is here.

Just like every year, I’ve been a bit removed from any sort of pumpkin patch photo fun, and I’m guessing the pumpkin patch season’s basically over now. What can I say? I didn’t come from a pumpkin-loving family. Due to a loved one’s allergy to the squash/carving toy pumpkins never found a welcome place in my house while growing up with the exception of those plastic buckets used to hold candy. I’ve gone about my October days normally and when out and about I saw them just about everywhere. However, their presence barely registered in my brain not unlike a vegetarian just passing by the butcher area in the grocery store on the way to the healthful carby aisles.

On the flip-side I do remember having a ball at other people’s houses while attempting to carve one into some artsy candleholder-esque state. Haven’t done that in a few years, but maybe I will again.

My favorite carving I’ve seen this year: pumpkin Fail Whale (click for full size)

Image courtesy Joseph Lee on G+

Geeky Twitter carving, ftw.

Soon the time will arrive for gingerbread and the associated spices and aromas will take over the visual and olfactory landscape, likely at the stroke of midnight tonight. Know what that means? The onset of getting up one glorious hour later– Good riddance, DST! Sunny mornings except for those November rainy days.  Spending more time in places with the AC off and perhaps instead a little heat emanating across the room. Lattes every day (of the non-expensive variety). Lots of scarf wearing, cranberry flavors, and piping-hot stuffing spilling out of more than a few turkey dishes.

In other news, NaNoWriMo starts in about 2 hours. I have a lofty goal to not have to write over Thanksgiving. Again, that is lofty but I am still looking forward to the challenge. My story genre this year is youth fiction with a bit of humor, some kind of throw down to be had, some other cool stuff, plus a little craziness all mixed together. It’s not too late to sign up if you have ever wanted to write a novel in a month. What do you mean you haven’t ever wanted to do that? Does not compute! Please try (again).

Best efforts to my fellow wrimos! Writing 50,000 words in a month is no easy feat, but remember, though you may be writing your novel alone you are among thousands of writers doing this at the same exact time over the next month.

Time to try try NaNoWriMo again

Failing is not trying something and not succeeding. Failing is trying something and not succeeding and then ceasing to try again.

I mentioned on my NaNo profile page that this is year #8 for me. I’ve taken a needed break for a couple of years but I’ve decided to dip into the digital inkwell once again and pen another novel this year. I just typed the mash up of National Novel Writing Month– NaNoWriMo– into the search field on Google+ to find some motivation. What I found instead is a case of the sleepies.

I definitely remember that feeling from Novembers past. I know that feeling will pass once I get into the habit of writing through that feeling of wanting to turn off the computer and go to sleep earlier and earlier each night, though my word count for the day might be laughably low. I have to find a way to channel that energy that often shows up the last couple of weekends and instead use it to front load the story’s word count early in the month lest I plunge me into a writing debt that I’ll have to make up all through Thanksgiving– which is no fun– and leave my wrists as sore as if I’d partaken in a bowling marathon challenge.

I’m looking forward to checking out the kick-off in Pasadena next weekend as well as going to some mid-morning write-ins on the weekends.

This year I’m going to focus on finishing the story I start and writing the story I’d want to finish. Now, if I only had a plot. And maybe some of that motivation… Just like the Great Pumpkin, I know it’s out there somewhere and it will show itself eventually.

It’s still early.

Doing NaNo too? Connect with me on Google+!

Memories and scone-making

This weekend has been a pleasant one. I was able create some new memories with my family at my local themepark and consume more homemade scones than anyone probably should in a day. The chocolate I picked up from the LA Chocolate Salon a couple of weeks ago is now a distant memory.

Speaking of memories, in college I really wanted to study robotics but I ended up on a different academic path and subsequently a career path quite different from that.  I’m excited to note that today I’ll be starting my first AI course. There are 145,000 students enrolled in this course and I’ve added over 150 classmates on Google+. If you’re taking that course too and wish to connect for class discussions, add me on Google+, drop me a line saying we’re classmates and I’ll put you in my AI class circle.

I hope things don’t get too crazy in November due to that and NaNoWriMo. I took last year off, but I am planning to dive in headfirst to write a novel with no plot planned out beforehand. Historically this has been no problem but it has never coincided with a class that suggests I brush up on my linear algebra(?!) and programming ability(?!). I’ve taken both of those subjects in my past student life but that was a long time ago. I’ve since filled my head with many other things, some of them even practical in everyday life.

Next month I’m realistically predicting that my Goodreads Challenge progress will come to a dead halt. I still have my goal to read 36 books by the end of 2011. I am behind in terms of evenly-paced reading, but with a few books in my queue ready to crack open I should be caught up by the end of the month and ahead of pace by November.

To connect for NaNoWriMo, sign in at the site and add my author profile to your buddy list. Happy writing, reading, studying, or whatever you have planned for Fall!

Born to Run: A not so ultra review

Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen by Christopher McDougall

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This story idea was interesting so I gave it a thorough read. As far as execution of the idea the pacing got very slow in the middle up until the one event the whole book lead up to occurred. If the author had cut the filler of what they all ate for breakfast and dinner and how much pinole and beer they’d consumed it would have been more compelling to non-ultrarunners who don’t find the runners’ expository of a subpar diet rambling on for dozens of pages very fascinating. Also, I kept getting confused about whether the author actually ran the ultrarace he’d described or if it was simply a retelling from an omniscient narrator POV.

Being a triathlete, this book came highly recommended for me, however I don’t feel that my athletic ambitions alone places me in the target demo of the author’s desired readership– middle-aged men who are a little wary of an impending mid-life crisis. If you are not a middle aged man in that position and you don’t mind the feeling of reading a 280-page feature story in Men’s Health, then who knows? You may also find this story riveting.
View all my reviews

Fall starts with a true tri finish

After a small blogging hiatus I’m back. I’m now done with tri season– or am I? To keep from falling into triathlon world withdrawal like I did last year around this time, I’m ready to incorporate some non-tri exercise fun and other activities into my life. But before I wander down that new road, here’s my experience of completing the Nautica Malibu Tri Classic. I finished just under my goal time of 2:15 at 2:14:17.

Overall it was a great experience for me. The best part is remembering that SEVEN years ago I woke up at an unspeakable hour to voluntEAR at this very event. I helped corral the triathletes and as a bonus I got to gawk at a certain celebrity all I wanted– Let’s just call him… Mulder.  I also remember looking at all of the racers running into the Pacific Ocean like loonies on a crazy mission and watching in bemused amazement bemazement, thinking I’d never do something like that. I couldn’t observe the bike portion from where I was volunteering but I saw runners finish the third leg, crossing the finish line in triumph.

This year I got to be on the other side of that finish line. I left my house at 3:30 AM. Just after 5:00 AM I arrived at Zuma Beach after receiving multiple phone calls warning me of the Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) early morning shut down– from people awake at that hour and so thoughtful about checking on my whereabouts to make sure I would arrive okay.

I arrived and made the nearly 1 mile trek to the transition area with my gear and bike where I met up with my teammates and supporters. The beach was eventually packed with people and we paused for the national anthem sung by Sheena Easton. I saw other celebrities but didn’t know who most were as I don’t watch much tv, but I did recognize Toby Flenderson (Paul Lieberstein) and Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson) from NBC’s The Office. Who knew they did triathlons?

The start of the race went swimmingly thanks to the tri team practices held most weekends this summer. Wish I had a more decent swim visual to share, but the official photo I have as proof of a great post swim to transition came out like this:

Photo-bombed out of my only swim photo by that guy’s arm. Lovely. Well, at least it was a great swim! My best official one yet at 22 minutes 37 seconds. Perfect water temperature, perfect wave conditions, and no water unexpectedly inhaled. The majority of my other photos are from my bike leg.

This was likely taken near the entrance of the parking lot 1.3 miles into my 1 hour and 04 minute spin up and down the rolling hills of PCH. I may look relatively comfy here, but last year when I tried clipless pedals for the first time, just sitting on a bike with a seat higher than the handlebars was scary. My feet can’t reach the ground from the seated position. And my shoes are clipped into the bike pedals. I’m used to riding this way now so it’s more fun than scary.

Know what else is fun? Levitating across the finish line. My run was slower than normal but not unexpected as I used most of my legs’ energy reserves to power up the hills on the bike. I did the tired leg shuffle for at least the first mile, knowing I could run it faster had I slowed down on my bike, but I still finished right on my base pace of 10 min/ mile for a 4 mile run so I’m happy about my overall time.

Again, a huge thanks to all the good people who supported me this summer in this endeavor, financially, personally, and virtually. You all rock!

Three more days!

It’s almost that time again. I’ve been getting quite a few “Are you ready?” questions this week. My answer is I am as ready now as I’m going to be Sunday.

If I were to take a ballpark guess at how long it’ll take me to swim 1/2 mile, bike 18 miles, and then run 4 miles– 22.5 miles total, I’d say 30 minutes for the swim and t1, 1 hour 8 minutes for the bike and t2, and 37 minutes for the run: 2 hours and 15 minutes.

I am not nervous (yet). I haven’t felt any certain way about this weekend aside from excitement. I’ve found it tough to envision past Wednesday of this week. Now it’s Friday and here I am with registration packet in hand and I’m expecting a familiar bought of race-induced insomnia over the next two nights. I have absolutely no plans on Sunday from 1:30PM-6:30 AM on Monday except to recover from the long, sleep-deprived drive back home. None of my non-tri team friends nor my family will be attending this time due to logistical difficulty, but I know they’re supportive of my efforts, no matter what and so I’ll just do my best and have fun with no extra pressure.

My 1st half marathon: recap

Preparation: ICE CREAM

…plus quite a bit of baseline running this summer which I’m sure helped me more than the ice cream– but I don’t have a photo of that to share.

In the last week I have consumed more ice cream than I have over the last two months of summer combined, and I enjoyed every delicious bit. This gigantic cone is from the Ghirardelli Ice Cream Shop at Downtown Disney (WDW, Orlando, FL). Alas, I couldn’t finish this chocolate dipped waffle cone of butter pecan goodness because it was way too much apparently my stomach is too small to handle the perfect amount of ice cream.

My first half marathon recap: The morning of the race, I got up early and arrived at the parking structure by 4:15 AM. At 6 AM the race began and I ran with almost 12,800 runners, with 62% of them other women. We were placed into one of seven start corrals based on ability (A.k.a. proof of time from a previous qualifying race of 10K or longer).

“People think focus means saying yes to the thing you’ve got to focus on. But that’s not what it means at all. It means saying no to the hundred other good ideas that there are. You have to pick carefully.”

– Steve Jobs

Determined focus: I started in Corral D which the announcer dubbed “Determined.” I was determined to finish this race with a time of under 2 hours and 15 minutes and I would not have been able to do that without focus. That Steve Jobs quote above applies to this race, as it was a challenge made up of many little challenges.

Water- In my previous longest race (10K) I stopped at every single water station, which was unnecessary. This time I carried a bottle with me and only stopped for Accelerade once at the first water station. Carrying the bottle with me wasn’t much fun because I kept it in a pocket of a jacket that was secured “fanny pack” style tightly around my waist. This made it a pain to take out, but I didn’t really drink much until the latter part of the race anyway. Knowing that I already had hydration on me helped me power right on through those stations where runners all around me slowed down and stopped to grab cups.

Restrooms- These were everywhere along the course and very tempting too. I found my brain convincing me that if I stopped for a couple minutes then I’d feel better and be able to run even faster. Then again I also knew that womens’ restrooms have notorious lines and that it would likely take more than the couple of minutes I was considering sparing. Every time I passed one I had to force my eyes back on the course and not follow the trail of runners veering off toward them. I knew, of course, that I just had a case of nerves and when I finished the race I wouldn’t have to go at all.

Road hazards- I saw one runner take a spill on my left while running through Storybookland in Disneyland. I, myself, had to be very careful of railroad tracks and the raised reflectors in the road. I found while we were running down the streets that I had a tendency to run close to the middle, usually directly on the lane lines except when turning the corners when I cut very close to the raised curbs. Sometimes I’d jump onto the sidewalks to pass other runners and hop back down into the street afterward. This could have ended very badly with one misstep. Fortunately I didn’t get a case of the clumsies even during a race that started at 6:00 AM.

Character/ location photos- Lots of characters were out and posing with runners. I saw a huge line for Darth Vader. It was novel to take photos at Disneyland during the race, but at the same time we were in a race so I kept running.

Sideline distractions- there were many high fives offered, music played, cheers from h.s. cheerleaders, and homemade signs encouraging the runners. I gave a few high fives, but then I moved toward the middle of the street again so I wouldn’t be tempted to stop and chat or else seem rude for not returning the offered high fives.

Chocolate- My one big time concession was near mile 9 where they gave out Clif gels that were offered with one shout, “Chocolate!” I slowed to grab a pack figuring “Why not? I could use a boost of energy,” but I couldn’t open the little package very easily while running so I slowed down a bit more. It was worth it though, because once I sucked it down I felt like I just licked the spoon of some rich brownie batter and all was right with the world. I tossed the empty breakfast of champions sleeve into a bin and entered Angels Stadium. At that point I felt good so I picked up my speed, especially once I started hearing that we were only ‘x’ distance away or ‘almost there’ from people on the sidelines. I passed a number of people by drafting off of those who’d just passed me and were weaving their way through the exhausted runners ahead. Doing that meant I didn’t have to think about path as much as just moving quickly into their wake until I saw the finish line.

My results: My goal was to run this in 2 hours and 15 minutes or less.

Distance	HALF MAR
Clock Time	2:28:04
Chip Time	2:10:31
Overall Place	2604 / 12785
Gender Place	1067 / 8368
Division Place	188 / 1410
Age Grade	50.5%
5K	34:02
10K	1:04:34
15K	1:35:11

Execution: SUCCESSFUL!

Results explanation: Half marathon distance is 13.1 miles. Clock time is measured from the start of the race. Chip time is measured from the time that I physically crossed the starting line to physically crossing the finish line. Overall and gender place categories are self-explanatory. Division place is where I ranked among the other women in my age group. Not sure what the age grade is all about, but apparently I’m in the dead center of the pack on that. Yay, me. Below that you have my splits for the 5K (00:34:02– started with a 10:57 min/mile pace doing 3min r/1 min w intervals until the crowd thinned out enough to just go for it), 10K (00:30:32) 15K (00:30:37), plus the homestretch 3.8miles (00:35:20– for a decent finish at a 9:18 min/mile pace).

I’d never run a race that long and half-expected to poop out by mile 8. I found that I was able to maintain a consistent pace right on track with the 3 to 5+ mile pace training runs I’ve done with the tri team running group all summer. Pretty amazing!

Photo by Chris A.

Here’s my Disneyland Half Marathon obligatory ‘look at my shiny new medal’ pose.

A year ago running a half marathon sounded as crazy to me as running a full marathon does to me now, but with the overwhelming amount of support I’ve had this summer and this weekend, and with the right amount of focus– and enough peer pressure in the case of a marathon sign up campaign– I feel like I can accomplish whatever challenge I choose next! I’m glad this one turned out well. I’m already signed up for another half in late January (Tinkerbell Half Marathon), same place.

Next events: For my LA locals, here are a couple more fun activities I’m looking forward to this month.

Nautica Malibu Triathlon Sept. 17-18, 2011

LA Chocolate Salon in Pasadena on Sunday, Sept. 25, 2011

If you’ve read this far, that means your eyes have just read a half marathon. Congratulations, and thanks for reading!

In the B.A.G.

I learned something new while swimming in the Pacific Ocean this weekend. Two things, actually.

1) It is possible to get seasick while swimming in the sea. Previously I thought that it only happened while in a boat. I generally don’t get seasick in boats, but I felt really nauseated while doing that swim. Water temperature was fine. Getting past the break was fine. Swimming a half mile while nauseated? Not so much.  I swam against the current yesterday for the first time this year that I can recall. I’m fairly sure it took me upwards of 45 minutes once I walked into the water to touch dry land again. I think swimmers are reasonably expected to close this distance well under 30 minutes. It’s okay though, because I did finish that swim.

2a) It’s extremely difficult to reach a goal when you can’t see it and 2b) You won’t reach your target if you don’t know where it is.

I was a little late in walking over to the sand for the group swim, and so I missed the chance to do the bottom check– the walk in to check the sandy surface under the water and to get used to the water temperature before it was time to swim. A small group of us started stressing about that and I didn’t even think to look over a couple of towers and spot the buoy in the water that we had to swim to. Needless to say I had no idea where it was once I got out far enough past the break to swim parallel to shore.

This reminds me of the Big Audacious Goal (B.A.G.) concept. The best way to attain a measurable goal is to break it down into manageable chunks and like a shark — where you must keep moving along and making progress with these things– you power through until you obliterate them.

My chunks were simple enough:

• Ignore the disgusting ocean water taste.
• Relax and try to not hyperventilate.
• Swim or at least keep moving forward. I still had to break down the last one a little more into a bit of a pep talk chunk because I couldn’t see the buoy:
• Just swim toward a house on shore in front of me and/or swim to catch up to at least one resting swimmer ahead of me.

That worked. By doing the smaller goals, eventually I spotted the yellow buoy and made a beeline swam like a fish toward it. Getting back to shore was relatively easy but I had to fight the urge to stop and rest for a while instead of hurrying to get on my bike in a simulated race situation. My T1 needs a bit of work, but with 7 ocean swims completed this summer, I’m happy to note that removing my wetsuit quickly is now my main “worry” about the tri. Not being daunted by everything, and not feeling overwhelmed about whether I can even manage to do this swim.

2011 personal goal: Run a half-marathon
Next weekend is the Disneyland Half Marathon. I am doing what I can to mentally prepare. I set a goal to go for a long run (10+ miles) this weekend. I did intervals (ran/walked) 13+ miles for the first time ever on Sunday and I felt good afterward.

Athletic Linkage

Stumbled upon this while browsing my Facebook feed. I’m posting here so I will remember to check this one out in more detail and so you can check it out too.

Black Girls Run website
Black Girls Run on Facebook

My dear LA locals,

I’ll be hopping on a plane soon to travel east for a few days, but when I return get ready for a half marathon weekend extravaganza!