My contribution to the Malibu marathon ...

... is hosting a sleepover tonight with the kids of some friends who are running it.

I was actually rather ticked because when the race was first announced the organizers made a big deal about how there would be no half marathon.

I figured out this week that there actually is a half as well, which must've been added when they didn't get as many entrants as they expected. I could've run a half with no trouble. But that's OK.

Some results of the smile study

A few months ago, I wrote about this thing I was doing, where I smile at people, primarily service employees.

It has been quite a success. It hasn't gotten me in any trouble with men, as it did occasionally when I was heavier and apparently appeared desperate, at least more desperate than I appear now. It has made a huge difference with the women I come across.

Except for one.

At the dentist, there is this twentysomething receptionist, who, no matter how nice I was to her, gave me nothing but attitude. I see her All The Time, since each of the kids and Paul and I go twice a year. I noticed she was really sweet to Paul and chatted with other people. But I got nothing but the Icicle Treatment.

So, yesterday, I brought out the heavy artillery. I had to buy a sweetened coffee drink for one of my little jobs, which I couldn't drink, so I gave it to her.

Score!

I have a new best friend.

Seriously, though, the results of the Smile Test have been interesting. Going out of my way to be nice to clerks has been a) easy and b) very pleasant. I always said a polite "thank you," but now, with the genuine smile and eye contact, it really enhances my little errands. It's pretty surprising to clerks to have people engage them, which makes it all the more fun for me.

The Slim-Fast bar experiment

At the 99 Cents Only store, they had Strawberry Cheesecake Slim-Fast meal replacement bars.

Those are just the kind of thing I might've tried to use to lose weight (futilely!) when feeling desperate in the past.

Of course, I can't and don't want to eat them now.

I bought a box anyway. I wanted to see what the kids would think. They seemed more substantial than granola bars, and I thought they might work for particularly famished times at the park.

They got all excited when they saw them. They begged to have them for breakfast yesterday. I had planned on keeping them in a stash for when we're out and about, but I relented.

What a mistake. Not just to relent, but to think about giving them to the kids at all. Of course, they did learn something.

Everyone was hungry and irritated just a couple of hours later, and the kids said they didn't taste all that good in the first place.

Of course not.

Long term: It was nice to show my kids, who are so in tune with their bodies, the effects of such garbage. Short term: We had a tense late morning because of those bars.

A place called vertigo

My dizziness is back, to a certain extent.

I didn't run Wednesday because of it, but I got 45 minutes in today. It's irritating that when I get my mileage up over about 25 miles a week, it seems to return.

The miracle of Italian (or English) design

This morning, I did my first run with a new chest-compression system. I bought it on Friday and then decided that it would be a singularly bad idea to try a piece of crucial new equipment before Saturday's run.

I got it at the specialty shop, after much arguing with the saleswoman about my size and the fact that -- yes -- I wanted it to fit tightly. She kept on telling me that I couldn't be that size. I told her she had fitted me the last time, and I have a good idea as to my size. Then, she kept saying that it wasn't good to wear it so tight, not getting that it really hurts otherwise. I don't understand people who want to argue with me about that. Particularly at a lingerie shop with a wide size range.

Anyway, it's a Panache brand, made in Italy, although it's a British company. It's a great company.

The run itself: I'm still a bit sore from Saturday, so I only did a very slow half hour while my kids were on a field trip. The new system worked great. I'm very happy to lose a layer, which will help me stay cooler.

Manifesting a cashmere sweater

I've been thinking a lot about cashmere sweaters recently. Partially because of all the marketing going on (the big lead up until Christmas) and partially because I gave mine away because it was too big to wear anymore, I've been looking at them. Do I need one? Of course not. It's one of those pure want things.

One of the weird things about living in an apartment is seeing people throwing away all kinds of perfectly good things. Like beds. Or toys. A lot of us are aware of the silliness of it, so instead of putting things in the garbage, we'll leave things out near the trash area so other people can take them.

Today, though, I was passing by the trash can near our elevator, and something caught my eye. Right on top was some fabric that looked knit and black. I thought it might've been a towel or a scarf. I picked it up.

It was a cashmere sweater, from a decent store.

In my size.

(Why would someone throw something like that away?)

If I believed in "The Secret" kind of garbage, I would think that it came into my hands from the power of my thoughts. Since I don't, it's just a lucky coincidence.

Today's workout: Bands and calisthenics/floor work.

Hungry

Gosh, I was hungry today.

Sundays can be tough in general because I take Communion (with wheat) in the morning.

The family usually loves it if I go grocery shopping on Sunday because then I bring them all sorts of things that I wouldn't normally buy. Today they got fancy blood orange soda (on clearance) and french bread right out of the oven.

But this Sunday was undoubtedly tougher because of the long run yesterday.