Return of the Pie Snatchers

I went to Costco twice the day before Thanksgiving.  On its best day, Costco isn't the place to see a live enactment of peace on Earth and goodwill toward all men.  Have you seen the pushing to get that last sample of beef jerky?  Costco is Thunderdome.

At 3 o'clock Steve called and said we should bring pumpkin pie for the dinner we're attending.  Normally I'd bake my own pies, but we needed pie ASAP. During my morning trip to Costco they had pallets full o' pie.  By the 3 pm there was no pie, but an amazingly long line of people waiting for pies.  I actually took a bunch of photos because I thought it was so funny.

That's when it all started going to H-E-double-hockey sticks.  People started to try cutting into line by sneaking through other aisles.  If you want to get a Costco crowd violent, try budding in the pie line.  I finally had to say that I had photos and I could verify who had been in line and who had not.  That ended that skirmish.

The guy in front of me said he was going to buy all the pies and resell them at a profit. Seriously.  I'm in line behind a dude who's business plan is forming a pie monopoly and becoming Opie the Pumpkin Lord.  That was solved when a Costco employee said there was a two pie limit.  There would be not Pie DeBeers.

I finally got my two pies, plopped them in my cart and started the grindingly slow salmon-upstream trek toward the checkout line.  Why, oh why are they sampling hot soup today?  That takes people forever to sample and I'll never get out of this store.

While I was waiting for a clear path, I saw a lady try to take a pie from someone else's cart.  (Hey, if you abandon your cart mid-aisle to get a sample, this is going to happen.)  That's what we're reduced to...pie snatching.  I used an empty fabric softener box to build a Pie Defender.  That way no one could distract me and steal my pies.
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Hot 100 Week 8 - Slow Roasted Edition

It's weekly check-in time with South Beach Steve's Hot 100.  This wasn't my best week, but I was in a sort of recovery week from the San Antonio race.  I was more mentally fatigued than physically burned out.  I skipped my Thursday night swim just because I didn't feel up to doing it.

Weekly Goals
Goal



Result

No wheat or potatoes Sunday – Thursday.



Done.

Hill or Interval training every week.



Nope.  I really need to get serious about hill running.

Each week do 2 sessions each of Upper Body and Core.



I was sort of off my game here.  Workouts were definitely lower intensity.













Year End Goals
Goal



Result

Prepare to run a personal best at either the San Antonio or Las Vegas Half Marathon.



Had a nice run on Saturday.  I'm ready for Las Vegas.

Lose 15 lbs (bumped up from 10)



Another pound gone.  Total loss - 9.6.














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Best Parenthetical Comment Ever

(dietitians have now proven, in laboratory experiments, that high-fructose corn syrup is the the sweat of Satan).

Martha Beck, PhD
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2010 Race Calendar

My tentative race calendar for 2010.  I probably won't do the South Dakota race, but I really want to run there so it's on the list for now.  Even with South Dakota, I'm planning fewer races than 2009.  Plus, these are mostly within driving distance.  Steve will be happy to see there's no two week San Diego to Nashville to Oregon to Northern California trips planned.  As a bonus, two trips will allow me to visit my family in Pennsylvania which I completely missed doing in 2009. 

SoCal Half Marathon
January 9, Irvine, California

Yuma Half Marathon
January 23, Yuma, Arizona

Rock N Roll Mardi Gras Half Marathon
February 28, New Orleans, Louisiana

Rock N Roll Dallas Half Marathon
March 14, Dallas, Texas

Lehigh Valley Half Marathon
April 25, Allentown, Pennsylvania

Santa Barbara Wine Country Half
May 8, Santa Barbara, California

Rock N Roll San Diego
June 6, San Diego, California

Wine Country Half Marathon
July 19, Napa to Sonoma, California

Leading Ladies Marathon
August 15, Spearfish, South Dakota

Rock N Roll Philadelphia Half Marathon
September 19, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
 
Rock N Roll San Jose Half Marathon
October 3, San Jose, California

Rock N Roll Denver Half Marathon
October 17, Denver, Colorado

Rock N Roll Las Vegas
December 5, Las Vegas, Nevada
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Hot 100 - Week 7 Chili Pepper Edition

Better late than never for the weekly check-in with South Beach Steve's Hot 100.

Weekly Goals
Goal



Result

No wheat or potatoes Sunday – Thursday.



Not perfect, but overall my eating was clean.

Hill or Interval training every week.



Done.

Each week do 2 sessions each of Upper Body and Core.



Done.












Year End Goals
Goal



Result

Prepare to run a personal best at either the San Antonio or Las Vegas Half Marathon.



Well...I ran San Antonio.  It wasn't a great run for me, but I'm okay with it.

Lose 15 lbs (bumped up from 10)



Woo Hoo.  Dropped 1.8 leebees. 














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