For a friend

A memorial of sorts

Desert Island shuffle pic

It's been a while since I've done a desert island pic so when my zune popped Goose up on shuffle mode I was kind of psyched because this is one of my favorite late night trucking, keep me awake bands........also kick ass for your running playlist

 "Black Gloves"
"Bring it On"
"Can't Stop Me Now"

Mudbaths are good for the skin I hear

I drive a 2008 International Prostar for work and the starters on these particular trucks have a tendency to fail quite regularly....the kicker of it is that you don't get the traditional "click-click" noise when the key is turned.....just nothing....kind of like the dead silence you get when someone says something mortifying that everyone else wishes they could scrub from their auditory canals.  Well I've been getting those episodes occasionally this month so when I had the fuel leak issue I also wrote up the starter....which night shift supposedly tested...and I assumed it had been replaced.  Yep, mistake number 1 on my part.

Second mistake? That would be shutting my truck off at the dunnage dock which just so happen to sit downslope from a very muddy area and water puddles up in small ponds all around the cab of your truck.

Yep, turn the key, let it cycle through the cacophony of warning buzzers.....and nada..I'm cringing because I don't want to get out and lay in this

in order to beat on the starter... to reach it you have to lay on your back just behind the driver's side steer tire, kinda fold up the mudflap and scoot under the fender and springs to reach the thing.  Whoever came up with that design should be drawn and quartered, just my personal opinion anyway.

So hair is tucked up into a ponytail bun to try and keep it out of the way, work jacket on (why don't I own coveralls???), and with a huge sigh of trepidation I scoot my way under Lola's chassis to hammer on the starter....once, twice...no results. After the second time, Scotty the forklift driver meanders out to find out what I'm doing.

Explain the situation then crawl under there again.  Attempts 3, 4, and 5 and still that maddening silence.  Each time I'm getting more and more soaked and dirty and Scotty is looking more horrified everytime I scoot back out.

The fifth attempt also came with a bash to my right eyebrow, after a quick glimpse in the mirror to make sure I wasn't going to bleed all over everything I discovered the grease and mud down the left side of my face.  Yup, I love my job :D.

Thus began the process of trying to get in touch with our road rescue dept...yeah I was going under that truck with the iPhone pressed to my ear praying I didn't drop it.....RR by the way wanted me to continue with what I was doing (of course) but with someone turning the key simultaneously. I enlisted Scotty to sit in my truck and be in charge of that while I hammered on that recalcitrant starter several more times. FINALLY it caught!!! Geez, I wouldn't mind a mudbath but I really prefer a spa setting, lol.

Have your cake and run!!!!!!!

Brooks Run Happy

I very much needed this weekend off, got a great deal of unpacking done but seem to have spent too much again on needed "things" but still seem to have not gotten everything I would like.  However I have managed to catch up with a few friends while getting my run on :-).  Friday with 2 of my best girls in Little Rock/N. Little Rock for a nice easy 5 miler which included lots of great chat and some navigating the ice over the Broadway Bridge.  Saturday was just over 11 miles with 7 other friends on a hilly, icy route then meeting up with breakfast with even more of the Cruiser family afterward.

Yesterday I even managed to bake a cake completely from scratch even without having all the proper tools......unfortunately I ended up getting in a rush and the results were less than spectacular visually.  Tastewise it was the overly sweet concoction that it was meant to be.  The outer part was just confectioners sugar, finely ground almonds, lemon juice and almond extract dusted with granular sugar. Yeah, sugar overload.........next time off I will try a different recipe for the cake and hopefully I will have all the proper utensils.

The very ugly end result of my baking experiment, don't laugh too loudly please, lol!!!!!!!!!!

And here it is Monday already.......where ever did the time go?  It's chilly (35f/1.9c), overcast, drizzly, just the kind of day I LOVE to run--huge grin--No seriously, this is perfect running weather.  Headed out for what was supposed to be an easy 5 miler at a 9:54 pace to test out my new racing flats from Brooks Running, the women's Green Silence (go read about 'em, very cool shoes!).

Well, my first mile was 9:01 and felt comfy, aided by some great music......right up until 1.27 miles and my mp3 player's battery died......who knew you had to charge them occasionally, lol.  No worries, I was feeling good, loving my new shoes, loving the slight drizzle, loving the RUN.  Miles 2-5  8:58/8:43/8:31/7:59.  Now that's a progression workout but not the 9:54 pace I was supposed to do, oopsy :D. 

This is approximately 30 seconds slower than my 5 miler near the end of December at Italy, TX but today felt tons easier, I may actually be starting to regain some speed and endurance again, yay!! The shoes were awesome but as of right now I think my maximum distance in them will be 10k, gotta say that my feet did feel better than they usually do after a run so there's definitely something about the minimalist cushioning, less is more when it comes to trainers.  My only complaint is that they are only available in black and I'm not so much a fan of black running shoes, the guys version is a fantastically loud red and yellow combo.

Time is not on my side

I'm so going to quit promising blog posts, they're just not happening due to a lack of time.......and that's really quite frustrating because I do have a few topics bumping around in the hollow spaces of my brain that I'd like to get down before I completely forget them.

So what's up in the world of Gabby? Well, thank you for asking :-).  I've now moved, much closer to work and my running friends, although further away from my cycling friends.  Busy with work, missing my 3 day weekends that I had for the previous 4 years but I have things to do and I did volunteer so not complaining *much*.  It is nice living much closer because I can drive home on my way down to Laredo to grab a shower and check my mail.....Hey, boring stuff but it is the little things that make life bearable.......and this brings me to why I'm actually getting to write a post today.  After fueling at the purgatory that is the North Little Rock Pilot, I parked at the terminal, raced home for my shower, and upon arriving back to the yard, noticed a very overwhelming diesel smell the moment I got out of my pickup.

Thinking nothing of that, I walk around to the driver's door and am confronted with a huge puddle of diesel on the ground, yeah, not good.  Quick look underneath and there was a steady drip, drip, drip of diesel....I'm guessing one of the straps had rubbed a hole into the bottom of the tank but since it was night and I had no desire to lay in the diesel to determine exactly where it was coming from I just unhooked from the trailer and drove over to the shop bays only to have to deal with some moron of a driver who kept interrupting me while I was trying to find out who, what, when, where, why from the lead mechanic on getting repairs done.  Y'know all the stuff the dispatcher asks when you call in to tell him you can't deliver the load......

And this brings me to this morning.....laying on my sleeping bag aka bed, writing this post.  I am frustrated that I'm missing out on 1,424 miles worth of pay but so incredibly thankful that I found this while parked at my home terminal......The EPA and DOT fines alone would have more than wiped out any wages I would have earned not to mention being stuck out on the road getting repairs......oh and let's not forget the safety aspect of it........least of my worries would have been running out of fuel......yeah, there's a whole lot more that could have happened.

Ok, gotta get out of bed. Have a lot of unpacking to do still and I NEED to get out and run at least a little, all this ice has had me out of the trainers for the past 2 days, I'm 16 miles in deficit this week and I kind of have an international 1/2 marathon end of February that I've maxed out my credit card for so training is a bit important, lol.  Plus I NEED to go buy a washer and dryer that I actually have cash money for thanks to a very generous Christmas gift from my dad (still feel odd about accepting that but a very loving lecture from my sis kinda put the brakes on refusing it).  It is much appreciated though.

2010 Races & Events completed

11/20 Spa 10k, Hot Springs, AR 54:52

10/10 Arky 100, Sheridan, AR 

10/2 Bluff City Blues 100, Memphis, TN

9/25 Big Dam Bridge 100, Little Rock, AR

9/5 Tupelo 14.2 Miler, Tupelo, MS 2:12:56

8/28 Hotter'N Hell Hundred, Wichita Falls, TX

8/27 Too Hot to Trot 5k, Dallas, TX

7/11 Riverside Duathlon, Little Rock, AR

6/26 Tour de Oink (40 Mile), Morrilton, AR

6/26 Pigout 5k, Morrilton, AR 24:24

6/12 Tour de Rock (62 mile option), Little Rock, AR

5/31 Du for the Parks Duathlon, Hot Springs, AR

5/29 Rock Run 8k, Little Rock, AR 41:13

5/15 Paws on the Pavement 5k, Little Rock, AR 23:47

5/1 Tour de Toad (46 miles), Conway, AR

5/1 Toad Suck 10k, Conway, AR 51:06

4/25 Iron Mountain Duathlon, Lake DeGray, AR

4/24 Spring Fling 5k, Cabot, AR 24:04

4/11 Hogeye 1/2 Marathon Fayetteville, AR 2:04:43

4/3 Capitol City Classic 10k Little Rock, AR 53:22.40

3/20 65 Roses Tour (30 mile route), Searcy, AR

3/13 Chase Race 2 Mile & 1 Mile Pet Race, Conway, AR 15:20.37, 8:00