(Not) The Prettiest Run in Tahoe

Usually when I run, I like to run on trails or at least do a loop or two around my decidedly un-busy neighborhood. I hate running on the terribly uneven sidewalk next to a busy road, breathing in exhaust fumes from the hundreds of Escalades and Hummers that invade our town every weekend. But yesterday, I needed to pick up my roommate's car from the casino parking lot where she had parked to catch the airport shuttle at the ungodly hour of 3:30 am. I also needed to go for a run.

I decided to kill two birds with one stone and run/walk the 3 miles to the casino and pick up her car. This is not the prettiest run in Tahoe.

Actually, it didn't start out too bad:

It was kind of hazy out, but still pretty.

But I quickly came to the less scenic, more exhaust heavy part of the run.

I'm still getting used to my Saucony Kinvaras (and, let's face it, I haven't been running that much), so I decided to slow to a walk after about 2.25 miles, and walk the rest of the way.

Casino signs up ahead! I'm getting closer.

I made it to the MontBleu! I considered going in and having a 99 cent margarita, but the thought of breathing in smoke kind of made me want to barf.

Now, I just had to find Allison's car. I am not the world's most observant person, and, despite seeing it in our driveway every day, I couldn't quite remember if her Subaru Outback was green or blue.

I wandered up and down the rows of the parking lot looking. Luckily, this is not the PNW, where every third car is an Outback, and I found Allison's after only a few minutes of wandering. For the record, it's green. I'm 75% sure.

I'm enjoying my bright new shoes, and, while I'm not sure if it's due to the new shoes, or running on cement instead of trails, my legs definitely felt sore in a different sort of way.

After reading some very strong recommendations, I'm also experimenting with running while listening to an audiobook instead of music. So far, I'm really liking it. I'm listening to the audiobook of World War Z, which I've already read and loved. The audiobook version is amazing! (My dad told me it won some super prestigious audiobook award, and he is the king of audiobooks, so I'm sure he knows what he's talking about.) I would highly recommend it for running. What's more inspirational for running than thinking about hordes of zombies chasing after you?

Three Things Thursday

1) I work in development (fundraising, outreach & events) at a non-profit, and today is the close of our fiscal year. Also, we're planning a big conference that will take place in mid-August. To say the last couple weeks have been busy and stressful have been an understatement. The couple of weeks won't be much better, as the close of the fiscal year means the start of audit prep and doing data analysis for the Annual Report. Luckily I love data analysis! Here is what my desk looks like right now:

What can I say? I like to be hydrated.

2) I was finally going to stick around Lake Taco for an infamous holiday weekend, but I decided that I'm going to drive down to Santa Barbara instead. I'm super excited to listen to the audio version of World War Z on the drive! Does anyone else have any recommendations for good audio books?

3) As you might recall, I drunkenly signed up for a triathlon earlier this month. I had forgotten that, in the memo field, I had written something like "I'm drunk and signing up for a triathlon! Woo!" Or, had forgotten until I got something in the mail from Iron Girl. I got a race belt and a lovely hand written note:

Training for the upcoming Iron Girl triathlon is going pretty well. Katie is out of town this week, so it was difficult (ie impossible) to get out bed yesterday at 6 am for the swim. So, instead, I went after work. When I arrived at about 5:15, the desk attendant informed me that there was swim team practice until 6:30. My original plan had been to swim right after work, and then head to the gym to spin. But I asked myself, "Self, what are you more likely to do this weekend in Santa Barbara? Go for a run, or go for a bike ride?" Answer: definitely, bike ride. So I drove into Nevada, where I'd seen people trail running while out on my bike. I did a quick car change (good thing I almost always wear a sports bra to work!) and headed out on the trail. I got in a good 30 minute run, and then made it to the pool for a thirty minute swim. While I was swimming, a pine cone from one of the overhead trees fell into my lane and nearly hit me in the head. That certainly never happened in Santa Barbara!

Tahoe is a weird town

Tahoe is a strange and wonderful place. A mix of beautiful nature and horribly planned developments and strip malls. New luxury homes and old log cabins. Super modern resorts and creepy abandoned carnivals.

"What?" you say. "Creepy abandoned carnivals?"

Yep:

Doesn't this look like it should be in a horror movie? Starring a clown zombies or something?

But just past the creepy abandoned carnival is this gorgeous view:

Oh, Tahoe. You are odd, but I love it here.

Three Things Thursday - Zombie Edition

I can't believe it's been a week since I posted! Time flies when you're having fun.

1. I have been house sitting for a girl that I work with while she is in China. The best part of house sitting is this:

This is Lassen, swimming in the barely-above-freezing Lake Taco. Don't worry. He loves it.

Lassen loves the water!

2. It was my 27th birthday on Tuesday! That meant beer, cake, and more beer.

Terrible picture, delicious cake.

3. No internet + awesome bookshelf = a ton of reading. I went on a reading binge this weekend and read 4 books in three days. It was amazing.

• World War Z by Max Brooks: If you like post-apocalyptic fiction, zombies, and being scared, or preparing for the coming Zombie Apocalypse, you'll like this book. Note: do not read late at night the first night you spend all alone in a strange house in the middle of the woods.
• Between a Rock and a Hard Place by Aron Ralston: This is a great instruction manual for chopping off your own hand. Possibly a useful skill in the coming Zombie Apocalypse.
• Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris: The first book in the series that True Blood is based on. Enjoyable, smutty vampire romance. Useful if it's a Vampire Apocalypse instead of a Zombie Apocalypse.
• The Lost City of Z by David Grann: The Victorian Era- when men were men, women didn't have any fun, and everybody was really, really racist. Famed explorer/scientist/boat builder/gentleman Percy Fawcett disappears searching the Amazon jungle for the Lost City of Z. Made me realize I'd rather brave the Zombie Apocalypse than get lost in the Amazon Jungle.

Anyone else read any good books lately? Anybody else have a plan in mind for the Zombie Apocalypse?

I'm back!

The 6th Annual Wild & Scenic Environmental Film Festival was a huge success!

The new venue was awesome, with great sound, a huge screen and a swanky atmosphere. We almost doubled the number of attendees from previous years, and we more than doubled the income from last year's raffle with the silent auction this year.

People seemed to really enjoy the films, and even at ticket sales, the most bottle-necked area, people were smiling and talking and having a good time.

I deem it a success!

Between the Film Fest on Friday, snowboarding two days this weekend, and daylight savings time, I was quite the zombie on Monday. Spending the entire day processing money from the Film Festival didn't exactly help.

I slept about ten hours last night, and I could have definitely kept sleeping this morning, but I am slowly returning to the land of the living.

I don't know why I made the decision to have a non-caffeinated beverage this morning, but that was dumb. So I am going to wander off to find some coffee before I fall asleep on this stack of thank you cards.

My bum hurts

Hi everyone! I hope you all had a great weekend.

In my quest to enjoy winter sports, I went snow boarding for the first time ever.

While I wish I could say that I looked like this:

In actuality, I looked much more like this:

My first trip down the hill, I fell literally every 3 to 5 feet. I was convinced that I would never, ever figure it out, and I was just somehow physically unable to snowboard. I worked harder that first time down the hill than the whole day skiing last week. Getting up on a slope with your feet strapped to a slippery piece of wood is really hard work. Finally, about 90% of the way down, there was a light at the end of the tunnel. My body, mind and snowboard finally started communicating with each other. I made it at least 25 feet before I fell down. Miraculous!

After I made it down, I needed a break, so I hung out in the sun while my better snowboarding companions did a couple more runs. I must not have put on enough sunscreen, because I definitely have some raccoon eyes/hot dog nose right now. My next few runs, my body really started to figure out what it was supposed to do. Snowboarding is actually fun when you are not falling every few feet!

I ended up having a great time, and feeling pretty confident on my board. Honestly, by the end of the day, I felt more comfortable on the snowboard than I ever have on skis, despite having skied several times.

I also had quite a few delicious beers and large glasses of wine this weekend, and between that and the numerous butt bruises I collected snowboarding, I spent Sunday sitting on the couch watching movies and planning for the zombie apocalypse.

How was your weekend? What skill would you bring to your rag tag group of survivors in the zombie apocalypse?