I am very, very, very pissed off this morning! I try to recycle as much as I can, especially plastics, even to the point where I rinse out and bring home all the bottles and cans that I've used while I'm out on the road. Which is no big deal because I'm only out for 4 days max, but still I'm making an effort to reduce and recycle whenever I can. Well, this morning after checking the Searcy sanitation schedule and getting the trash and recycle bins out in the nick of time--literally moments before the regular trash crew got there, I had the very unpleasant surprise of watching the guys taking the stuff out of the recycle bins and putting it in with the regular trash. WTF!!!!!!!!!!! I've already sent off a quick email to the city complaining and later today when I'm calm enough to think a little clearer I'm going to send a letter to the mayor and local paper. If there wasn't going to be a recycle pickup 1) it shouldn't have been listed on the website and 2)just leave it, I would have brought the boxes back up from the curb and drove them to the recycling center myself. Grrrrr.
Ok, calm blue ocean, calm blue ocean, going to my happy place. Nope, still p.o.ed.
31 December 2008
25 December 2008
My kinda holiday music
Ok, don't click on this if you're offended by foul language and heavy metal music--this is hilarious though. "Heavy Metal Christmas"
10k on Christmas Day
Merry Christmas everybody!!!!!!!!!
Blog post title stolen from Brenda! This morning I decided to drive south to Cabot to join Brenda and whoever else showed up for a Cruisers Christmas morning fun run. Got to tell you I was less than enthused with the temperature, it was chilly--but not near as chilly as last Sunday through Tuesday thank goodness. Anyway this morning it was Brenda, Cindy, Jackie, and me and I think we all looked pretty darn cute in our Christmasy red running tops. You would have thought we'd coordinated on purpose, LOL. Great run, I was showing 6.25 miles, Brenda was showing 6.2 (I have a 201 so it's probably not as accurate as Brenda's). Group runs always seem to fly by, we'd hit 4 miles before I knew it. I need to make the drive down more often, I generally love my solo runs but it's soooo much fun when you have somebody to talk to. Ok, I have a piece of pumpkin pie calling my name, hope everybody has a very happy Christmas day.
Blog post title stolen from Brenda! This morning I decided to drive south to Cabot to join Brenda and whoever else showed up for a Cruisers Christmas morning fun run. Got to tell you I was less than enthused with the temperature, it was chilly--but not near as chilly as last Sunday through Tuesday thank goodness. Anyway this morning it was Brenda, Cindy, Jackie, and me and I think we all looked pretty darn cute in our Christmasy red running tops. You would have thought we'd coordinated on purpose, LOL. Great run, I was showing 6.25 miles, Brenda was showing 6.2 (I have a 201 so it's probably not as accurate as Brenda's). Group runs always seem to fly by, we'd hit 4 miles before I knew it. I need to make the drive down more often, I generally love my solo runs but it's soooo much fun when you have somebody to talk to. Ok, I have a piece of pumpkin pie calling my name, hope everybody has a very happy Christmas day.
24 December 2008
Where's my holiday spirit?
It's hiding still!!!!
I know it's got to be there somewhere, maybe it will show back up by this evening. In the meantime I have gifts to count and wrap (nephew is old enough where his gifts are more expensive but still young enough that it kind of hurts his feelings if the niece gets more), a meal to plan for James to cook, and some last minute shopping to get done.
Finally made it home last night, my trailer was ready before 8 a.m. but James' didn't get done until closer to lunchtime. Have to be careful at Mt. Juliet because 9 times out of 10 the trailer will be dropped to high by the yard jockey. Overshooting the kingpin is not a good thing to do, lol. Fortunately I've only done it twice, both times were within my first 1.5 years of driving, and I caught it before I even got close to ramming the trailer into the back of the sleeper. Just a major pain to get out there and push the fifth wheel plate back down (that's after lowering the air suspension on the tractor and raising the trailer even more). Anyway, I always double-check the trailer height at this customer and yeah it was too high again yesterday. While I was lowering the trailer the yard driver came by and was going to help but I already had it under control by then. Did get an apology from him, I think he was kind of impressed that I handled it by myself instead of crying to the office for help. I did have a laugh with James about it afterwards that he never gets an apology or offer of help when he's having to do the same thing.
I knew I wasn't going to make it home in time to get my run in before dark (and rain) so stopped at the Pilot at Hurricane Mills to check out some new scenery. I love finding new (to me) roads to run on. Was going to run back towards the east but saw a sign for a church 6 miles out going towards the west on Old Hwy 13 so went that way instead. Beautiful and very little traffic. The only problem with new routes and being out in the country--No bathrooms!!!!! Got 4.55 miles in, was supposed to do 5 but my tummy started acting up and had to turn around. Oh well, almost got the full amount done. James was within 15 minutes of catching up with me by then so attempted some pushups, did ok, but didn't get the full sets in. I'm starting over with Week 3, level 2 but only got 12, 14, 13, 13, 6 (?) before my arms gave out, 3 shy on second set, and 11 shy on the final set. I was a little fatigued from the run and fighting with the trailer earlier in the day--besides having to lower it with almost 39,000 lbs on, I was having trouble with getting the tandems to release in order to slide them.
I know it's got to be there somewhere, maybe it will show back up by this evening. In the meantime I have gifts to count and wrap (nephew is old enough where his gifts are more expensive but still young enough that it kind of hurts his feelings if the niece gets more), a meal to plan for James to cook, and some last minute shopping to get done.
Finally made it home last night, my trailer was ready before 8 a.m. but James' didn't get done until closer to lunchtime. Have to be careful at Mt. Juliet because 9 times out of 10 the trailer will be dropped to high by the yard jockey. Overshooting the kingpin is not a good thing to do, lol. Fortunately I've only done it twice, both times were within my first 1.5 years of driving, and I caught it before I even got close to ramming the trailer into the back of the sleeper. Just a major pain to get out there and push the fifth wheel plate back down (that's after lowering the air suspension on the tractor and raising the trailer even more). Anyway, I always double-check the trailer height at this customer and yeah it was too high again yesterday. While I was lowering the trailer the yard driver came by and was going to help but I already had it under control by then. Did get an apology from him, I think he was kind of impressed that I handled it by myself instead of crying to the office for help. I did have a laugh with James about it afterwards that he never gets an apology or offer of help when he's having to do the same thing.
I knew I wasn't going to make it home in time to get my run in before dark (and rain) so stopped at the Pilot at Hurricane Mills to check out some new scenery. I love finding new (to me) roads to run on. Was going to run back towards the east but saw a sign for a church 6 miles out going towards the west on Old Hwy 13 so went that way instead. Beautiful and very little traffic. The only problem with new routes and being out in the country--No bathrooms!!!!! Got 4.55 miles in, was supposed to do 5 but my tummy started acting up and had to turn around. Oh well, almost got the full amount done. James was within 15 minutes of catching up with me by then so attempted some pushups, did ok, but didn't get the full sets in. I'm starting over with Week 3, level 2 but only got 12, 14, 13, 13, 6 (?) before my arms gave out, 3 shy on second set, and 11 shy on the final set. I was a little fatigued from the run and fighting with the trailer earlier in the day--besides having to lower it with almost 39,000 lbs on, I was having trouble with getting the tandems to release in order to slide them.
22 December 2008
Misinformed
James and I volunteered to cover any TN G.M. loads that needed to be covered this week in an attempt to postpone using any of our vacation time until next month (when General Motors will really slow down) and as a result we have gotten laid over for the day in Lebanon, TN--yuck...... Oh well, at least there's an outlet mall across from the Pilot, we'll go waste some time there this afternoon. Our dispatcher called about 1045 to let us know that he'd been misinformed, that there would be no Ceva loads coming out today--which is actually normal, James pulls the Mt. Juliet loads quite a bit and knows that they don't usually ship on Mondays. He questioned our dispatcher about it Friday when he said for us to be here first thing Monday morning but was told because of the Christmas holiday they were changing the schedule-HA! Right now James is asleep in his truck and I'm updating my blog (obviously, lol!). Our original plan was to get these down to Laredo ASAP because we could turn around and be back on Christmas Eve but now we'll just wait until the weekend to take them down--delivery appt is for the 29th.
Yesterday's run was FRIGID!!!!!!! But I survived ;-), even got in 1 more mile than planned. Was shooting for 9 and did 10, woo-h00. Sore today though, that's the longest run I've done since mid-October. Endurance is definitely improving, my long runs no longer result in me having to take a nap afterwards. I didn't think I was ever going to warm up afterwards though, my butt was bright red from the cold, didn't have enough layers on the bottom half.
I did the week 4 test before my run yesterday morning and could only get out 25 consecutive pushups in good form, yuck. So repeating weeks 3 and 4 on level 2 starting tomorrow--was doing level 1. Kind of knew beforehand that I was going to do as well as I should but it had already been almost 3 days since I'd completed week 4 and you're supposed to do the tests within 2 days of completion.
Normally I have absolutely no issues with going to sleep but Thursday night was an exception. Guess the stress of having done very little gift shopping got to me but I tossed and turned, tried to read, gave up and watched tv, tried to read some more and couldn't get to sleep until 4 am. Had to get up at 7:30 am, ugh.....End result was a VERY cranky Gabby that had almost as big of a temper tantrum in Toys-R-Us as the kids surrounding me Friday afternoon. It wasn't a pretty sight. We got in there and I'd gone completely blank on what Shelley had told me that Andy and Abigail wanted, so I was just wondering around in a daze trying to find the right toys. No more of this procrastinating, next year it's back to online shopping.
Yesterday's run was FRIGID!!!!!!! But I survived ;-), even got in 1 more mile than planned. Was shooting for 9 and did 10, woo-h00. Sore today though, that's the longest run I've done since mid-October. Endurance is definitely improving, my long runs no longer result in me having to take a nap afterwards. I didn't think I was ever going to warm up afterwards though, my butt was bright red from the cold, didn't have enough layers on the bottom half.
I did the week 4 test before my run yesterday morning and could only get out 25 consecutive pushups in good form, yuck. So repeating weeks 3 and 4 on level 2 starting tomorrow--was doing level 1. Kind of knew beforehand that I was going to do as well as I should but it had already been almost 3 days since I'd completed week 4 and you're supposed to do the tests within 2 days of completion.
Normally I have absolutely no issues with going to sleep but Thursday night was an exception. Guess the stress of having done very little gift shopping got to me but I tossed and turned, tried to read, gave up and watched tv, tried to read some more and couldn't get to sleep until 4 am. Had to get up at 7:30 am, ugh.....End result was a VERY cranky Gabby that had almost as big of a temper tantrum in Toys-R-Us as the kids surrounding me Friday afternoon. It wasn't a pretty sight. We got in there and I'd gone completely blank on what Shelley had told me that Andy and Abigail wanted, so I was just wondering around in a daze trying to find the right toys. No more of this procrastinating, next year it's back to online shopping.
21 December 2008
What to Wear (when it's too freaking cold)
Brrrr! It's 21.6 degrees F right now and I'm supposed to be getting prepared for my long run (which may turn into a very short run!). Anyway the Runner's World website has this really neat little tool for what to wear based on the current temp, conditions, wind, and how you like to feel (ummm, not cold?). Got to get going, James and I volunteered to pull any TN loads that needed to be covered before Christmas so will be headed for Mt. Juliet later today and I still have to pick up my tractor from the International dealer (exhaust leak repair). Oh, the service writer at the shop was amazed and kind of freaked out that James and I ran separate trucks. He kept asking all these questions and saying how that was the neatest thing and he'd never heard about a husband/wife driving that way before.
19 December 2008
Shin guard shopping
Last week's mountain biking adventure left me with the realization that I'm probably never going to learn to get my legs away from the pedals. All the slipping off and falling has left my shins a bruised and cut mess. So I've started shopping for shin guards (well James started looking first for me). Argh!!!!!!!!!! I don't know which ones to get or even what size to get. This is absolutely frustrating and I don't think we have any retailers locally that has this sort of stuff in stock so I can try it on first.
I did have one very spectacular incident last Saturday and I'm still not sure how I managed to not injure myself. There are several water crossings which have VERY narrow boards that you have to ride across--well, I could get off the bike and carry it across, most are not very wide but what's the fun in that? Anyway, these make me nervous so I tense up and when you tense up the bike wobbles. I wobbled right off the edge of one and when that happened the front wheel went straight down and stuck in the mud, I slid forward off the seat and the rear wheel went up in the air behind me. Trying to write a description does not do the situation justice, trust me it was wild. I didn't even scrape my shins on that one!
I did have one very spectacular incident last Saturday and I'm still not sure how I managed to not injure myself. There are several water crossings which have VERY narrow boards that you have to ride across--well, I could get off the bike and carry it across, most are not very wide but what's the fun in that? Anyway, these make me nervous so I tense up and when you tense up the bike wobbles. I wobbled right off the edge of one and when that happened the front wheel went straight down and stuck in the mud, I slid forward off the seat and the rear wheel went up in the air behind me. Trying to write a description does not do the situation justice, trust me it was wild. I didn't even scrape my shins on that one!
"This fog's as thick as peanut butter!"
I think I need to watch the 1964 version of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer just for that line! It certainly applies to my trip home from Laredo this week. I'm ready for the sunny 60+F day we're supposed to get tomorrow. Oh, here's a link for everything you could ever possibly want to know about fog, I adore Wikipedia, lol.........
Hmm, not a whole lot interesting happened on the way home other than listening to a female driver talking provocatively to other drivers on CB 19 between Texarkana and Prescott. It always kind of blows my mind that some women are actively seeking the kind of attention that I'm (and most of the other women drivers) trying to avoid. Now, we're not talking about a little flirtation here, this was stuff that would make me blush over when talking to my hubby. Oh well, not my business (or wouldn't be if she had been on an off channel) but it does tend to create something of a problem when some of these guys can't differentiate between those of us who aren't interested in entertaining them.
Since I was so late getting my lazy butt out of bed this morning (had my alarm set for 0530, it was just way too easy to shut ii off and doze some more, lol) I decided to stop at Malvern before sundown to get my workout in. What started out as an "I don't think I can do this" turned into "This is GREAT!!!!". I love it when a run just energizes you. Can't say that it put me in a better mood 'cause I was already feeling pretty good, it just took a little while for my muscles to warm up. The new whitewater park is going to be beautiful when it's finished, I just hope they don't over-develop the area. So while the fog is a p-i-t-a to drive in it made an awesome backdrop for a run next to the river.
Found out from our shop that we had 3 trucks wreck in the ice Monday night. One was a drop-deck loaded with GM parts, ooops. As I posted before, Arkansas is terrible about dealing with inclement weather. I think the prevailing attitude is that they'll just wait for everything to quit falling then react to it instead of being proactive in sanding/salting the bridges. Evidently Searcy got hit hard, there's still ice on the roof, around the fencelines and the trees tonight.
Have to get in gear and Christmas shop this weekend, until tonight I had done nothing, zilch, nada. The mountain bikes were mine and James' presents to each other so I don't have to worry about that at least. My sis, brother-in-law, and Mike are probably just going to get gift cards, just have to decide from where. That leaves my nephew, niece, and mother-in-law. Everybody else is getting brownies, cookies, and a "Merry Christmas!".
Hmm, not a whole lot interesting happened on the way home other than listening to a female driver talking provocatively to other drivers on CB 19 between Texarkana and Prescott. It always kind of blows my mind that some women are actively seeking the kind of attention that I'm (and most of the other women drivers) trying to avoid. Now, we're not talking about a little flirtation here, this was stuff that would make me blush over when talking to my hubby. Oh well, not my business (or wouldn't be if she had been on an off channel) but it does tend to create something of a problem when some of these guys can't differentiate between those of us who aren't interested in entertaining them.
Since I was so late getting my lazy butt out of bed this morning (had my alarm set for 0530, it was just way too easy to shut ii off and doze some more, lol) I decided to stop at Malvern before sundown to get my workout in. What started out as an "I don't think I can do this" turned into "This is GREAT!!!!". I love it when a run just energizes you. Can't say that it put me in a better mood 'cause I was already feeling pretty good, it just took a little while for my muscles to warm up. The new whitewater park is going to be beautiful when it's finished, I just hope they don't over-develop the area. So while the fog is a p-i-t-a to drive in it made an awesome backdrop for a run next to the river.
Found out from our shop that we had 3 trucks wreck in the ice Monday night. One was a drop-deck loaded with GM parts, ooops. As I posted before, Arkansas is terrible about dealing with inclement weather. I think the prevailing attitude is that they'll just wait for everything to quit falling then react to it instead of being proactive in sanding/salting the bridges. Evidently Searcy got hit hard, there's still ice on the roof, around the fencelines and the trees tonight.
Have to get in gear and Christmas shop this weekend, until tonight I had done nothing, zilch, nada. The mountain bikes were mine and James' presents to each other so I don't have to worry about that at least. My sis, brother-in-law, and Mike are probably just going to get gift cards, just have to decide from where. That leaves my nephew, niece, and mother-in-law. Everybody else is getting brownies, cookies, and a "Merry Christmas!".
18 December 2008
Non-uneventful week
A group of us that run dedicated, local, or regional always reply that we had an uneventful week whenever asked how things have gone. Kind of a silly little joke and most people that know us by now tend to ask if our week was uneventful. With us if we've had an exciting week it means something went wrong, usually very wrong, lol, so we all prefer things to be more routine and boring. This week, Monday evening into Tuesday morning was a little too non-uneventful to suit me.
Everything started out great, had a kick-ass 5 mile run at Pulaski Monday morning--it was warm enough to wear a short sleeve tee and shorts and be comfortable, loved it. Made it up a little further on the water tower hill than the previous attempt so was pleased with that. Got unloaded and reloaded early enough to make it to the Clarksdale, MS with 10 minutes to spare on the appointment time. But it was just after leaving the dock at Pulaski that I got the call from James with news that causes trepidation in any sane truck-driver. No, not "The buffet closes in 10 minutes" or "DOT's on the ground checking logs." Nope, got informed that there was freezing rain and fog in Arkansas. Now, overall I like the state I live in but they are notorious for not dealing with ice storms very well (understatement!). Monday night was no exception.
I don't like driving in icy conditions but I've done it enough to know that I'll be ok as long as I keep it slow, steady, and as far away from other motorists as possible. My main concern was not getting stuck behind someone that spun out on a hill. There was less than 8000 pounds in the trailer and I have an automatic, not a good combination for trying to get going up an icy hill. Oh, and I had forgotten my handy, dandy container of kitty litter sitting on the bbq grill on the carport at home (non-clumping kitty litter can be a life and sanity saver in the winter).
The icy stuff didn't start until just east of Little Rock and it wasn't terrible but there were still several four-wheelers that had hit the black ice on the bridges and slid off the road. While I was fueling up at the Pilot in NLR I had some guy come up to me and ask was I really going to drive in that weather. Not sure if it was because of the company I'm employed by and he thought I was an inexperienced driver or because I'm a woman or a combination of the 2. Whatever, it was funny and slightly insulting all at the same time. Oh, he'd made some other inane joke about not hitting him with the hammer that I was using to bump the tires with--that was before the other comment, otherwise I might have been tempted to tap him on the noggin, ha-ha.
440 was slick, it's basically one long overpass anyway between I-40 and I-30. But again, slow, steady, keep your distance. The fun really started once I merged onto 30, there were cars and trucks everywhere--in the median, against the guardrail, in the ditch and not a sand truck to be seen. This went on for about 10 miles and then everything kind of mellowed out for a while but I did start to see a lot of truck-drivers following way too close. They were going slow, but still if the person in front of you starts to slide and you're that close there's nowhere to go. I want as much space between me and other motorists as possible when it's like that (my husband taught me well!). It always amazes me when truckdrivers that are bumper-to-bumper like that yell at people who move over to pass them that the person passing is going to wreck when it's usually the other way around. How do they think multi-vehicle pileups happen? It's nearly always from following too close.
Even though there were a lot of spin-outs traffic was still moving ok on the west-bound side (east-bound was a different story, bad truck wreck at the 114 mm) until we got to the 91 mile marker. A truck had spun out trying to go up the hill--not sure what side it initially happened on, but it basically had a domino effect--both directions ended up stopping. When everything came to a standstill I was in the hammer lane so just eased my steer tires over onto the rumble strips so I would have something to give me traction in case I had trouble getting started again. Ended up sitting for almost 2 hours until the cops, sand trucks, and fire engines could get out there and get things moving again. I'd planned on taking my sleep break in Texas but only made it to Gurdon with 15 minutes to spare on my 14. No way was I going to push it on my log with all that happening. Woke up Tuesday morning to more of the same until just east of Texarkana. Evidently Dallas was a mess but I have a shortcut that knocks 15 miles off and I don't have to deal with DFW traffic so was able to miss all that.
Blech, I hate winter driving especially in states that may only have 2-3 bad storms a season. My neck and shoulders are still achy from where I was so tense driving. You don't realize how much you tighten up until the day's over with.
Had to wait until this morning for my trailer at Laredo so didn't get the 5 mile tempo run done that was scheduled. Substituted hill repeats instead, 1.5 mile warmup, .5 mile cooldown, 5 repeats up the little hill, 1 big hill repeat for the remainder with a total of 3.25 miles. Wasn't what was planned but a hard workout nonetheless. I haven't found a suitable (read safe) place to run at in Laredo for anything over 3-4 miles. Because of the area I usually get up just after sunrise and get my run done before everybody starts showing up to work in the industrial park where our yard is.
Heavy fog tonight so I just shut down early, don't have to be home early for anything so no need to push it. Drive safe!
Everything started out great, had a kick-ass 5 mile run at Pulaski Monday morning--it was warm enough to wear a short sleeve tee and shorts and be comfortable, loved it. Made it up a little further on the water tower hill than the previous attempt so was pleased with that. Got unloaded and reloaded early enough to make it to the Clarksdale, MS with 10 minutes to spare on the appointment time. But it was just after leaving the dock at Pulaski that I got the call from James with news that causes trepidation in any sane truck-driver. No, not "The buffet closes in 10 minutes" or "DOT's on the ground checking logs." Nope, got informed that there was freezing rain and fog in Arkansas. Now, overall I like the state I live in but they are notorious for not dealing with ice storms very well (understatement!). Monday night was no exception.
I don't like driving in icy conditions but I've done it enough to know that I'll be ok as long as I keep it slow, steady, and as far away from other motorists as possible. My main concern was not getting stuck behind someone that spun out on a hill. There was less than 8000 pounds in the trailer and I have an automatic, not a good combination for trying to get going up an icy hill. Oh, and I had forgotten my handy, dandy container of kitty litter sitting on the bbq grill on the carport at home (non-clumping kitty litter can be a life and sanity saver in the winter).
The icy stuff didn't start until just east of Little Rock and it wasn't terrible but there were still several four-wheelers that had hit the black ice on the bridges and slid off the road. While I was fueling up at the Pilot in NLR I had some guy come up to me and ask was I really going to drive in that weather. Not sure if it was because of the company I'm employed by and he thought I was an inexperienced driver or because I'm a woman or a combination of the 2. Whatever, it was funny and slightly insulting all at the same time. Oh, he'd made some other inane joke about not hitting him with the hammer that I was using to bump the tires with--that was before the other comment, otherwise I might have been tempted to tap him on the noggin, ha-ha.
440 was slick, it's basically one long overpass anyway between I-40 and I-30. But again, slow, steady, keep your distance. The fun really started once I merged onto 30, there were cars and trucks everywhere--in the median, against the guardrail, in the ditch and not a sand truck to be seen. This went on for about 10 miles and then everything kind of mellowed out for a while but I did start to see a lot of truck-drivers following way too close. They were going slow, but still if the person in front of you starts to slide and you're that close there's nowhere to go. I want as much space between me and other motorists as possible when it's like that (my husband taught me well!). It always amazes me when truckdrivers that are bumper-to-bumper like that yell at people who move over to pass them that the person passing is going to wreck when it's usually the other way around. How do they think multi-vehicle pileups happen? It's nearly always from following too close.
Even though there were a lot of spin-outs traffic was still moving ok on the west-bound side (east-bound was a different story, bad truck wreck at the 114 mm) until we got to the 91 mile marker. A truck had spun out trying to go up the hill--not sure what side it initially happened on, but it basically had a domino effect--both directions ended up stopping. When everything came to a standstill I was in the hammer lane so just eased my steer tires over onto the rumble strips so I would have something to give me traction in case I had trouble getting started again. Ended up sitting for almost 2 hours until the cops, sand trucks, and fire engines could get out there and get things moving again. I'd planned on taking my sleep break in Texas but only made it to Gurdon with 15 minutes to spare on my 14. No way was I going to push it on my log with all that happening. Woke up Tuesday morning to more of the same until just east of Texarkana. Evidently Dallas was a mess but I have a shortcut that knocks 15 miles off and I don't have to deal with DFW traffic so was able to miss all that.
Blech, I hate winter driving especially in states that may only have 2-3 bad storms a season. My neck and shoulders are still achy from where I was so tense driving. You don't realize how much you tighten up until the day's over with.
Had to wait until this morning for my trailer at Laredo so didn't get the 5 mile tempo run done that was scheduled. Substituted hill repeats instead, 1.5 mile warmup, .5 mile cooldown, 5 repeats up the little hill, 1 big hill repeat for the remainder with a total of 3.25 miles. Wasn't what was planned but a hard workout nonetheless. I haven't found a suitable (read safe) place to run at in Laredo for anything over 3-4 miles. Because of the area I usually get up just after sunrise and get my run done before everybody starts showing up to work in the industrial park where our yard is.
Heavy fog tonight so I just shut down early, don't have to be home early for anything so no need to push it. Drive safe!
12 December 2008
New math
Blech, it's only been 1 week with the Clarksdale, MS pickup and I'm already frustrated with it. First off, by following the route plan sent via qualcomm it added just over a hundred miles but only pays for 25. Yep, a grand total of $30 (.40 cpm X 25 + $20 extra pickup pay) for the privilege of missing lunch and standing in a very stinky, smoky plant listening to a forklift driver grumbling about how stupid day shift is. So not worth it. The factory is what used to be an old cotton mill warehouse and has absolutely no ventilation so the fumes from where the plastic is being cut and molded is horrible. My eyes were burning and I was coughing and hacking for a couple of hours after getting out of there. Can't imagine how the production workers feel from being in there for a full shift.
I was sooo hungry after finally getting loaded and the only place available with truck parking had only deep-fried junk. Made myself even sicker by eating a corn-dog and 3 potato wedges. YUCK!!!!!!!!!! Actually I don't think I even chewed anything, pretty much inhaled it. They did have excellent coffee (either that or I was just too caffeine-deprived to know any better).
Prior to all that mess Monday I did get in an excellent 5 mile run at Pulaski and found out that my dog running buddy didn't get run over after all, YAY! She kept running up to me and lightly head butting my hand to get me to pet her, awww.
It was nice being able to talk to James on the c.b. instead of having to call him this week but it looks like we'll be back to our regular schedule this coming week. It would have been even nicer if I hadn't been pms'ing and cramping and cranky.
I had return racks Tuesday night but James didn't until after 10 a.m. Wed. so we were later than usual getting home today. Well, I was anyway--he's a day early :-). Didn't get the scheduled run in because it was WINDY in Texas yesterday. 20-40 mph winds depending on the area. Beaumont and Houston had snow accumulation today (as well as southern Louisiana and Mississippi)--how crazy is that? Did finish up week 3, day 3, level 1 on the pushup challenge. Didn't do very well, was still feeling "off" due to my period and an exhaust leak that seems to be making the truck rounds (James, Terry, and now mine--grrrr).
Tried to get in a 5 miler this afternoon but my body decided that it had been being way too good here lately and I had to turn back after 3/4 of a mile. I think my tummy was belatedly punishing me for inflicting the deep-fried crap on it Monday. Very frustrating because I thought I had everything planned out--5 mile run, then a quick snack, and meet at the l.b.s for the Thursday afternoon ride (the one I've been skipping out on because it's been too darn cold!). Well, got the cycling in anyway but it was a short jaunt on the mountain bike (9.9 miles) instead of 15-20 miles on the road bike (I was out-voted, both James and Gary R. wanted to ride the knobby-tired beasts instead of the sleek, FAST road bicycles).
I've been reading the awesome St. Jude marathon and 1/2 marathon race reports on the Cabot Cruisers forum and some of the blogs (still not caught up with everybody's yet) and it's making me cry. Ummm, I can blame it on hormones can't I? Can't let EVERYBODY know I'm so mushy, I've got a reputation to keep up here, LOL!
I was sooo hungry after finally getting loaded and the only place available with truck parking had only deep-fried junk. Made myself even sicker by eating a corn-dog and 3 potato wedges. YUCK!!!!!!!!!! Actually I don't think I even chewed anything, pretty much inhaled it. They did have excellent coffee (either that or I was just too caffeine-deprived to know any better).
Prior to all that mess Monday I did get in an excellent 5 mile run at Pulaski and found out that my dog running buddy didn't get run over after all, YAY! She kept running up to me and lightly head butting my hand to get me to pet her, awww.
It was nice being able to talk to James on the c.b. instead of having to call him this week but it looks like we'll be back to our regular schedule this coming week. It would have been even nicer if I hadn't been pms'ing and cramping and cranky.
I had return racks Tuesday night but James didn't until after 10 a.m. Wed. so we were later than usual getting home today. Well, I was anyway--he's a day early :-). Didn't get the scheduled run in because it was WINDY in Texas yesterday. 20-40 mph winds depending on the area. Beaumont and Houston had snow accumulation today (as well as southern Louisiana and Mississippi)--how crazy is that? Did finish up week 3, day 3, level 1 on the pushup challenge. Didn't do very well, was still feeling "off" due to my period and an exhaust leak that seems to be making the truck rounds (James, Terry, and now mine--grrrr).
Tried to get in a 5 miler this afternoon but my body decided that it had been being way too good here lately and I had to turn back after 3/4 of a mile. I think my tummy was belatedly punishing me for inflicting the deep-fried crap on it Monday. Very frustrating because I thought I had everything planned out--5 mile run, then a quick snack, and meet at the l.b.s for the Thursday afternoon ride (the one I've been skipping out on because it's been too darn cold!). Well, got the cycling in anyway but it was a short jaunt on the mountain bike (9.9 miles) instead of 15-20 miles on the road bike (I was out-voted, both James and Gary R. wanted to ride the knobby-tired beasts instead of the sleek, FAST road bicycles).
I've been reading the awesome St. Jude marathon and 1/2 marathon race reports on the Cabot Cruisers forum and some of the blogs (still not caught up with everybody's yet) and it's making me cry. Ummm, I can blame it on hormones can't I? Can't let EVERYBODY know I'm so mushy, I've got a reputation to keep up here, LOL!
07 December 2008
Treadmills are starting to sound appealing
I'm sure by now that everybody has figured out that I absolutely can't stand cold weather (and I'm a whiner about it) but this year I'm handling it even worse than usual. I feel chilled all the time and allergies just won't go away. Need to go find a good multi-vitamin, cause it may be due to iron deficiency. Yuck, just don't like taking pills. Do they make an adult's chewable? That might help.
Yesterday I was just tired and cranky (probably my period fixing to start) so skipped the 5k at Russellville and slept in. James and I finally raked the yard in the afternoon, it's amazing how much "cleaner" it looks now. We have a leaf-blower that also can work as a mulcher so we chopped all the leaves up and put them in the sort-of compost pile we have started. I'm trying to do my best to recycle as much as possible and cut down our wastefulness. Afterwards, I went in for a water break put my head on the table and ended up falling asleep like that. All I was thinking was just resting for a moment and next thing I know I'm being woke up by James using the leaf blower to clean off the carport where he's finishing up the yard.
James ran 3.45 miles Friday afternoon in his new running shoes. He started having leg pain all of a sudden after being able to run 3 miles twice and then had a week where he couldn't run a 1/4 mile. Kept telling him it was time to replace the shoes but he argued with me. Finally just had to go into Academy Sports with him and INSIST he buy new shoes. Guess what, he was able to run again with no pain. Men.
Ok, I need to think about getting dressed for an 8 mile run but it's 31 F (feels like 22 F) and I'm starting to dream of a treadmill run (I hate treadmills though!).
Yesterday I was just tired and cranky (probably my period fixing to start) so skipped the 5k at Russellville and slept in. James and I finally raked the yard in the afternoon, it's amazing how much "cleaner" it looks now. We have a leaf-blower that also can work as a mulcher so we chopped all the leaves up and put them in the sort-of compost pile we have started. I'm trying to do my best to recycle as much as possible and cut down our wastefulness. Afterwards, I went in for a water break put my head on the table and ended up falling asleep like that. All I was thinking was just resting for a moment and next thing I know I'm being woke up by James using the leaf blower to clean off the carport where he's finishing up the yard.
James ran 3.45 miles Friday afternoon in his new running shoes. He started having leg pain all of a sudden after being able to run 3 miles twice and then had a week where he couldn't run a 1/4 mile. Kept telling him it was time to replace the shoes but he argued with me. Finally just had to go into Academy Sports with him and INSIST he buy new shoes. Guess what, he was able to run again with no pain. Men.
Ok, I need to think about getting dressed for an 8 mile run but it's 31 F (feels like 22 F) and I'm starting to dream of a treadmill run (I hate treadmills though!).
05 December 2008
randomness
Brrr, it's cold in my house right now. I don't know how people stand it keeping their thermostats at 68 F. I'm at least a 75 F person.
If you're a female truck driver and want to get more than the usual amount of "whoo baby" comments, find a skinny back road. I decided to give Hwy 37 south out of Mt. Vernon a try on Tuesday for a change of scenery and I don't think I've ever gotten hollered at so much within a 45 minute period.
I wish I could tell customers "I don't know when I'll be there, just sometime in the afternoon" like the heat/air repairman told James this morning.
Why didn't I get a push forward from the wind when I turned north on my tempo run Wednesday? The wind was sure pushing me back when I was facing south.
Umm, why does the newest guard at Penske keep asking me EVERY week if I drive solo?
At some point when I run at Cotulla or Pearsall I'm going to trip over a rattlesnake. I just hope it will be as startled as I am and slithers the opposite direction while I'm screaming like a little girl.
I need to buy some cold weather running gear that fits--most everything from last year is too big. Baggy bottom tights are NOT attractive in the least and certainly not comfortable.
Why do I appear so chubby in the Spa 10k pics? I look at least 10 lbs heavier than I am. Guess part of it is the too big running gear. Plus I've decided white shirts are not the best look for me.
I guess the photographer at the BDB 100 decided that people coming in over 6 hours didn't deserve to have official finish line photos. However there are a couple of good pics of James crossing here. 8th row down, the 2 on the right.
Had an awesome run yesterday evening. Did the first 3+ miles with Elsie--we stopped at the creek so she could get a drink and she was having fun jumping up and down the embankment. Brought her back to the house (and the corresponding bag of dog poop, yuck!) and finished the rest solo in the dark(!) for a total of 5.16 miles. Felt fantastic--at least until I figured out the blower wasn't working on the central heat.
Speaking of dog poop, I wish people would pick up after their dogs. Yes, it's no fun carrying around bags of dog crap but come on, it's part of responsible dog ownership.
That brings me to another dog issue. I watched what was (I assume) a husband/wife (bf/gf, whatever) at Cotulla pull up beside a grassy area in their big truck, open up the passenger door, and put their dog (german shepherd mix) out with no leash to do it's business while they sat in the truck. Needless to say, they didn't clean up after their dog. Lazy jerks.
While I'm on a roll here. I'm very picky about the dog clean-up baggies I buy, lol! I prefer the BioBag Dog brand. They're biodegradable and can be hung up on a hook so all we have to do is pull one loose before heading out the door, Easy-Peasy. Oh yeah, they actually open up easily unlike the ones I bought from Wal-Mart last weekend.
Just found out that I bought the extended warranty when I purchased our heating/air unit a few years ago. Shouldn't be any charge for the repairs, YAY!!
Continental Express out of Little Rock was purchased by Celadon this week. Celadon immediately fired all Continental office personnel and let quite a few of the drivers go that didn't meet their standards. How the heck can you manage to not meet Celadon's standards? Last time I checked they pretty much just required a pulse. James' friend at Continental told James that his pay was cut immediately from .38 cpm to .34 cpm.
Because of running so late this week I decided to spend the night at Kerens instead of pushing on for Arkansas Wed. night. Counting me, there were a grand total of 2 trucks in the actual big truck parking area. By the time I walked out of Dollar General there were FIVE trucks parked in the Car parking area. It's a small lot so it's not like you're going to have to walk forever to get to the bathrooms. Way to go guys, definitely promoting the not so good image we have.
Have not started Christmas shopping at all. It's going to be a madhouse when I do start.
The Big Dam Bridge is not showing the duathlon on the calendar of events for 2009. Bummer, I was looking forward to it. I don't think it got the level of interest that the BDB 100 and Twilight 5k did but they didn't put as much effort into promoting it. It was also raining last year so not as many people showed up. Most people don't like cold and wet when it comes to cycling.
Good luck to all the Cabot Cruisers running the St. Jude's Marathon, 1/2 Marathon, and 5k tomorrow!!!!
If you're a female truck driver and want to get more than the usual amount of "whoo baby" comments, find a skinny back road. I decided to give Hwy 37 south out of Mt. Vernon a try on Tuesday for a change of scenery and I don't think I've ever gotten hollered at so much within a 45 minute period.
I wish I could tell customers "I don't know when I'll be there, just sometime in the afternoon" like the heat/air repairman told James this morning.
Why didn't I get a push forward from the wind when I turned north on my tempo run Wednesday? The wind was sure pushing me back when I was facing south.
Umm, why does the newest guard at Penske keep asking me EVERY week if I drive solo?
At some point when I run at Cotulla or Pearsall I'm going to trip over a rattlesnake. I just hope it will be as startled as I am and slithers the opposite direction while I'm screaming like a little girl.
I need to buy some cold weather running gear that fits--most everything from last year is too big. Baggy bottom tights are NOT attractive in the least and certainly not comfortable.
Why do I appear so chubby in the Spa 10k pics? I look at least 10 lbs heavier than I am. Guess part of it is the too big running gear. Plus I've decided white shirts are not the best look for me.
I guess the photographer at the BDB 100 decided that people coming in over 6 hours didn't deserve to have official finish line photos. However there are a couple of good pics of James crossing here. 8th row down, the 2 on the right.
Had an awesome run yesterday evening. Did the first 3+ miles with Elsie--we stopped at the creek so she could get a drink and she was having fun jumping up and down the embankment. Brought her back to the house (and the corresponding bag of dog poop, yuck!) and finished the rest solo in the dark(!) for a total of 5.16 miles. Felt fantastic--at least until I figured out the blower wasn't working on the central heat.
Speaking of dog poop, I wish people would pick up after their dogs. Yes, it's no fun carrying around bags of dog crap but come on, it's part of responsible dog ownership.
That brings me to another dog issue. I watched what was (I assume) a husband/wife (bf/gf, whatever) at Cotulla pull up beside a grassy area in their big truck, open up the passenger door, and put their dog (german shepherd mix) out with no leash to do it's business while they sat in the truck. Needless to say, they didn't clean up after their dog. Lazy jerks.
While I'm on a roll here. I'm very picky about the dog clean-up baggies I buy, lol! I prefer the BioBag Dog brand. They're biodegradable and can be hung up on a hook so all we have to do is pull one loose before heading out the door, Easy-Peasy. Oh yeah, they actually open up easily unlike the ones I bought from Wal-Mart last weekend.
Just found out that I bought the extended warranty when I purchased our heating/air unit a few years ago. Shouldn't be any charge for the repairs, YAY!!
Continental Express out of Little Rock was purchased by Celadon this week. Celadon immediately fired all Continental office personnel and let quite a few of the drivers go that didn't meet their standards. How the heck can you manage to not meet Celadon's standards? Last time I checked they pretty much just required a pulse. James' friend at Continental told James that his pay was cut immediately from .38 cpm to .34 cpm.
Because of running so late this week I decided to spend the night at Kerens instead of pushing on for Arkansas Wed. night. Counting me, there were a grand total of 2 trucks in the actual big truck parking area. By the time I walked out of Dollar General there were FIVE trucks parked in the Car parking area. It's a small lot so it's not like you're going to have to walk forever to get to the bathrooms. Way to go guys, definitely promoting the not so good image we have.
Have not started Christmas shopping at all. It's going to be a madhouse when I do start.
The Big Dam Bridge is not showing the duathlon on the calendar of events for 2009. Bummer, I was looking forward to it. I don't think it got the level of interest that the BDB 100 and Twilight 5k did but they didn't put as much effort into promoting it. It was also raining last year so not as many people showed up. Most people don't like cold and wet when it comes to cycling.
Good luck to all the Cabot Cruisers running the St. Jude's Marathon, 1/2 Marathon, and 5k tomorrow!!!!
Running behind
I didn't get loaded out of Pulaski until just after 5 p.m.--should have been out of there no later than 1500 but evidently the loads coming out got all screwed up. The good news is that we have our other loads back that Rich Logistics had for a month. The bad news is that I'm now going to be doing a logistics load a.k.a. a "milk run" with an extra pickup in Clarksdale, MS and less time to deliver it in. Blech......... It will mean a few more miles plus $20 for the extra pickup (yeah, not quite enough to make up for the hassle) but it's going to be a huge headache with how late our loads are getting out of TN. No more dawdling around home on Sundays until the very last minute, I'm going to have to get to Pulaski early enough to get a decent night's sleep. No more sleeping in on Mondays if I'm going to try to maintain a decent running schedule because Tuesday runs will no longer be possible. Guess I should be flattered that our dispatcher told James that he was moving us to the milk runs 'cause we're dependable but damn I'm not liking the idea of having to push harder. Yes, I usually deliver in Laredo 8-10 hours ahead of my scheduled time but it's nice having the built in cushion in case something goes awry (like Monday!). Now I'll have to be in Laredo by 2300 on Tuesdays, no ifs, ands, or buts (or blown tires, screwed up load times, or inclement weather).
I have a few interesting things that happened this week but since getting the news about the load and coming home to an almost dead heat pump, not quite in the mood to post about it. Hope getting the heat/air system repaired doesn't cost too much this weekend.
I have a few interesting things that happened this week but since getting the news about the load and coming home to an almost dead heat pump, not quite in the mood to post about it. Hope getting the heat/air system repaired doesn't cost too much this weekend.
01 December 2008
Ewww, snow flurries
Yeah, yeah, I know I'm being a baby but I'm not crazy about winter. I'm sitting here in the bunk of my truck watching the snow flurries come down every so often while waiting to be unloaded and reloaded at Pulaski. Current temp is 37 F so nothing is even coming close to sticking but according to weather.com it feels like 29 F, brrrr.
Had a decent run this morning, 4.3 miles which included 3/4's of the way up the water tower dirt road before I had to start to walk. It's almost straight up for just under a 1/2 mile so I'll know I've done something once I make it up without walking.
Yesterday's run with James kind of fizzled into a mostly walk, he was very disappointed after his previous 2 runs being so good, but I told him that's to be expected occasionally, esp. when you're first starting out. We still got in 4.44 miles altogether then I went out for 4 miles by myself up Country Club. That's when it started spitting snow out at me, yuck. Did have an unsettling experience while I was running on the sidewalk next to Harp's. An old lady driving towards me came to a complete stop staring at me. I don't know if she thought I was going to dart out in front of her or if she thought the sidewalk was part of the road. If it was the latter I don't feel very safe knowing she's out there driving if she can't see well enough to know the sidewalk from the road.
Finished up week 2, day 3 of the 100 pushup challenge yesterday afternoon, 5 sets--12, 13, 10, 10, 15 (total of 60). Tomorrow I need to do the exhaustion test to find out what level I need to do for week 3.
November's totals: 105.5 miles running, 75.3 miles cycling (16.7 miles of this was mountain biking). running total wasn't as good as last month, but I did have more cycling miles in November.
Oh, had a glimpse of sunshine for a moment now it's big fat snowflakes. Wish they'd hurry up, I'm ready to head for south Texas.
Had a decent run this morning, 4.3 miles which included 3/4's of the way up the water tower dirt road before I had to start to walk. It's almost straight up for just under a 1/2 mile so I'll know I've done something once I make it up without walking.
Yesterday's run with James kind of fizzled into a mostly walk, he was very disappointed after his previous 2 runs being so good, but I told him that's to be expected occasionally, esp. when you're first starting out. We still got in 4.44 miles altogether then I went out for 4 miles by myself up Country Club. That's when it started spitting snow out at me, yuck. Did have an unsettling experience while I was running on the sidewalk next to Harp's. An old lady driving towards me came to a complete stop staring at me. I don't know if she thought I was going to dart out in front of her or if she thought the sidewalk was part of the road. If it was the latter I don't feel very safe knowing she's out there driving if she can't see well enough to know the sidewalk from the road.
Finished up week 2, day 3 of the 100 pushup challenge yesterday afternoon, 5 sets--12, 13, 10, 10, 15 (total of 60). Tomorrow I need to do the exhaustion test to find out what level I need to do for week 3.
November's totals: 105.5 miles running, 75.3 miles cycling (16.7 miles of this was mountain biking). running total wasn't as good as last month, but I did have more cycling miles in November.
Oh, had a glimpse of sunshine for a moment now it's big fat snowflakes. Wish they'd hurry up, I'm ready to head for south Texas.
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