I didn't blog last week's sixteen miler, which is too bad, because it was an awesome run. Oh well.
This week was harder. I'm tired. So so tired. I'm worn out from all the craziness of the last week. So I didn't want to run today. I just didn't. I couldn't get myself out of bed this morning, and then I couldn't get motivated to go until the hottest part of the day. So I stalled and I stalled and I stalled.
Finally, it was 6:30, and I had to go or it would get too dark. So I loaded up with my gear and my music and I went, out of a sense of obligation, not excitement. And it was hard to get going. But the open grassy areas along the trail were glowing in the sun and I was moving, moving, and finding my pace. It was a fine run, not amazing, not terrible, until about mile 13, when it started to get dark.
I had pushed it too late, and the park trails were too dark to be safe. So I cranked up the pace because I needed to get home, get home before it was really night. So I ran faster and faster, and I took the long way around to avoid the dark trails, and I felt... amazing. Like I could run faster and farther than before and faster and farther ... forever. I was running so fast it was like my legs forgot how to not run, and stopping for red lights or dark stretches of road became very difficult, and I just wanted to run and run and run, through the dark or the light... wherever the road went.
It was so worth it to run, and I am so glad I finally finally went. Now for bed.
Cars
So after some cooling-off time and some planning, I am ready to post about at least one of the things that made this such a crazy-ass week.
A few months ago, we bought a car. A month or two ago, the transmission died and we had to spend a chunk of our down payment fund to fix it and put off buying a house for a while. Three days ago, the oil light came on in the car. Two days ago, I drove it to Salem, because my carpool unexpectedly wasn't going to work out that day. On the way home from Salem, it started making a noise. A bad noise. A noise that made me think perhaps the engine was going to explode or that the engine was full of rocks or that the engine was shaking itself apart under the hood. A very bad noise.
So I pulled over on the side of I-5 and called AAA and got a tow, which was a very hot, very time-consuming, very frustrating process. A friendly state trooper stopped by to check on me and opined that my pistons were bad, I called my dad as I always do when I am stranded by the side of the road and need someone to blither at, and finally I ended up at the car place a few blocks from our house.
The next morning we got the bad news. Remus, our car, needs a total engine rebuild. The engine had essentially shaken itself apart. We must have had an oil leak, and driving it back from Salem with the oil light on basically totaled the car.
Live and learn.
So we sold the car for a few hundred bucks for parts and now we are looking for a new car. And we're behind on house-buying timelines again, and we're both full of self-recriminations and regrets about Remus and how the last car-buying adventure turned out so badly. And we're trying to figure out what to do.
In general, I am a used-car person, and I don't like to spend much on cars. I was lucky in that Tonks, the car we had before Remus, was cheap and ran well with very little maintenance for 5 years, and the cost/benefit analysis on the reliability/car payment/repairs factors was way in my favor. It was easily cheaper to have Tonks than to have a car payment, and that was awesome. We were hoping that Remus would be the same way, but we ended up having that car only six months, and in that time spent as much as the car was worth or more on repairs. So... now what?
Do we spend more, way more, on a much newer car? Try our luck again on a ten-year-old toyota? Do we *gasp* actually buy a new car and have a car payment? (probably not that last one) I am feeling unconfident and overwhelmed, which is not the right mood for car shopping. Car shopping requires an odd mix of confidence, skepticism, brashness, caution and maybe even skulduggery. I don't have the time or the energy for this right now.
Anyway, that was one thing that made this week suck. Here's to a better week next week.
A few months ago, we bought a car. A month or two ago, the transmission died and we had to spend a chunk of our down payment fund to fix it and put off buying a house for a while. Three days ago, the oil light came on in the car. Two days ago, I drove it to Salem, because my carpool unexpectedly wasn't going to work out that day. On the way home from Salem, it started making a noise. A bad noise. A noise that made me think perhaps the engine was going to explode or that the engine was full of rocks or that the engine was shaking itself apart under the hood. A very bad noise.
So I pulled over on the side of I-5 and called AAA and got a tow, which was a very hot, very time-consuming, very frustrating process. A friendly state trooper stopped by to check on me and opined that my pistons were bad, I called my dad as I always do when I am stranded by the side of the road and need someone to blither at, and finally I ended up at the car place a few blocks from our house.
The next morning we got the bad news. Remus, our car, needs a total engine rebuild. The engine had essentially shaken itself apart. We must have had an oil leak, and driving it back from Salem with the oil light on basically totaled the car.
Live and learn.
So we sold the car for a few hundred bucks for parts and now we are looking for a new car. And we're behind on house-buying timelines again, and we're both full of self-recriminations and regrets about Remus and how the last car-buying adventure turned out so badly. And we're trying to figure out what to do.
In general, I am a used-car person, and I don't like to spend much on cars. I was lucky in that Tonks, the car we had before Remus, was cheap and ran well with very little maintenance for 5 years, and the cost/benefit analysis on the reliability/car payment/repairs factors was way in my favor. It was easily cheaper to have Tonks than to have a car payment, and that was awesome. We were hoping that Remus would be the same way, but we ended up having that car only six months, and in that time spent as much as the car was worth or more on repairs. So... now what?
Do we spend more, way more, on a much newer car? Try our luck again on a ten-year-old toyota? Do we *gasp* actually buy a new car and have a car payment? (probably not that last one) I am feeling unconfident and overwhelmed, which is not the right mood for car shopping. Car shopping requires an odd mix of confidence, skepticism, brashness, caution and maybe even skulduggery. I don't have the time or the energy for this right now.
Anyway, that was one thing that made this week suck. Here's to a better week next week.
Bleh
I wrote and deleted and rewrote and re-deleted a long post about this incredibly stressful and crappy week. I just couldn't decide how much detail was appropriate and how much vagueness was tolerable for this forum. Suffice it to say that I am physically, emotionally and financially drained, and that I would really appreciate it if all the people I care about, work I'm responsible for and things I own will just keep ticking along for a few days with no major issues. I would also appreciate it if Moby would stop eating my headphones. Thanks.
Marathon Training
I did a "stepback" long run today, rather than increasing my mileage. I was planning on doing fourteen miles, but I was so tired that I made a deal with myself to go at least twelve and see how I felt. It took a really long time to get into the run. I ate waaaay too much today at the baby shower and afterward (the leftovers wouldn't all fit in the fridge, and they had to go somewhere) and it took a few miles to shake the feeling that I was just not supposed to be moving at all. Once I got past mile 4 or so, though, I started to loosen up and feel great, and I was so so so thankful I was out running. I took two days off instead of one before my long run this week because I delayed it a day, and I really felt it. I needed this run. I needed it badly.
However, about mile 7 I noticed that my toe was bothering me, and then by mile 8 I was pretty sure I was developing a wicked blister. Miles 10-13 were severely unpleasant. I would say excruciating, but I know too many pregnant ladies to mess around with words like that right now; childbirth is excruciating. A blister is merely unpleasant. Severely unpleasant. The worst part about my blister, though, was that try as I might, I couldn't help altering my stride a little in response to the pain, so my ankles started to get a little hinky. All around bad news.
I considered posting a photo of my blister, but that is gross. Instead, for no discernible reason, here is a picture of Moby, who is also severely unpleasant at times.
However, about mile 7 I noticed that my toe was bothering me, and then by mile 8 I was pretty sure I was developing a wicked blister. Miles 10-13 were severely unpleasant. I would say excruciating, but I know too many pregnant ladies to mess around with words like that right now; childbirth is excruciating. A blister is merely unpleasant. Severely unpleasant. The worst part about my blister, though, was that try as I might, I couldn't help altering my stride a little in response to the pain, so my ankles started to get a little hinky. All around bad news.
I considered posting a photo of my blister, but that is gross. Instead, for no discernible reason, here is a picture of Moby, who is also severely unpleasant at times.
Run Fail
I had every intention of getting up early this morning to do my long run before all the baby shower prep of this weekend of double baby showers. I even set my alarm. It was a great plan. Except, well, that it wasn't. I was just too tired. Waaaaay too tired.
When my alarm went off I almost cried, and so I decided that a long run was just not happening and instead I should sleep for three more hours. And so I did. It's been a crazy week of sleep deprivation and bad news and other nonsense, so I needed the sleep, but now I shall have to do my long run tomorrow after all the baby shower stuff, when I imagine I will be even more tired. Oh well. I know I was robbing Peter to pay Paul, but Peter doesn't catch me until tomorrow. That's for Future Alice to worry about.
When my alarm went off I almost cried, and so I decided that a long run was just not happening and instead I should sleep for three more hours. And so I did. It's been a crazy week of sleep deprivation and bad news and other nonsense, so I needed the sleep, but now I shall have to do my long run tomorrow after all the baby shower stuff, when I imagine I will be even more tired. Oh well. I know I was robbing Peter to pay Paul, but Peter doesn't catch me until tomorrow. That's for Future Alice to worry about.
Baby Shower Food!
This weekend I'm hosting a baby shower for my beloved Miriam and her husband Lee and their little soon-to-be-baby. Because the shower is in a park, I had to get creative with the food. There isn't a BBQ, but there is electricity, so I am going to feed 12-15 people from a selection of salads that can be served at room temperature and from two crockpots. Here's the plan:
Party Meatballs- Crockpot 1 will have store-bought (I know, cheating!) turkey meatballs in tangy sauce. Simply pour a bottle of Heinz chili sauce and a bottle of apricot preserves over the meatballs and cook on low in the crock for few hours and Voila! delicious.
Shredded Chipotle Chicken Soft Tacos- Crockpot 2 will have chicken slow cooked with chipotle chilis in adobo. Once the chicken is done it'll be shredded and put back in the crock and served with a huge stack of corn tortillas and some fresh pico de gallo. Yummers.
No-Mayo Potato Salad- Roasted cubed red potatoes with chopped hard boiled eggs, celery, fennel, green onions and maybe capers, in a light Dijon fennel vinaigrette.
Mediterranean Pasta Salad- Tricolor rotini with carrots, peppers, artichokes, cauliflower, broccoli, tons of feta cheese and Italian dressing.
Cabbage Salad- my usual recipe
Lemon Cupcakes- I'm using the Joy of Baking recipe but trying to track down some lavender to do lavender icing instead of the regular lemon.
Red Velvet Cupcakes- Again, the joy of baking recipe.
Kids' Station- Juice boxes, strawberries, crackers.
I'll also put out some watermelon, strawberries and beverages.
I have to go boil eggs, roast potatoes and cook pasta now.
Party Meatballs- Crockpot 1 will have store-bought (I know, cheating!) turkey meatballs in tangy sauce. Simply pour a bottle of Heinz chili sauce and a bottle of apricot preserves over the meatballs and cook on low in the crock for few hours and Voila! delicious.
Shredded Chipotle Chicken Soft Tacos- Crockpot 2 will have chicken slow cooked with chipotle chilis in adobo. Once the chicken is done it'll be shredded and put back in the crock and served with a huge stack of corn tortillas and some fresh pico de gallo. Yummers.
No-Mayo Potato Salad- Roasted cubed red potatoes with chopped hard boiled eggs, celery, fennel, green onions and maybe capers, in a light Dijon fennel vinaigrette.
Mediterranean Pasta Salad- Tricolor rotini with carrots, peppers, artichokes, cauliflower, broccoli, tons of feta cheese and Italian dressing.
Cabbage Salad- my usual recipe
Lemon Cupcakes- I'm using the Joy of Baking recipe but trying to track down some lavender to do lavender icing instead of the regular lemon.
Red Velvet Cupcakes- Again, the joy of baking recipe.
Kids' Station- Juice boxes, strawberries, crackers.
I'll also put out some watermelon, strawberries and beverages.
I have to go boil eggs, roast potatoes and cook pasta now.
Meal Plan
This week The Husband is out of town, so I was planning on making a bunch of stuff that I like and he doesn't. However, the only thing I could think of that I like and he doesn't is Japchae. So, I'll make some Japchae and maybe try a few new things while he's away.
Here's what I'm thinking:
Japchae
Green Curry with Tofu
Orzo with Fennel, Tomatoes and Shrimp
Honestly, that and a pint of Ben and Jerry's should get me through the week. But, if anyone wants to come over for dinner just to keep me company, I'll cook!
Here's what I'm thinking:
Japchae
Green Curry with Tofu
Orzo with Fennel, Tomatoes and Shrimp
Honestly, that and a pint of Ben and Jerry's should get me through the week. But, if anyone wants to come over for dinner just to keep me company, I'll cook!
Long run
I was thinking I'd have to do my long run tomorrow morning before work, because I am going to be out of town all weekend, but as it turns out, I'll be home by noon on Sunday. So I am going to run fifteen miles on Sunday afternoon rather than running 15 miles tomorrow morning at 6am. Preferable in SO MANY ways.
Chocolate Chip Cookies
The best chocolate chip cookies in world, as far as I'm concerned, are my friend Betsy's. They are, hands down, the most deliciously perfect concoction ever, and I have loved them for years. Because Betsy is incredibly wonderful, she shared her magical recipe with me and I am able to make them for my friends and coworkers. I made them for carpool today and one of my carpool mates ate his dozen before the day was over. Here's the recipe:
Betsy's Chocolate Chip Cookies
Nouns-
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup butter, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg
2 - 2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips
Verbs-
Preheat oven to 375. Cream the butter and sugars together. When smooth, add the vanilla and egg and beat on medium speed until smooth. Stir in the baking soda and salt and add the flour gradually until a stiff dough forms. Drop large spoonfuls of dough two inches apart on a parchment-lined cookie sheet and bake 10 minutes or until light brown. If your oven is crappy, like mine, you should rotate the cookie sheet halfway through cooking. Cool on the pan for 1-2 minutes and then transfer to wire racks to cool. Yummers!
Betsy's Chocolate Chip Cookies
Nouns-
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup butter, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg
2 - 2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips
Verbs-
Preheat oven to 375. Cream the butter and sugars together. When smooth, add the vanilla and egg and beat on medium speed until smooth. Stir in the baking soda and salt and add the flour gradually until a stiff dough forms. Drop large spoonfuls of dough two inches apart on a parchment-lined cookie sheet and bake 10 minutes or until light brown. If your oven is crappy, like mine, you should rotate the cookie sheet halfway through cooking. Cool on the pan for 1-2 minutes and then transfer to wire racks to cool. Yummers!
Fitocracy
So I joined this site called Fitocracy, which is a new social networking/fitness/game thing. Basically, you put in all your workouts and it gives you points for doing each exercise. If you get enough points, then you level up! Neat! And it gives you quests! The quests are exercises you've never done before or distances/quantities you've never done before, and in addition to the activity points, you get bonus points for the quest. And you can follow people, and they follow you, and you can give each props and comment on workouts and whatnot. Apparently there are also "achievements" you can unlock, but I haven't unlocked any yet. I am totally in love with this thing.
As a result of the quests, I am doing all kinds of things I would not normally do. Sometimes that's good; a few extra sit-ups before bed to get the points, or a new exercise at the gym to broaden my workouts a bit. But sometimes it's a pain. There is a reason I don't do the barbell bench press. I hate it. And yet, by awarding me arbitrary and non-redeemable points for doing it, this website has induced me to go do barbell bench press. Is that crazy or what? Bench press. And barbell quats. Last week, it was lat pulls.
But, even though I'm a little weirded out by the psychology of this... that I'll do random exercises for illusory internet "points"... I totally love the site. I love the points, the levels, etc. Unfortunately, most of my Fitocracy friends are not really playing, so I don't have a very big network, and I would like to share the love. I have 9 Fitocracy invites left if anyone else wants one!
As a result of the quests, I am doing all kinds of things I would not normally do. Sometimes that's good; a few extra sit-ups before bed to get the points, or a new exercise at the gym to broaden my workouts a bit. But sometimes it's a pain. There is a reason I don't do the barbell bench press. I hate it. And yet, by awarding me arbitrary and non-redeemable points for doing it, this website has induced me to go do barbell bench press. Is that crazy or what? Bench press. And barbell quats. Last week, it was lat pulls.
But, even though I'm a little weirded out by the psychology of this... that I'll do random exercises for illusory internet "points"... I totally love the site. I love the points, the levels, etc. Unfortunately, most of my Fitocracy friends are not really playing, so I don't have a very big network, and I would like to share the love. I have 9 Fitocracy invites left if anyone else wants one!
Meal Plan
This week has nothing very novel, just some quick and easy standbys. Tonight we are having the fish, because everything can be cooked in the rice cooker or toaster oven and it's too hot to stand over the stove.
Spicy Orange Glazed Tilapia with Quinoa and Asparagus
Strawberry Spinach Salad with Grilled Chicken
Corn and Bean Chowder in the Crockpot
Black Bean and Butternut Burritos
Chicken Casserole
The casserole is for The Husband while I"m out of town this weekend. It is not fancy Food Network casserole, but the canned cream of something soup kind of casserole that The Husband absolutely loves. We are classy classy folks!
Spicy Orange Glazed Tilapia with Quinoa and Asparagus
Strawberry Spinach Salad with Grilled Chicken
Corn and Bean Chowder in the Crockpot
Black Bean and Butternut Burritos
Chicken Casserole
The casserole is for The Husband while I"m out of town this weekend. It is not fancy Food Network casserole, but the canned cream of something soup kind of casserole that The Husband absolutely loves. We are classy classy folks!
Real Women
THIS POST is an amazingly true thing. I should inscribe this on the inside of my eyelids so I will see it every time I blink. Or perhaps I should inscribe it on the outside, so everyone else will see it.
The discussion of realness was really interesting to me, because it reminded me of the passage from the Velveteen Rabbit about how one becomes "real" through love.
The discussion of realness was really interesting to me, because it reminded me of the passage from the Velveteen Rabbit about how one becomes "real" through love.
Marathon Training
This morning's run was harder than last week's. I blame the sun. Last week, the sun woke me early and I went out early in the sunshine and it was lovely. This week, the alarm woke me to a grey and dismal sky, and I simply could not get myself moving. The Husband was up and in his running gear while I was still in my muttering/shambling morning zombie phase. He had to wait a while for me to get some breakfast, get stretched and lace up my shoes. Bright sunshine makes such a huge difference; without it, my sheer force of will is barely enough to convince my body to move at all let alone keep moving for fourteen miles.
In any case, I finally dragged my sorry self out of bed and out of the house, and I ran 2 miles with The Husband, which was hard for him, because I have short little legs and he really wanted to go faster. But he politely paced me for two miles, then he went home and I ran another 12 miles. For funzies.
This morning's run was not full of butterflies and bunny rabbits. It was just kind of drab. For an hour or so I regretted not doing my run yesterday with a group. Yesterday it was sunny and I would have had some social interaction, and that seemed preferable to the slog I was on. But gradually I hit my stride and my mind quieted and I appreciated the overcast sky as I got to mile ten and wasn't overheated or thirsty or sweating or sunburned. I got lots of good thinking in, and also about an hour of total mental silence, which was lovely.
I did skip a short run this week, so I might have been affected a bit by that, but the running itself felt fine. I felt like I had found my "forever" pace, a rhythm where your body feels like it could really keep on doing this forever. That lasted until Mile Thirteen, when I could feel my hips starting to creak and my knees complain and each downslope was more of a barely-controlled plummet than a descent. Still, I ran it. Yay!
This week's training will have to be compressed a bit, because I am going to Colorado on friday to visit my seester, and I don't want to take time out of my visit to do a long run, and nor do I want to do my long run at Altitude. I am such a flatlander now that 15 miles at 6000 feet would be a really really bad idea. Really bad. So I am going to try to get my long run in on Friday morning before work and then maybe do a short run while I'm in Colorado.
In any case, I finally dragged my sorry self out of bed and out of the house, and I ran 2 miles with The Husband, which was hard for him, because I have short little legs and he really wanted to go faster. But he politely paced me for two miles, then he went home and I ran another 12 miles. For funzies.
This morning's run was not full of butterflies and bunny rabbits. It was just kind of drab. For an hour or so I regretted not doing my run yesterday with a group. Yesterday it was sunny and I would have had some social interaction, and that seemed preferable to the slog I was on. But gradually I hit my stride and my mind quieted and I appreciated the overcast sky as I got to mile ten and wasn't overheated or thirsty or sweating or sunburned. I got lots of good thinking in, and also about an hour of total mental silence, which was lovely.
I did skip a short run this week, so I might have been affected a bit by that, but the running itself felt fine. I felt like I had found my "forever" pace, a rhythm where your body feels like it could really keep on doing this forever. That lasted until Mile Thirteen, when I could feel my hips starting to creak and my knees complain and each downslope was more of a barely-controlled plummet than a descent. Still, I ran it. Yay!
This week's training will have to be compressed a bit, because I am going to Colorado on friday to visit my seester, and I don't want to take time out of my visit to do a long run, and nor do I want to do my long run at Altitude. I am such a flatlander now that 15 miles at 6000 feet would be a really really bad idea. Really bad. So I am going to try to get my long run in on Friday morning before work and then maybe do a short run while I'm in Colorado.
Arts and Crafts
Last night I set out to make baby shower invitations for a shower for my friend Miriam, otherwise known as the most adorable pregnant lady in the world. I am not naturally very artistic, despite an excellent art education as a kid (thanks, mom!) and though I'm a ridiculous perfectionist in other aspects of my life (should the period be italicized after an Id. cite?) I never managed to get my mom's eye for aesthetic detail or her ability to perfectly execute the images she has in her head. In fact, I"m a bit of a mess. The invitations are very cute, but they're also a little ... handmade ... looking. Which is fine, because they are handmade. And I'm sure Miriam appreciates my making them, smudges and all. This process is just making me doubly and triply grateful for my mother and Miriam and their assistance with my wedding save the dates and invites two years ago. Miriam made the most awesome save the dates ever, and my mom made handmade paper for The Husband and I to make our invites from. And I'm sure in an hour when I'm yelling at the printer and trying to get the inserts perfect, I'll be doubly and triply grateful for Betsy, who dealt with printing maps and other nonsense for the wedding.
I am surrounded by such creative and skillful people. So lucky am I.
I am surrounded by such creative and skillful people. So lucky am I.
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