work vent

I know...this is supposed to be my triathlon blog. But if you have been following, I have a touch of the lazy. And a sore knee. And work is super busy and incredibly stressful right now. But yet I find time to write on this blog....shhhh!!!

Anyway, I have this conference to go to next week. I got the itnerary today. And the dress codes. Yes...that was plural as each event has it's own dress code. Overall the code is "business casual". This could mean so many things. I have two dress codes....work wear & triathlon gear. There really is nothing in between. I do not own anything "formal".

We have been invited out to dinner to one of the fanciest restaurants in T.O. My manners are going to have to be in high gear. Hopefully, they will come back to me...which way does the fold of the napkin go on my lap? Nothing goes on the table...hands, elbows, purse, nothing. The soup spoon vs the desert spoon. Cut your meat with your right hand, then put the knife down, put the fork in the right hand...do this over and over and over again. Tiny "lady-like" bites. (To me this one, is a waste of time). Never cut your dinner roll. Tear a piece off. blah...blah...blah...

I bore you with this because when we show up from Saskatchewan, sometimes the high rollers think, act like we are straight off the farm. And there are some expectations when you go to a place like that. When we tell them how much money we manage...way out here in Toon Town...they nearly shit their pants. We are the largest firm with the largest dealer in Canada(yeah, right here in the middle of nowhere!) and they tend to trip over us when we show up. We have had so many invites to private dinners, I have lost count. Where were these guys when I was in high school....?

Anyway, here comes the vent. Guess who pays for these things....that's right...the investors.

Our clients.

If you own a mutual fund in Canada, you are paying management fees. Lots of those fees go to research, legal, computers, rent, staff etc...and some of those fees go to pay people like me. I think I deserve to get paid as I do a darn good job for my clients....but I don't need to be wisked around Toronto on their backs. And with the current state of the finanical markets, I am feeling a bit odd about the whole thing.

Of course, your thinking now "Then don't go....decline the invite."

Yes, that is certainly an option. However, 85% of my time in T.O. is in meetings with the very money managers that are responsible for those mutual funds. Not the sales guys...who come through town pretty much every month and I decline every golf invite, drink invite, supper invite, lunch invite, concert tickets etc.

I am only interested in talking to the men and women with their fingers on the trigger. The people making the decisions on what gets invested where and why. And with the size of our firm, we can get those meetings. And with the state of the markets, I think it is imperative that I go and pick their brains for a few days. It is easier/cheaper for me to fly out to Toronto from the investors perspective, than to fly those people out here. Just trying to do my part, however small it may be.

I just get annoyed when I hear others in my business talk/brag about all the "freebies" they get because it ain't free...your clients are the ones paying. Don't forget it.

Vent over.

it's official, I am falling apart....

Yep...it is sad but true. Went to my physio appointment yesterday and in about 2.36 seconds, she says "Your left arch is falling...badly." Really.

You would think I would notice this as it is MY arch!

And "Your left hip is significantly higher than your right hip." Really.

That would be from carrying my kids on my left hip.

Put these things together and my left knee in the middle of the two and the knee says OUCH!!

I am now armed with a bunch of daily stretches and arch strengthening excercises and NO RUNNING for 2 weeks. How? Wha? Oh NO? Really? None?

I don't even really feel all that bad about it...as I have WAY to much on my plate right now.

Host my book club tonight. The book I picked was "A Thousand Splendid Suns". Very good book. Kind of depressing and sad so I bought LOTS of wine!!

Trying to find swim coaches for our local tri club. Had two of them that I thought were good to go BAIL on me today. So we may not have swim coaches for the fall....niice.

Headed down east next week for a big conference. Flattered that I was selected to go but realistically, 4 days away from my kids and their activities to get brown nosed by some fake money manager with spikey blonde highlighted hair, fancy cuff links, trendy tie and manicured hands....really does not appeal to me. I need to find out if there is a Winner's in downtown T.O....

ha...ha...ha

Yeah...my boy Brady hurt his left knee on the same Sunday as I hurt my left knee. It's fate. We should be together. Although he has not called with all his time off so I am starting to wonder....

Anyway, my knee hurts. I tried to run on Saturday. It did not go well. Now it really hurts. I was almost in tears I was so discouraged. So I walked myself to a Roastery coffee to make myself feel better. I have made the appointment I should have made several months ago. But the clinic I have gone to in the past for another issue (there are men who read this blog so I will spare you the details...) has a really shitty parking lot, and I hated going there for that reason. I know, I am weird. But lo and behold, the clinic has an office downtown...two blocks from my office...totally walking distance and I won't have to drive anywhere. The appointment is Wednesday. My "professional opinion" (cause I majored in finance and minored in physio therapy....) is that when I swim, I am old school so I tend to keep my head up too far. This drops my butt and my left hip compensates because I favor my right side to breathe. I think there is a muscle that connects the hip to the knee...isn't there? Because it is odd that my discomfort is all between my left hip and left knee...I am hoping the gal on Wednesday gives me a way to make this better!!

numbers

One: is the number of times I play poker in a year

Six: is the number of men I played poker against last night

SECOND: is the place i finished the annual McFaull Poker Game!!!!!!!!

Hoorah!! This is a signifcant improvement from my last place finish the previous two years....

update...

I know you are all dying do know what has been going on in my world...or maybe not...but here it is anyway:

These stock markets stink and they are evil. They make my daytime job most difficult. I love my daytime job but I do worry about some of my clients and their financial affairs. I am going to tap my heels together three times and I want these markets to straighten up and give us some good returns!! If only it could be that easy.....

I have done no training. None. My 2 year old has been sick and I have not slept in a week and finally last night, everyone slept through the night. We are also potty training...for you mom's out there, you may or may not hear my angst. My new housekeeper came last week and I love her and she made my house sparkle...then Luke did not make it to the potty and crapped on the bathroom floor...money well spent.

Kindergarten, Tai Kwan Do and gymnastics are all in full swing. I am a busy, busy gal most evenings. There is a triathlon get together this Saturday and I am afraid if I go...I will drink myself silly...not cool with that crowd...but then sometimes I think some of them need to loosen up just a wee bit.

Had a very long discussion with Justin about my goals for next year. I am starting to get excited about getting back into the training. I am certainly paying attention to the weather right now, cause this it the time of year when my arse will be tied to my bike for many, many hours next year!! Let's all hope for a mild fall in 2009!!

Off to Elkridge bright and early tomorrow for a work thing. We do a retreat every year to do some planning and goal setting. I know I will come back all fired up and ready to roll. The partners are super cool as they are so supportive with ALL my goals, work and others. They encourage a balanced employee. I was going to take my bike but then we decided to car pool so now I am going to take just my running gear and hopefully put my feet to the ground and go for a run. It is absolutely gorgeous up there this time of year with all the leaves turning. And it is me and 5 men...need I say more...I will need to get away from all their testosterone for a bit!

a break and alternate titles for this post...

1. My knee f*cking hurts
2. Work vs Nap: the pros and cons of each and how they can assist each other for a better day
3. Do you need a light? Cause I was was on fire yesterday! 25th in my age group outta 111!

Coach Justin's analysis: we need to work on pacing better.
Kelly's analysis: I just felt like running so that's what I did...even with a sore knee...I have the entire winter to recover

Taking a break from running, biking, swimming and all things triathlon. Even this blog. Promise to read and keep up with everyone. Going to pursue some other things over the next month or so...have always wanted to try yoga. Going to work on my core and flexibility. Get my house and life organized...hired a housekeeper today...kid's activities start in the next week...swimming starts up again at the beginning of October. So until then, have fun, stay healthy and fit, catch up with y'all in a little bit!!

Queen City Half Marathon Race Report

So, not really close to Justin's 1:50 prediction...however, still really happy with my new PB of 1:57.25!! Yippee!!

Left the city around noon yesterday with three other gals. Had a great trip, talking and laughing and sharing stories. Got to Regina in good time and did a wee bit of shopping, had lunch, made our way to the hotel. Laid around the hotel for a bit before heading out for some supper grub. Was super tired when we got back to the hotel as my 2 year old is a "rocker". Yeah, I grew up in the 80s and love to crank the music from that era but what I mean is he rocks his head back and forth at night and kicks his legs and it wakes me up and keeps me up many nights. I hadn't slept a full night in many weeks so I was looking forward to being at the hotel and a solid nights sleep!! Had a hot bath and crawled into bed and we watched tv for a few hours...another HUGE treat!! Had a great sleep...awesome!!

Up and at it in good time. It was cold and the weather channel was telling us it wasn't going to get much warmer so had a debate on what to wear...girls will be girls, even at a half marathon. Got to the race and stood in the porta pottie lines for a bit, stretched a bit, kept with my pre-race routine of not warming up...

We made our way to the start and I handed off my bag of gear to ChrisG who came all the way just to cheer for us!! That was very cool. Thank goodness she was there cause I had left my friggin gels in my bag and realized when I was smack in the middle of the starting crowd...made my way to the edge of the crowd and sprinted to where she was, dug through my bag, got the gels said a huge thank-you for saving my ass to Chris...cause I was going to check my bag but she insisted on carrying it for me!!...sprinted back to the start line. So I did get my warm up after all.

Justin's race plan was to run about 4 km and get into a groove and then just run. Shannon was with me at the start and she took off like a bat outta hell and I told myself "Don't eat the paste!" So did my thing and felt really, really good. Had decided not to wear my Garmin as I wanted to run one race on feel this year. There were a couple of girls that ran right behind me pretty much the entire run who had a Garmin, so I had a good idea of what I was running anyway as they chatted and discussed pretty much everything and sang church hymns (?). The things you don't want to know about strangers.

Got to the 10km mark, looked at my watch quickly...53 minutes...holy crap, this is as fast as I have ever ran a 10km!! I was on fire!! Then shortly after that, a kid about 2-3 years old ran out onto the path and I had to either

a) knock him over

b)hurdle him

c)move way to quickly to the left side and dodge him.

My insticts chose option c. Crappy. As my left knee friggin ached for the rest of the run. It is still super duper sore and I have been limping on it all day...shitty!!!! (Just a small vent here....lady, I have a kid that age and you wouldn't let him go free in a parking lot, so why would you let him go in a herd of runners?? I did not think it was "cute" at all!!! I know how fast they can get away from you so please keep a careful eye on him!!!)

Anyway, ignored the knee, ran the best I could, a huge mental victory as I walked only the very last aid station...MADE myself run that last 4km. The same stretch that nearly killed me in May...After the half in May, Justin had told me "It hurts to go fast. Everyone hurts those last few kms...you just need to keep running."

Was super happy with the result. Was a bit off of Justin's prediction but let's remember where I started from this year! A 2:12 back in February...and my previous best (around 2:04) was well before having children which is seriously, a different lifetime.

And my running mates, Shannon and Dana also posted personal bests so it was a terrific day for all of us!

last minute PANIC ATTACK!!!

I have a half marathon to run on Sunday.

I entered last minute and I saw today that it has been SOLD OUT!! Can you believe that? Has a race ever been SOLD OUT here in Saskatchewan? We have lots and lots of room so this surprises me....

Anyway, back to my panic attack...because I can only be me and this is just the way it is. I talked to Justin this week and he says "You have it in you to run this in 1:50."

HUH??

WHA??

Is that possible? Seriously....IS THAT POSSIBLE for ME??!!

I asked him how do you come up with this? And he says he has looked at my Garmin info...and Garmin never lies...and based on my pacing, this is entirely possible...I have only been looking at my heart rate data so apparently I have been getting a wee bit faster and not knowing it....sometimes I am sure he puts me on speaker phone and the entire Carmichael group just sits and laughs and shakes their heads.

SO I am trying not to EXPECT to run this thing in one hour and 50 minutes. But then my little competitive spirit pipes up and says "Why the hell not?" I guess it is up to me between now and Sunday morning to believe this is true because I can't stop thinking about how cool that would be to run that fast....

funny story

Everyone knows how I love to deal. I am fair but I love to see how little I can get something for, it is like a fun game for me. If you are logical with people and lay it out for them, often they will eventually see things your way. For example....

We bought a television. We spent a chunk of change on the television. I see it in the flyer two weeks later for $400 less than what we paid for it. $400 can feed my family for a few weeks. I go to the store and to the customer service department and show the gal my receipt and the flyer and nicely say "Please give me my $400."

She says "The flyer says it is an online sale only. Sorry."

I say "May I please speak to your supervisor." He comes and studies the flyer and the reciept and says "Correct, that sale is for online shoppers only, there is nothing we can do."

I say "May I please speak to your store manager."

The store manager comes and he and the gal and the supervisor have a little pow wow and he comes back and says "True. There is nothing we can do."

So I say "I can return the televsion within 30 days, correct?" They all nod their heads.

"I am going home right now to grab the televsion and return it. Then I will order it online and ask it to be delivered right to this very store. You will loose your commission on that sale and all my future business. Are we on the same page yet?" They look at each other and the manager says "How bout we give you a BlueRay DVD player instead of going through the hassle."

I say "Thank-you" and in my own head CHA CHING!!!! So instead of eating, we will be able to watch lotsa movies....

(That is only the brief description....I was in the store for an hour laying out my case...but hey...it was 400 bucks!! Worth the time, in my opinion!!)

duh

I ran my car out of gas yesterday. duh. Had to call Shaun to come rescue me and he reminded me that the "E" on my gas gauge does not mean "enough"!!! Frick. Embarrasing, as it was on a busy street and I had to PUSH it out of the way of traffic...in my suit, and nylons and high heels...all decked out for work...oh my god...can you spell i-felt-like-such-a-tool. Last week I locked my keys in the damn thing and again, Shaun had to "break in" with a coat hanger and a wedge of wood...a bit of a mis-spent youth he had and boy, he can get into a car in no time!!

Anyway, all is well now...back to triathlon stuff... I asked Justin if I should be working out with weights this time of year. He said he would put something together for me. He said one of the best things to do is push-ups as it strengthens so many muscles that one needs...to hold yourself up on the bike, properly, and swing your arms when you run. He said I would get good and strong if I followed is routine...I did not mention, the truth, really, is, I have my 20 year highschool reunion next spring...and I want to look super good as I was such a NERD in highschool!! I sat beside the football team's quarterback in computer class one year, and he asked to be moved as he said I smelt like chlorine!! THAT is a true story... ha ha!!!

AND....

Had a really good short run today. Feeling pretty good about this half marathon on Sunday. Gonna be a fun girls weekend!!

unbloggable

My life is unbloggable.

I have nothing to say today...okay, I have lots to say but have started this post a few times and can't seem to finish it. For example:

1. My September-a-thon: where I am NOT going to buy my lunch for the month of September. Going to save some serious cash for something.

2. My half marathon race goals. I have a realistic goal, a holy shit Justin thinks I can do THAT goal and my secret goal (which happens to be the same as the holy shit goal...)

3. My opinions on the new VP candidate in the US. A mom of 5 kids, a preggo daughter, a 4 month old babe, (would she not still be nursing that baby?)...who is down syndrome...what the hell is she thinking? I almost crumbled when I had to go back to work when my oldest was 12 weeks!! That was seriously tough and I was not living my life in front of the world. I hope she has lots and lots of support on the home-front. THAT is a breakdown, somewhere, waiting to happen.

4. Teenagers scare me. I have listened to all of my co-workers long weekend stories of their bratty teenagers...what do I do to make sure my sweet little boys don't grow up to be like that?

That's all. No running today...my legs are seriously tired, going up the stairs yesterday was a chore. But up and at if for a quick little 40 minute run tomorrow.

rockin run

My last long run today before the half next weekend. Loved it. I love long runs. I put a bunch of new music on the iPod, bought a cool new pair of earphones so I was good to go! It did not start out too great, took me forever to get out the door but got it done. Was supposed to do three sets at my steady state heart rate. As JP puts it, my half marathon pace. I apparently have "a pace" now...who knew? The first one is always hard to get my HR up there. But the second and third ones were great. Garmin tells me my pace was nicely below my two hour goal time for the half. Hopefully I can improve on my 1:59:57 from May!! But we shall see what the day brings.