my first race plus ode to ikea

today i ran in my very first road race! it was a 5k and half marathon in golden gate park...my out-of-shape booty ran the 5k, obviously. ;) the course was mostly flat and i finished in 34 minutes, for a pace of just under 11 minutes per mile. when i go running/jogging for pure exercise, my pace is usually in the 12-13 minute range, so it's nice to know that adrenalin really does give you a boost, eh? i want to run in another race soon! i was in awe of the half-marathoners though, who lapped me towards the end of the race. we all started together then they split, but later rejoined the course...their 5 mile checkpoint was just before the 5k's 2 mile mark, and the leaders of the half-marathon passed me a few tenths of a mile before the end of my race, at around their 6 mile marker. they were really crusing along.

yesterday i did indeed go to ikea, and here is my little tribute to the lovely swedish superstore, composed while i was waiting in line to check out:

"ode to ikea"

i went to ikea expecting to shop
but what i found there made my heart go flip-flop
hundreds of people, all shapes and all sizes
walking down aisles of wonderful prizes
like bookcases, shelving and tables and lamps
with prices so low that you know they'll be champs
the furnishing goodness inside left no doubt
"hooray for ikea!" i wanted to shout
when the time came to leave, i really felt blue
i can't wait to return for an hour or two!

i am a poet and you didn't know it, how about that? anyway. regardless of my pathetic poetry skills, i am now in love with ikea and can't believe i waited that long to go. i am definitely making a mega-trip there when i move to houston. yesterday i bought a bookcase to put in the corner of my room, and a picture frame, and a small table lamp...and i was really restraining myself. there was sooo much i wanted to get.