As exhausted as I am, I don't know why I feel so alert and focused.  I am so wiped, I feel sick to my stomach. This weekend I ran two 5ks, rock climbed, watched a full parade, cleaned my apartment, did laundry, caught up on a few hours worth of phone calls, read an entire book, spent large sums of money at Lululemon, and now I'm writing. What's going on? Two weeks ago I was so fog-headed, all I could do was stare at lips and wonder why it was I couldn't make any of the words make sense.  The only thing that's changed lately is that now I'm flooding my system with B vitamins.  I took a couple of energy chews at work, and they worked so well, I went out and bought a couple weeks' supply.  Sometimes I'm distracted at work, and I'll just start popping them cause they're like sitting there and all, and then I'll be like "oops, I think I just ate 6 of these at 60 cents a chew." These are not Starburst even though they are just as yummy. Good thing that B vitamins are water soluble. Just like with C, you really can't have too much. You'll just pee it out, and if you have any experience peeing B vitamins, you know that it's all sorts of fun. It glows.

So the 5ks were interesting. The first one in Woodland Hills was the Optimist Dads' Day Dash. I actually was about to call my Dad for father's day, when I ended up talking to my sister instead, and she informed me that it was in fact not Dads' day yet. And I was all, "But the race said,..."

The Optimist Dads' Day Dash was superbly managed. Totally stressless experience. Though I did feel terrible for all the participants who had there cars towed. They blocked off some streets, and the police in cahoots with the towing companies are all sneaking around and rounding up vehicles. I can't imagine finishing a race, walking exhausted to my car, only to find it gone with no clue to as where it went.

I saw some cute things. The 5k and the 10k had the same start and finish line. Separated by some traffic cones. There was this one 10 year old girl in a pink running outfit finishing at the 33 minute mark on the 5k. As she was nearing the finishing stretch, one of the 10k muscled male runners was also finishing. The girl sees the man gaining on her and flat out hauls ass racing this guy to the finish line.

After the race, I went to the Arcadia Rock Gym to go bouldering.  Which is a form of rock-climbing where you don't go too very high, and you don't use ropes, and you do a lot of climbing at a slant. And not a slant in the help-you-out slant direction. It was my first time going, but I was glad I didn't pay for a lesson, because not more than 5 minutes after I started, three other climbers came over and taught me the basics and then some.  Telling me where to put my feet (on the rocks), how to jump from the wall onto the crash pads (basically lock your knees, and/or approach the ground fingers first), and how to gain a better reach (it's called flagging). They guided me step by step through a couple routes, and I couldn't have been more thrilled with what I accomplished with their help. I'm so going to be addicted to this sport.  I now have very sore legs and very sore triceps and shoulders and back. Which OF COURSE is one of the main reasons I'm starting this sport. I think rock-climbers have great bodies. And I'm also trying to overcompensate for my sedentary, indoor work life.

The 5k on Sunday was also fun. It was the LA Frontrunner's Pride Run. This run is the precursor LA Pride parade. I did this run last year as well. Last time, I got some lube in my swag bag, this year, I wasn't so lucky, only got some boring soy bar. LAME. Also, interesting about this run was that I forgot to bring my headphones, which I have a hard time running without, and last year, when I ran, my mp3 player died early on in the race. So both times I've run, I've done it without being able to drown out my breathing. 

I stayed and watched the parade. Which was of course colorful in every sense of the word. Most parades are dull, but NOT the gay ones. There are lots of drag queens, rainbow floats, and active audience participation. One of the parade groups was a HIV testing promotion group that was handing out condoms, I had a 4 year old girl, a child of one of the participants, walk up to me and with a huge, gorgeous smile, hand me a condom wrapped in red cellophane.  One of life's many speechless moments. I barely managed to choke out a thank you before she trotted off to encourage more safe sex elsewhere on Santa Monica Blvd.