Head 'Em Up, Move 'Em Out

Alright, its time for me to whip myself back into shape. Sadly, I have fallen off the wagon and I've fallen hard. Landed straight on my bum in fact, as the wagon train pushed on up the trail without me.

It all started back on the praire, oh 20 miles back. Yep, that's the last run I completed way back on October 7th. Not a step since then - no cross-training, no maintenance runs, nada. Sigh. Perhaps I've hit the proverbial wall. Its Broken Down Mountain for this cowgirl.

On the bright side, I'm told that its good for me to get some much needed rest as the Marathon is only 5 weeks away. And my feet have been bothering me. But, I disagree - I think, nay I know, I need to keep my body in condition. So, I've whistled for my pony and tightened up my saddle and I'm headed back out onto the range. Today is the day!!! Its all mental from here.

I've got one more long run on October 28th. Its billed as our celebration run, as we pay homage to all we've accomplished since June. We'll all meet up in Santa Monica to join forces for this challenge. After that, its just the Marathon with a few short recovery runs of less than 10 miles each sprinkled in.

Thank you to all who contributed - with your help I've reached my fundraising goal of $3800.00. Hallelujah! However, any monies I can raise above this would of course be of service to APLA. If you'd like to donate or increase your contribution, the instructions are in my introductory statement (to the left).

Ciao,

Rochelle

Buon Compleanno (Happy Birthday)!

Its my birthday, its my birthday, gonna partay like its my birthday! Lol! Yes, Saturday, September 30th was the big day - the anniversary of my 21st birthday. And, partay I did but not like you think....or in any way I might share on this blog. What happens on the streets of LA stays on the streets of LA!

For you curious types, I will only say that on that bright, shiny mornin' I partayed with my teammates down the streets of Burbank on a 9-mile jaunt. What a great day it was and we had a blast, celebrating not only my birthday but that of my teammate Garth who had been out of town and finally rejoined us for this run. I thought we had lost him to the east coast forever. We didn't realize how much we had missed him until we were nearly accosted by a rabid bike rider and we heard his familiar, protective bellow -- BIKE!!! Like Pavlov's dog we instinctively and without a moment's thought as to what we were doing, only heeding that rich baritone, shifted to the curb to save ourselves. It was curious how we did so in unison and we all laughed and wondered how we had survived without him these past four weeks.

So, another celebration of the big "21" and another reason to have a celebratory "beverage"...or two. What is that saying about life: each day you get another chance to try all over again. That's what being "21" has done for me, given me hope, happiness, youth and a plethora of second chances. I know I'll get it right one day soon, and then its on to "22." I can't wait to see what's in store for me!

Speaking of the roaring 20s, that's what's on deck for this Saturday -- a cool 20 mile run. Maybe I'll treat myself to Janet's new CD "20 Y.O." as inspiration for the big day and to remind myself where I am in life!

That's it, that's all folks. As a parting gift, here is some quick Italian (courtesy of my handsome APLA program rep, Jared) to try out on friends:

1. Hello – Ciao (pronounced chow)
2. My name is – Mi chiamo (me key-ah-mo)
3. Please – Per favore (pair fah-voray)
4. I don’t understand – Non capisco (known cah-pees-co)
5. Excuse me (to get by) – Permesso (pair-mess-o)
6. Thank you – Grazie (grats-say)
7. Yes – Si
8. No – No
9. Goodbye – Arrivederci (ah-reev-ah-dare-chay)
10. “Yo Momma so Italian she spits meatballs” – Sua Madre è cosí italiana che sputa delle polpette di carne

Arrivederci,

Rochelle