Cancer sucks, but you guys are awesome.
I am halfway to my fundraising goal for the American Cancer Society as a charity marathon runner. I am incredibly grateful for all the donations and all the support and encouragement I've been getting. I will continue to work hard and I will continue to need your support. I have every confidence that with you all behind me I can finish every inch of 26.2miles and raise every cent of my charity goal.
Thank you so much.
Peanut Noodle Salad
I realize I haven't been blogging much food on my food blog. Sorry. Running has taken over my life. Here's a thing I ate today that was delicious!
This recipe was born out of having leftover peanut sauce when I make my peanut sauce chicken. If I have leftover sauce, I dilute it with rice vinegar until it reaches salad dressing consistency and then stir it into some cold noodles and veggies.
However, the resulting salad is yummy I wanted to make it one day without making peanut sauce first. This is it:
Peanut Noodle Salad
Nouns:
1/2 pound whole wheat spaghetti, cooked
1/2 red pepper, sliced thinly
1/2 green pepper, sliced thinly
6-8 scallions, chopped
1/3 cup peanut butter
3 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 tbsp honey
1 tsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp chili garlic sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp fresh grated ginger
Optional Garnish: sesame seeds or chopped peanuts
Verbs:
Stir together all the ingredients but the noodles, peppers and scallions. The dressing should come together into a thick, but liquidy mixture. Add more rice vinegar if necessary, or to taste. In a large bowl, toss the chilled pasta, veggies and dressing until everything is coated. Garnish and serve cold. Yummm!
This recipe was born out of having leftover peanut sauce when I make my peanut sauce chicken. If I have leftover sauce, I dilute it with rice vinegar until it reaches salad dressing consistency and then stir it into some cold noodles and veggies.
However, the resulting salad is yummy I wanted to make it one day without making peanut sauce first. This is it:
Peanut Noodle Salad
Nouns:
1/2 pound whole wheat spaghetti, cooked
1/2 red pepper, sliced thinly
1/2 green pepper, sliced thinly
6-8 scallions, chopped
1/3 cup peanut butter
3 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 tbsp honey
1 tsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp chili garlic sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp fresh grated ginger
Optional Garnish: sesame seeds or chopped peanuts
Verbs:
Stir together all the ingredients but the noodles, peppers and scallions. The dressing should come together into a thick, but liquidy mixture. Add more rice vinegar if necessary, or to taste. In a large bowl, toss the chilled pasta, veggies and dressing until everything is coated. Garnish and serve cold. Yummm!
Meal Plan
This week The Husband is taking a staycation, so he'll be doing the cooking. He is going to make me some yummies:
Fake Stroganoff
Spicy Orange Tilapia, asparagus
Sweet and Sour Chicken- My Mother-In-Law's Recipe
Falafel Wraps
Quinoa Salad with cucumber and feta
Chicken Fajitas
Fake Stroganoff
Spicy Orange Tilapia, asparagus
Sweet and Sour Chicken- My Mother-In-Law's Recipe
Falafel Wraps
Quinoa Salad with cucumber and feta
Chicken Fajitas
Marathon Training
I ran 18 miles today.
Wow.
For some reason, that distance seems ludicrously long in a way that all the previous ones didn't. I ran very nearly that far last week, but this seems like it ought to be on a different scale, somehow.
It was a good run, but a hard one. I was talking to a good friend of mine this morning who attempted an 18-miler yesterday in a group, but her group leader set waaaaaay too fast of a pace and so she did 16 miles and felt too shredded to do the last two miles. Her story made me feel really lucky, because I haven't had a bad long run in a while, and a bad long run is just a terrible thing to try to recover from. It is awful to be physically exhausted, emotionally tapped and mentally shaken by a really grueling run. So, yes, this wasn't a magical run like my last few have been. I didn't hit a pace where I felt I could run forever, I didn't get a rush from pushing my pace up and up and up the last three miles, I didn't soar. But it wasn't a bad run, either. I just ran, and ran, and ran. For three and half hours. I had to tell my legs to take each step, and I was counting down the miles a little desperately toward the end, but it was doable.
Though I'd rather have that I-can-run-forever feeling, I was glad to have a run like this, because if race day doesn't come with a magical runner's high, I need to be able to push through and just run and run and run, to take each step deliberately and with the knowledge of how many came before it and how many will have to come after. I have to be able to look down the barrel of 26.2 miles and just get it done, if it comes to that.
Wow.
For some reason, that distance seems ludicrously long in a way that all the previous ones didn't. I ran very nearly that far last week, but this seems like it ought to be on a different scale, somehow.
It was a good run, but a hard one. I was talking to a good friend of mine this morning who attempted an 18-miler yesterday in a group, but her group leader set waaaaaay too fast of a pace and so she did 16 miles and felt too shredded to do the last two miles. Her story made me feel really lucky, because I haven't had a bad long run in a while, and a bad long run is just a terrible thing to try to recover from. It is awful to be physically exhausted, emotionally tapped and mentally shaken by a really grueling run. So, yes, this wasn't a magical run like my last few have been. I didn't hit a pace where I felt I could run forever, I didn't get a rush from pushing my pace up and up and up the last three miles, I didn't soar. But it wasn't a bad run, either. I just ran, and ran, and ran. For three and half hours. I had to tell my legs to take each step, and I was counting down the miles a little desperately toward the end, but it was doable.
Though I'd rather have that I-can-run-forever feeling, I was glad to have a run like this, because if race day doesn't come with a magical runner's high, I need to be able to push through and just run and run and run, to take each step deliberately and with the knowledge of how many came before it and how many will have to come after. I have to be able to look down the barrel of 26.2 miles and just get it done, if it comes to that.
The Big C
Cancer fucking sucks.
I haven't written much about it here to preserve some shred of internet privacy (ha ha!), but I have a family member currently battling cancer and several others have endured or succumbed to the disease. It's a nightmare, the treatment, the hope and disappointment, the pain and grief, the fear... but the worst, I think, is the feeling of helplessness. I am not good at standing idly by. I'm a problem solver, a solutions person, and it is a terrible thing to be simply unable to make a difference. I can't keep tumors from growing. I can't keep organs functioning. I can't make the disease go away. And because of distance, in this case, I can't even make casseroles.
I really need to make casseroles. (remind me some other time to write about how I express love by feeding people and how good it is that my husband has such an impressive metabolism.)
Anyway, so, because I can't cure cancer by myself, and because I can't even make casseroles, I am doing what I always do to keep on an even keel: I'm running.
I'm running a marathon. 26.2 miles. And I hope that those miles can be something more than the achievement of a personal goal. I hope they can be some small contribution toward making cancer less of a nightmare. The American Cancer Society does amazing things for people living with cancer, for cancer research and for cancer survivors. I am so grateful that ACS exists, and that they do the work they do. I hope you'll all help me make a difference, help me find a way to do something, because cancer just fucking sucks.
Here's what you can do:
Go here to donate-
http://www.active.com/donate/acs2011/aliceforacure
Go here to post support and encouragement for my training runs-
http://www.dailymile.com/people/Alice17
Go here to learn about prevention, risk factors and screening for common cancers-
http://www.cancer.org/Cancer/index
Thank you.
I haven't written much about it here to preserve some shred of internet privacy (ha ha!), but I have a family member currently battling cancer and several others have endured or succumbed to the disease. It's a nightmare, the treatment, the hope and disappointment, the pain and grief, the fear... but the worst, I think, is the feeling of helplessness. I am not good at standing idly by. I'm a problem solver, a solutions person, and it is a terrible thing to be simply unable to make a difference. I can't keep tumors from growing. I can't keep organs functioning. I can't make the disease go away. And because of distance, in this case, I can't even make casseroles.
I really need to make casseroles. (remind me some other time to write about how I express love by feeding people and how good it is that my husband has such an impressive metabolism.)
Anyway, so, because I can't cure cancer by myself, and because I can't even make casseroles, I am doing what I always do to keep on an even keel: I'm running.
I'm running a marathon. 26.2 miles. And I hope that those miles can be something more than the achievement of a personal goal. I hope they can be some small contribution toward making cancer less of a nightmare. The American Cancer Society does amazing things for people living with cancer, for cancer research and for cancer survivors. I am so grateful that ACS exists, and that they do the work they do. I hope you'll all help me make a difference, help me find a way to do something, because cancer just fucking sucks.
Here's what you can do:
Go here to donate-
http://www.active.com/donate/acs2011/aliceforacure
Go here to post support and encouragement for my training runs-
http://www.dailymile.com/people/Alice17
Go here to learn about prevention, risk factors and screening for common cancers-
http://www.cancer.org/Cancer/index
Thank you.
Bike!
Tomorrow is going to be a grand experiment for me.
Last week, while The Husband was in San Diego for Comic Con, I realized that having unfettered access to my own car was a profoundly liberating experience, and that I had been unconsciously but constantly stressed by the logistics of being a one-car family. We made the choice to just have one car when we moved here, and for the most part, it works, but when I really saw how much time I have when don't have to wait for the car, and how much easier it is to plan things when I know that I have wheels, I just couldn't stand it anymore. We need a second car.
Of course, then the first car blew up. So now we have zero cars. The second car dream is going to have to wait quite a while, and right now we are focusing on getting a reliable first car. Bleh. So, as an experiment, I am going to try ... biking!
How very Portland of me.
I've never been much a cyclist. I am clumsy and until recently, not very athletic. But now I want to see if my bike can help bridge the car gap for a while and reduce my daily waiting-to-go-places time. So tomorrow morning I am going to bike to the park and ride to meet my carpool. It's a little scary, because Tigard is not really the Land of Bike Paths, and because I'm... well, a little rusty at riding a bike. I haven't ridden in... a long time. LONG. Don't tell any of the real Portlanders I said that.
So, wish me luck! And, watch out for cyclists!
Last week, while The Husband was in San Diego for Comic Con, I realized that having unfettered access to my own car was a profoundly liberating experience, and that I had been unconsciously but constantly stressed by the logistics of being a one-car family. We made the choice to just have one car when we moved here, and for the most part, it works, but when I really saw how much time I have when don't have to wait for the car, and how much easier it is to plan things when I know that I have wheels, I just couldn't stand it anymore. We need a second car.
Of course, then the first car blew up. So now we have zero cars. The second car dream is going to have to wait quite a while, and right now we are focusing on getting a reliable first car. Bleh. So, as an experiment, I am going to try ... biking!
How very Portland of me.
I've never been much a cyclist. I am clumsy and until recently, not very athletic. But now I want to see if my bike can help bridge the car gap for a while and reduce my daily waiting-to-go-places time. So tomorrow morning I am going to bike to the park and ride to meet my carpool. It's a little scary, because Tigard is not really the Land of Bike Paths, and because I'm... well, a little rusty at riding a bike. I haven't ridden in... a long time. LONG. Don't tell any of the real Portlanders I said that.
So, wish me luck! And, watch out for cyclists!
Work
Today was my first argument in the Court of Appeals. It's been a really stressful week for me, and this argument was a big factor in my stress, but it was also a big factor in my stress relief. Though preparing for argument is intense and I was very very nervous before the argument actually happened, I am deeply appreciative of the whole process.
First, there was a wonderful moment of falling in love with my job again. I do love my job, and I enjoy it every day, but it's still nice to have those moments of pure and unadulterated ... belonging? completeness? A sense that this.. this ... is what I"m supposed to be doing. There are days when writing a brief or researching a point of law or corresponding with clients is difficult, when I'm not excited or not engaged and it feels like a slog, but this was a reaffirmation that despite those days, I love my work and I am good at it.
Arguing before the court is a fabulous mix of what it feels like to be on stage and what it feels like to take an exam. (I know it's weird that I love exams, but I kind of do!) It's an adrenaline rush and also a demanding precision exercise that requires quick thinking, deep thinking, and confidence. It's hard, and the difficulty is what makes it fun. So much fun.
I really needed a boost today, and I got it.
Special thanks to my Betsy, for stopping by for my celebratory lunch, to Sara, for arranging for a ride for me to get to work early and prep, to Dan, for making me brownies and driving me home, and to Jonah and Kali for coming to watch. Also many thanks to Ryan for helping me prep and talking me through this process. Finally, many thanks to Spencer for his support, encouragement and love. It's a good day.
Training Widget
Race Schedule Widget