I've started blogging again and moved...

So a lot has happened since I last posted (six months ago). But the good news is that I've started tentatively blogging again - at least tentatively. I've moved my site over to http://www.runsjrun.com, primarily because I'm not longer DCTriGirl. Reason 1 being I haven't done a triathlon in over a year and concentrate on running, and reason 2 being that I don't live in D.C. anymore.

If you still check this site with any regularity, I encourage you to check out the new site! It's kind of bare right now, but hopefully it'll get beefed up soon.

The Bean

The Bean
Originally uploaded by ElrRigby

Just got my new Canon Digital Rebel XTi (combo b-day present to myself and from various family members).

I perused around Millennium Park to try it out and this is one of my favorites that I took. Mostly because - surprisingly - there was no one else in the shot. For more on my time in the Park, you can find it here.

Top Twelve Running Songs

As I was driving to the track this morning for a speed workout (yes... I too see the irony of driving to exercise - a conundrum I've always struggled with), U2's Where A Street Has No Name came on the Sirius - easily one of the top 10 running songs of all time.

As I don't blog much anymore, I want each post to be worth it's salt. Therefore, I present to you - you guessed it - DCTriGirl's Top 12 Running Songs of All Time (it was supposed to be 10, but I counted wrong). These are songs that are always on my Shuffle and never get skipped over. Some are cliche running songs, others are head scratchers. I could go into the details of what makes a good running song (not necessarily fast tempo, but consistent rhythm and motivation), but instead, I'll just get right to the point:

12. Please Forgive Me (David Gray)
As you may recall, David Gray is a sorta-one-hit wonder with that song Babylon. Here's his second single. With interesting synthesizer like sounds and a fake-out ending that fades in with a groovy instrumental, it breaks into the top 10.

11. Eye of the Tiger (Survivor)
Well duh. Rocky listens to this when he runs, so obviously we have to as well. Whenever this song comes on, I break out into a shuffle and start punching the air. People are confused...

10. Crazy (Gnarles Barkley)
This is the perfect mid-run song. Up-tempo, yet relatively mellow, it is the exact song you want to come on when you've traveled some distance, yet need the motivation to keep on going.

9. Running on Empty (Jackson Browne)
Okay, so we're at the first song with "running" in the title. I'm not a Jackson Browne fan, and this is the only song of his I really know. But when you're on the last mile or two of a run and this song comes on, it pretty much reflects exactly how you're feeling, as memorialized during Forrest Gump's super long run.

8. The Boys of Summer (Don Henley)
There is something bittersweet about the end of summer. On the one hand, bearable temperature and crisp-smelling air come to pass. But on the other, warm temps and carefree mindsets disappear. This song is for the first run when the leaves start to change.

7. Fool in the Rain (Led Zeppelin)
The first of two rain-focused songs on the list. Who hasn't seen that fool in the rain running joyfully? For many runners, it's the only time they enjoy being in the rain.

6. Solsbury Hill (Peter Gabriel)
Who doesn't want to see the lights when they climb up on Solsbury Hill? Another good middle of the run, calming song, which is obviously perfect for climbing that arduous hill.

5. Running Down a Dream (Tom Petty)
The second song with "running" in the title. In a contrast to the first one, this is best for the beginning of a run, where you're stupid enough to believe that you can actually run down your dreams, that you aren't going to have to work hard, and that the finish line is attainable.

4. Purple Rain (Prince)
The second rain-centric song and also the slowest tempo on the list, this marathon song doesn't have to be played in the rain to be enjoyable. In fact, it's on the list because it's length, to me, represents a run's ups and downs.

3. Breathe Me (Sia)
Probably a lesser known song, but some may recognize from the season finale of Six Feet Under. This song takes you on a journey, a difficult one. I chose it because the piano in the background reminds me of the rhythm of running strides.

2. Where the Streets Have No Name (U2)
Another cliche for sure, but the aforementioned tune that inspired this post deserves it. Who doesn't get jazzed with energy when the opening guitar picks begin. You run faster and faster as the intro ascends. And when the song fades down, you know you've accomplished something.

And my number one (and extremely anti-climactic) running song is....

1. Ghostwriter (RJD2)
Introduced to me by a dear friend in a past life, this instrumental song with minimal humming and gospel-infused vocals, will never leave my Shuffle. Simply put, it captures the rhythm of running and spirit of running (endurance running at least). It is welcomed at the beginning of the run, when you know you have a long road ahead of you; the middle of the run, when you need that melody to make you smile and climb that hill; and the end, when you can look behind you, shrug your shoulders and say "That was nuthin'." If you've never heard of it, here's a version on YouTube. Don't download the remix from iTunes (this one isn't on it unfortunately), it ain't the right one. Please resort to unspeakable methods to acquire it.

And there it is... Some may agree, some may scratch their heads. Either way, I dig 'em, and you should too. Stay tuned for the next installment, where we cover the top 10 (or 12) Cool Down songs.

It's Complicated... Week 1

No, not my life, thank God. But Denise Richards' is.

Luckily, I've picked out a life partner that has the same taste in awful reality television. Because last night, we plopped down in front of the TV to watch the premiere of "Denise Richards: It's Complicated."

Believe it or not, it really isn't. The premise of this particular episode was that she caught her two pigs doing the nasty and wanted to find out if the chick pig was pregnant (I guess it would be more disturbing if she wanted to find out if the boar was preggers). Anyway, it was a false alarm and the chick wasn't knocked up.

Not to worry though, as Denise took some friends and went to the pig farm to select a "stud" to make some piglets. The stud she found was about half the size of his new lady friend, and hilarious images of him mounting her ensue.

Now onto the sub-plots involving the humans of the show. Denise is being set up with a "normal" guy - and by normal, I mean average Joe for the world. Denise was lamenting about how her version of normal are actors or musicians who are "passionate in bed." Yes, those are her words. I can understand why she thinks that only actors and musicians can please such an insatiable "Wild Thing," but I really think you can find what you are looking for in an actual "normal" dude.

To prep for this date, she had her personal tanning specialist come and spray her with goo. Seriously, how can I get that job? You know she makes bank and all she has to do is drive around and spray paint brown stuff on people. No marketable skills necessary.

On the way to the blind date, the she was complaining to the friend that set her up how she'd rather be home changing Bob's poopy diaper, than going on this date (all evidence to the contrary love, you had your tanning specialist come over). And for the record, Bob isn't one of the children that are so controversially involved in the show. Bob is the new pig. She's rather spend time with her poopy new pig, over making out with some normal dude and maybe even reading her kids a story.

The episode ended with an emotional barbeque for dear ol' Dad, who came to live with Denise after her mom died. That was pretty sad, I feel for her, certainly. Maybe, though, just maybe, she wouldn't have to pimp her kids and herself out in a reality show if she just cut a little corners and ditch the tanning specialist, or even the mobile vet guy who came to check in on the little pigs.

On second thought, it's actually okay that she is ho-ing her family out. Because next week we get to watch her cover up her "Charlie" tattoo. It's soooo complicated.

The Chicago Marathon is as stupid as I am...

I just got this e-mail from the Chicago Marathon.

Subject Line: Correction

The e-newsletter that was distributed yesterday contained an error in stating that the Bank of America Chicago Marathon is six months away. Please note that the race is actually five months away and will be held on October 12, 2008. We apologize for the error.

Good to know that I blogged about this very fact last night and didn't notice any fuzzy math either.

Good to know that I'm even more screwed than I thought last night.

Good to know that these are the people who are responsible for seeing to it that I don't die on the race course.

Six Month Mark

So apparently I'm running a marathon in six months - from today. The only reason I know this is because I got an e-mail from the race alerting me to the fact. This should be interesting.

Seeing as I completely gave up on this triathlon season before it even started, you can see why I'm skeptical about this endeavor. I bailed on both the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler and Shamrock Half Marathon (partially due to reasons beyond my control - like death and taxes). My doubts also stem from the fact that I haven't run anything longer than 4.5 miles since the beginning of February - when I ran 10, 16 miles less than what I have to do on October 12.

The knee has been feeling a little better, which is nice, as I have to be able to run 26.2 freakin' miles on it. Yoga might be helping it to, as is sitting on my ass, as is the new drinking habit I've seemed to have taken up recently.

Not going to lie, I was pretty pissed at myself for withdrawing from those races. I don't like failing. I guess if your body is telling you to stop or take it easy, that's what you should do. However, I'm of the mind that mentally you should be able to fix anything. No wonder I burned myself out.

Six months is a long time away, but close enough for me to start thinking I need to shape up. Going through the 10 miler and the triathlon, I'm hoping that self doubt won't plague me for this one.

I think it's been a nice break over the last few months. I haven't been working out 12 hours a week and nothing really happened. I didn't gain 20 pounds or become a blob. And while my deltoid muscles and abs might not be as clearly defined, I have played a decent amount of Rock Band, hung out with my dude, and did a lot of girly things with Lea.

Pretty soon, I'll become boring again. Saturday night excitement will be replaced with Sunday morning solitude in Rock Creek Park. And that's okay. That's probably where I belong anyway.

Welcome Back Sara...

...those were the first words the yoga instructor said at the conclusion of the Bikram Yoga class I took last night in Tenleytown, and then promptly requested the class give me a round of applause.

Needless to say, this is not the kind of attention I thrive on. And it wasn't really my first class "back." But it did give me a sense of accomplishment.

I ventured to my old stomping grounds in Tenleytown - the studio I began practicing yoga at as a baby junior in college, five years ago. Since then, my frequency of practice has gone up and down like the stock market - at times as much as three times a week consistently for six months, and recently, a break of almost a year.

This yoga is not for the faint or weak of heart. It's 26 postures, each completed twice, two breathing exercises. The class is around 90 minutes and done in a room heated to 105 degrees and some absurd amount of humidity. A time commitment to be sure.

As I began to concentrate more on the running and triathlon stuff, something had to give, and it was yoga. Since this was the first yoga I practiced, any other class that didn't involve heat, sweat, and was too meditative wasn't for me.

My real first class back was when I was in Chicago in March. It was cold, there was no gym, so yoga was the way to go. I remembered the postures like they were ingrained in me, although I couldn't touch my toes.

My second class back was last Sunday and again I couldn't touch my toes. I was waddling around the next day because my hamstrings did things they were just not ready to yet.

This brings us to last night, my third class back, but the first time since I graduated college at the studio that groomed me. Of course the instructor perceived this to be my first time in yoga since then and instructed me to take it easy. Instructions that I know no meaning of.

The room was hotter than I remembered, but after the first four postures I settled into it. Hamstrings still tight, hip flexors still immobile, but I know I'll get there.

This form of yoga is active, no "om-ing" or "ah-ing," things I do not dig, but it's the only place I can truly turn my brain off - partly because the instructor gives me permission to do so and gently asks me if I'm remembering to breathe.

As I left the studio and walked down that familiar alley, I remembered back when I started. When I wasn't stressed about leaving yoga at 9 p.m. because my first class didn't start until 11 a.m. the next morning. When I wasn't rushing out of the office because I didn't want to miss the 10 minutes I had alone in my head before the class began.

Things are different now, I suppose. Pats on the back are rare and disengaging a luxury. It was nice to be recognized for such a small, simple contribution.

The Curse of the Skirt

I try to avoid being overtly feminine at any time. These set of behaviors I try to avoid include:

• Getting emotional in public and/or in front of people whose middle name I don't know
• Discussing shoes as small talk with people who I have no vested interest in what shoes they are wearing
• Spending an hour doing my hair
  
• Wearing skirts

I realize that most of these are stereotypical behaviors of women, many of which I do embrace in my private life (such as watching Sex and the City and crying every time I see Juno). Unlike the Washington Post op-ed, which got so much heat recently, I don't see these behaviors as making us dumb or unequal, but are just behaviors that I am not interested in.

Except for today, when all my pants are in need of some major Dryel-ing. I'm wearing a skirt. With flowers... My hair is half-up, half-down. I look like a chick. It's awkward and kicking me in the ass to do some laundry tonight.

That is the only circumstance I will really willingly put a skirt on, laundry day. I even mulled over the appropriateness of getting a crisp, white pantsuit for my wedding (I still haven't ruled it out). At my company holiday party where mini-dresses were about, I chose white dress pants (after two years of red dress pants) and some sort of shiny top. It just ain't my thing.

Maybe it's part of the whole body issue thing. Or maybe I just feel half naked when I wear a skirt and the whole vent on the street thing terrifies me. Either way, I'm wearing something today that goes above the knee that isn't a pair of running shorts, has flowers on it, and makes me definitely look like a girly girl.

Then again, committing a whole post to my outfit today, probably indicates that I'm a girly girl regardless of what the bottom half of my outfit consists of.

Congrats American Families!!!

For getting an oversized check addressed specifically for you.

(Susan Walsh / AP)

Seriously, what a great name - American Families. Doesn't Congress realize how ridiculous this picture is? Oh, right... they don't... not surprising. Gotta love that Nancy.

I have neat friends

Lacking anything exciting to report in my own life. My friend and bridesmaid-to-be Lea went to the White House Correspondents Dinner on Saturday night, while I was stuck in traffic around that time on Florida Avenue. I think this firmly represents our actual roles in life.

Anyway, of course, being the white house correspondent from her blog, she naturally was invited to attend the dinner. It's kind of ironic though, as she really doesn't involve herself in the mainstream political landscape whatsoever. But who knows, I don't make the decisions around here.

Read all about it here. I assure you that she has sealed her place to be invited back next year - when the Democrats are in power. Hmmm, probably not.