After a brutal 4.5 mile uphill, my lovely friend and I powered painfully through the last three miles of our 13.1 mile race yesterday morning in a raining, blustery Portland. It was pouring when we climbed out of bed at 5:45 a.m. in order to get to the start by 6:30 a.m. so we could pick up our numbers and chips that she forgot to pick up on Saturday. After some miscommunication with our sole C.R.E.W. (Cranky Runners, Endless Waiting) member (boyfriend), we got our numbers and were ready to start.
At 7:25 a.m. and thankfully no longer raining, 1,600 racers lined up on 2nd Street in Portland, waiting for the gun to start us on our 5k, 10k, or half marathon races. Stupidly, lovely friend and I had chosen a half marathon.
We were cranky, cantankerous and had three weeks of solo-training-whine-buildup to release. It all came out during a dry first mile. We determined that our 6 a.m. meal was too long ago (though were it not for crossing of communication wires we would have had a little more fuel to start out on), and chomped on our first shot bloks at mile 2. At mile 2.5, I was regretting the running tights under my red shorts and the neon yellow rain shell.
Then, at mile 3, the sky opened up. First merely spitting, but definitely raining, we commiserated that maybe, perhaps, the rain jackets and tights had been a wise choice. As rain began dripping off the brim of my S.F. Giants hat, we agreed that caps instead of the propeller beanies we had intended to wear (to go along with the race's "Alice in Wonderland" theme, as Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum) were the better call.
At mile 5, we hit the beginning of the Hill.
"Did you look at the course map?" Heather gasped as the incline began to take its toll on both of us, our speed dropping from a shaky 9-minute-mile to 10s.
"Yeah," I barely managed, equally breathless, as my right hip flexor began to cramp, "It's like this for like a mile and a half. I think."
"We can do it."
"I know."
As the rain came down harder and the other lanes of the road (that was not coned-off) hissed with cars going downhill at speeds upwards of 40 mph. The line of runners chugging up the incline moved further out into the road as the gutter and subsequently, the bike lane became river-esque. The cars loomed closer and we tried to utter exclamations.
Water pooled in the sleeves of our waterproof jackets, trickling down our collars to accumulate inside. The combination of sweat and wet provided an unanticipated conundrum. How can one wipe off one's face when everything is wet?
We ate our second set of shot bloks about a quarter mile into the Hill. At mile 8, as we chomped our third set, I exclaimed, "Do you realize this is the second set of bloks we've eaten on this damned hill?"
Cursing ensued, as it struck home that this Hill was far more than 1.5 miles. We were entering mile 4 of the hill and mile 9 of the race.
"I didn't know you could go uphill this long," my lovely friend growled.
The top seemed to loom and was greeted with broken cheers on our parts. Glimpses of blue sky and a distinct slackening of the downpour was greeted with equal jubilation. Then, the road took a sharp right and we were faced with more horror.
It was the Heart of Darkness of Hills. And it steepened sharply after that turn.
"We should have done more hill repeats," I uttered painfully.
"We should have run more," lovely friend pointed out.
As if 25 miles a week wasn't enough.
The hill petered out at mile 10, and we were past acknowledging that our goal of breaking 2 hours was probably not going to happen. We were hoping for a finish at that point, as our burning legs, churning stomachs, and drenched bodies were petering out as well.
"If there are any more hills, I'm going to kill someone," I growled.
And then the path jutted upwards again.
"Okay, who's first?" I moaned.
Needless to say, our last three miles, while speedy, were tumultuous. We alternated "point" — the ultimate running buddy trick, where you have to keep up with whomever gets a spurt of energy; it helps keep pace and means the bitching alternates — and struggled to keep our legs pounding the pavement. A near tumble down a sharp incline off the side of the path, and a stumble into a runner passing incited comments of how falling down the hill was not, in fact, the quicker way to go and, "sorry, reckless running over here."
But we made it.
2:05:42. With a hill we were unprepared for and torrential rain, we did pretty damn well.
I was 714 out of 1655, and 51st out of my age division. Therefore I am not complaining.
About how I did, that is. My aches and pains are a different story.
We drove home to be greeted by the first snow of the season. Boyfriend can barely contain his glee and my parents and lovely friend got to see the house for the first time. I will post the only picture taken from the race as soon as I get it from my mom. Rain made our C.R.E.W. rather scant, and we were only hailed at the finish line, but we'll take what we can get.
More later.
Ciao,
kc
Showing posts with label Shot Bloks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Shot Bloks. Show all posts
Monday, October 25, 2010
Sunday, October 10, 2010
We're not in Kansas anymore
I'm salty. But that's what happens when you run.
Twelve miles.
Owwww. The altitude and all of the stress/exhaustion of moving finally caught up with me yesterday, and other than the 5 mile run which was managed only with much bitching (in my head, don't worry, not out loud as I was by myself) and at 7:30 a.m. because that's when my lovely friend could run, I did absolutely nothing.
Nothing nothing nothing.
Well, that's not true. I made pillows.
And I roasted a pumpkin.
And I finished a hat I was supposed to have done by last Christmas and started on my second (of three that were promised last Christmas). Maybe they'll be done in time for this holiday season? One can hope. I still have a sweater I have to finish from three years ago. That's what happens when the initial thrill of "I can do this!" wears off and the craft projects that you used to whiz through take forever.
Though it's kind of fun sitting in my little cabin watching TV and knitting.
Oh, and I did laundry.
So yesterday, I stayed exhausted, did nearly nothing and was in bed and asleep by 9:45 p.m. and I even "slept in" this morning. Seeing as 6:30 a.m. has been my go-time all this week, and 7:45 a.m. this morning was when I finally pulled myself out of bed — that's sleeping in.
Today was all productivity. After making my coffee, and letting myself snuggle with my cereal and my coffee on the couch for one episode of "How I Met Your Mother" (my current staple, lent to us by a friend of boyfriend's family who lives in Bend), I was up and at 'em.
I folded the laundry I did yesterday. And no, in case you were wondering, I don't consider folding part of doing laundry. Mostly because I hate to fold laundry. Can you say, "Honey Do List"? I'd rather stack the cord of wood that's outside. But it was raining this morning, so I folded laundry instead.
Then I whipped up some pumpkin muffins from the pumpkin I roasted yesterday.
Unfortunately, the pumpkin wasn't particularly flavorful, so they're kind of wimpy muffins. And I needed to add more flour, because the pumpkin was a bit watery, so they're kind of flat. But nothing says "neighborly" like a plateful of fresh muffins, and nothing says "quick and easy breakfast" or "best girlfriend ever" like fresh muffins.
Pumpkin Muffins for your Tasting Pleasure
2 cups brown sugar
1 cup oil
4 beaten eggs
1 lb canned pumpkin (3 1/2 cups cooked pumpkin)
3 1/2 cups flour (1 cup whole wheat, 2 1/2 cups all-purpose,
unbleached flour)
2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
2/3 cup water
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, mix together the brown sugar, oil, beaten eggs, and pumpkin. In a second bowl, mix together the dry ingredients. Alternate adding flour and water to the brown sugar, oil, beaten eggs, and pumpkin. Stir until just mixed. Place muffin batter in tins 2/3 full. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes.
Once I'd popped the first dozen in the oven, I busted out the vacuum to give our floor — which was rather dirty from all the moving — a good once over. My boyfriend has the best vacuum ever. It's got this head that goes in all directions (gets into tight corners easily!) and it's lightweight and easy to manhandle, and you don't have to use a bajillion different attachments for hardwood, carpet, etc. Just one. And it does it all!
I'd marry that man for his vacuum alone.
His mother thinks I'm kidding and thinks that statement is hilarious.
I'm not.
Though he does have many other wonderful attributes, so I'd marry him anyways. Regardless of his vacuum. It's just a perk. And don't tell him I talked to you about marriage.
Then I cleaned the bathroom, put another round of muffins in the oven, made up the bed in the guest room, and put the various odds and ends that don't have a home and can be stored in our attic storage. This is no small task for me as I am short (ish) and the ladder is really high up hard to reach. So I can get the attic door open, but I can't get the ladder down from the floor.
Not even when I stand on tip-toe.
Luckily, boyfriend has this cute little stool that he made when he was a cub scout that I've been toting around the house with me. Comes in handy when I'm trying to neatly put things on shelves, above cabinets, or get into the attic. It's so cute.
I finished up my muffin making, took some muffins over to my neighbors Linda and Lane (Lane built the house), and then had some lunch.
Then, lovely friend and I motivated to run our 12 miles for today.
It felt like I was at a higher altitude and that I took my rest day on Thursday and ran five miles on Friday instead. Oh wait, I am and I did.
It was hard.
It hurt. A lot.
But I found this nifty little 5.25 mile loop in Sunriver (we're just Southwest of Sunriver, which is the resort town south of Bend, between Bend and Mt. Bachelor). It's 1.75 miles from my house to the beginning of the loop, so I had to do an extra 3.25 miles in there, but it goes along the Deschutes River a ways on the prohibited-hunting side...oh, didn't I tell you? Yeah, it's hunting season...don't want to go more than 2 miles into the forest without a bright orange reflective vest or the hunters might think you're a deer. And shoot you.
So we don't do that.
Anyways.
It goes along the river and then it cuts over to the resort stables and past the little resort airport. Few to no houses out there, and it's this really pretty valley with lots of horses in the pastures dotted with fir trees and blue spruce. Then it travels back into the resort and loops around the lodge and through some confusing trails until I finally found the place where I turned around at 2.5 miles yesterday.
Really beautiful.
It'll be nice in the winter. I can drive to the starting point and just run around the resort, so that I'm off the road and within shouting distance of people in case something happens. Because it's just smart to be prepared.
So I did the loop, and then started the loop again to get my extra mileage, because I knew that if I had to run past my turnoff it wasn't going to happen. So I had just turned around (I went out and back 1.65 miles), when a group of four deer trotted across the path.
"Cute," I thought and kept running.
The deer paused to check me out, rather unperturbed by my presence and kept moving along the path ahead of me. It was two young ones just grown out of their spots, a doe and a buck. They disappeared around a corner and I thought nothing of it until I rounded the corner and practically ran into them.
The buck, in typical man-style, was answering the call of nature right next to the path and taking his time about it. The doe and little ones took off down the path at the sight of me, but the buck kept on doing his thing.
I nervously ran past him, coming within ten feet of him, and then kept on when he just looked at me. I ran on for a little bit, with maybe twenty or thirty feet between me and the doe and co. when I heard tap-tapping behind me, and I glanced back. There was the buck, trotting behind me.
Like, right behind me.
I wish I had had my camera. I had my phone, but it didn't occur to me at the time and I think he was as surprised as I was that we were so close. I sped up and he sped up. I slowed down, he slowed down. Finally, I stopped because he was making me nervous and I didn't know what else to do. At that point, to my relief, he took himself off into the underbrush to catch up with his family who had wandered off the path at that point.
Adventures with wildlife, I tell you what.
Between the deer and the chipmunk who really wanted to get in the house today (I looked up at one point and he had climbed halfway up our screen door and was chattering away), I'm a bit on wildlife overload.
I don't think we're in Kansas anymore, Toto.
Ciao,
kc
TODAY: 12 miles
YESTERDAY: 5 miles
Twelve miles.
Owwww. The altitude and all of the stress/exhaustion of moving finally caught up with me yesterday, and other than the 5 mile run which was managed only with much bitching (in my head, don't worry, not out loud as I was by myself) and at 7:30 a.m. because that's when my lovely friend could run, I did absolutely nothing.
Nothing nothing nothing.
Well, that's not true. I made pillows.
And I roasted a pumpkin.
And I finished a hat I was supposed to have done by last Christmas and started on my second (of three that were promised last Christmas). Maybe they'll be done in time for this holiday season? One can hope. I still have a sweater I have to finish from three years ago. That's what happens when the initial thrill of "I can do this!" wears off and the craft projects that you used to whiz through take forever.
Though it's kind of fun sitting in my little cabin watching TV and knitting.
Oh, and I did laundry.
So yesterday, I stayed exhausted, did nearly nothing and was in bed and asleep by 9:45 p.m. and I even "slept in" this morning. Seeing as 6:30 a.m. has been my go-time all this week, and 7:45 a.m. this morning was when I finally pulled myself out of bed — that's sleeping in.
Today was all productivity. After making my coffee, and letting myself snuggle with my cereal and my coffee on the couch for one episode of "How I Met Your Mother" (my current staple, lent to us by a friend of boyfriend's family who lives in Bend), I was up and at 'em.
I folded the laundry I did yesterday. And no, in case you were wondering, I don't consider folding part of doing laundry. Mostly because I hate to fold laundry. Can you say, "Honey Do List"? I'd rather stack the cord of wood that's outside. But it was raining this morning, so I folded laundry instead.
Then I whipped up some pumpkin muffins from the pumpkin I roasted yesterday.
Unfortunately, the pumpkin wasn't particularly flavorful, so they're kind of wimpy muffins. And I needed to add more flour, because the pumpkin was a bit watery, so they're kind of flat. But nothing says "neighborly" like a plateful of fresh muffins, and nothing says "quick and easy breakfast" or "best girlfriend ever" like fresh muffins.
Pumpkin Muffins for your Tasting Pleasure
2 cups brown sugar
1 cup oil
4 beaten eggs
1 lb canned pumpkin (3 1/2 cups cooked pumpkin)
3 1/2 cups flour (1 cup whole wheat, 2 1/2 cups all-purpose,
unbleached flour)
2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
2/3 cup water
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, mix together the brown sugar, oil, beaten eggs, and pumpkin. In a second bowl, mix together the dry ingredients. Alternate adding flour and water to the brown sugar, oil, beaten eggs, and pumpkin. Stir until just mixed. Place muffin batter in tins 2/3 full. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes.
Once I'd popped the first dozen in the oven, I busted out the vacuum to give our floor — which was rather dirty from all the moving — a good once over. My boyfriend has the best vacuum ever. It's got this head that goes in all directions (gets into tight corners easily!) and it's lightweight and easy to manhandle, and you don't have to use a bajillion different attachments for hardwood, carpet, etc. Just one. And it does it all!
I'd marry that man for his vacuum alone.
His mother thinks I'm kidding and thinks that statement is hilarious.
I'm not.
Though he does have many other wonderful attributes, so I'd marry him anyways. Regardless of his vacuum. It's just a perk. And don't tell him I talked to you about marriage.
Then I cleaned the bathroom, put another round of muffins in the oven, made up the bed in the guest room, and put the various odds and ends that don't have a home and can be stored in our attic storage. This is no small task for me as I am short (ish) and the ladder is really high up hard to reach. So I can get the attic door open, but I can't get the ladder down from the floor.
Not even when I stand on tip-toe.
Luckily, boyfriend has this cute little stool that he made when he was a cub scout that I've been toting around the house with me. Comes in handy when I'm trying to neatly put things on shelves, above cabinets, or get into the attic. It's so cute.
I finished up my muffin making, took some muffins over to my neighbors Linda and Lane (Lane built the house), and then had some lunch.
Then, lovely friend and I motivated to run our 12 miles for today.
It felt like I was at a higher altitude and that I took my rest day on Thursday and ran five miles on Friday instead. Oh wait, I am and I did.
It was hard.
It hurt. A lot.
But I found this nifty little 5.25 mile loop in Sunriver (we're just Southwest of Sunriver, which is the resort town south of Bend, between Bend and Mt. Bachelor). It's 1.75 miles from my house to the beginning of the loop, so I had to do an extra 3.25 miles in there, but it goes along the Deschutes River a ways on the prohibited-hunting side...oh, didn't I tell you? Yeah, it's hunting season...don't want to go more than 2 miles into the forest without a bright orange reflective vest or the hunters might think you're a deer. And shoot you.
So we don't do that.
Anyways.
It goes along the river and then it cuts over to the resort stables and past the little resort airport. Few to no houses out there, and it's this really pretty valley with lots of horses in the pastures dotted with fir trees and blue spruce. Then it travels back into the resort and loops around the lodge and through some confusing trails until I finally found the place where I turned around at 2.5 miles yesterday.
Really beautiful.
It'll be nice in the winter. I can drive to the starting point and just run around the resort, so that I'm off the road and within shouting distance of people in case something happens. Because it's just smart to be prepared.
So I did the loop, and then started the loop again to get my extra mileage, because I knew that if I had to run past my turnoff it wasn't going to happen. So I had just turned around (I went out and back 1.65 miles), when a group of four deer trotted across the path.
"Cute," I thought and kept running.
The deer paused to check me out, rather unperturbed by my presence and kept moving along the path ahead of me. It was two young ones just grown out of their spots, a doe and a buck. They disappeared around a corner and I thought nothing of it until I rounded the corner and practically ran into them.
The buck, in typical man-style, was answering the call of nature right next to the path and taking his time about it. The doe and little ones took off down the path at the sight of me, but the buck kept on doing his thing.
I nervously ran past him, coming within ten feet of him, and then kept on when he just looked at me. I ran on for a little bit, with maybe twenty or thirty feet between me and the doe and co. when I heard tap-tapping behind me, and I glanced back. There was the buck, trotting behind me.
Like, right behind me.
I wish I had had my camera. I had my phone, but it didn't occur to me at the time and I think he was as surprised as I was that we were so close. I sped up and he sped up. I slowed down, he slowed down. Finally, I stopped because he was making me nervous and I didn't know what else to do. At that point, to my relief, he took himself off into the underbrush to catch up with his family who had wandered off the path at that point.
Adventures with wildlife, I tell you what.
Between the deer and the chipmunk who really wanted to get in the house today (I looked up at one point and he had climbed halfway up our screen door and was chattering away), I'm a bit on wildlife overload.
I don't think we're in Kansas anymore, Toto.
Ciao,
kc
TODAY: 12 miles
YESTERDAY: 5 miles
Monday, July 19, 2010
Running Mojo and Kitchen Joys
So apparently the two posts on, what was it? Monday? made up for me not posting practically at all this week. But, in my defense, it was apparently major Bitch Week (featuring a master mix of your favorites, like "Rip Me a New One" and "Screw This") and I reserve this place as a non-bitching arena.
If I ever "disappear" again, that's probably why.
That or I'm busy "being there." You know what I mean.
Between the house being full of my parents and my sister (remind me why I moved home again? Free rent may not be worth it right now), my aunt's puppy (albeit a very very very tiny puppy, as Mija's a chihuahua, but she's a puppy nevertheless) and the impending arrival of my grandparents this afternoon...the house has never felt so small and I've never felt so grateful to be able to escape to work.
Now that's a new feeling. "Escape" to work. Ah, me. At least here, I can write! My sister (younger by two years) has "taken over" the office/craft room that houses my computer, so I've been barely able to check my email at home, let alone post a blog! But that makes no nevermind, as I was too cranky to write anything positive anyways.
Even after I plied myself with boba tea several times last week!
1. My lovely friend and I ran ten miles on Saturday — a first for me, though paltry for her. I did it to see if I could, my previous "record" being 6 miles, and was surprised that I not only finished, but I was still functioning (a critical point) afterwards! And topped it off with a blistering 3.5 miles yesterday morning (another foul mood that I burned off with running).
To get through the ten miles, I was up early (1.5 hours before running) to properly fuel up — had my cappuccino (real caffeine is a special treat for me, I normally drink Tazo Zen green tea in the mornings as it's better for my disposition and my body. Coffee and espresso is for days when I really really really need the extra kick, I'm going to be running a lot, or I need a special treat to get me through the day), a bowl of Honeybunches of Oats with Almonds and some craisins sprinkled on top, a "shot" of Emergen-C for electrolytes and a natural vitamin boost, and a huge glass of water.
During the run itself, we both carried water and dutifully mowed through Clifbar Shot Bloks (similar to gels, but tastier and easier to gulp down while moving) — both regular and extra salt (berry and margarita flavored!), as we both have salt deficiencies — every three miles-ish (we didn't hit it at 9 miles, because we just had one to go, though we could have). So we finished in relatively good humor. I consumed a Clifbar "Mocha" flavored gel when we were done to tide me over until I could get some real food (I had to drop my lovely friend off and her house and then drive home — so 20 to 30 minutes). Think brownie-batter. Pretty good, but wouldn't want to eat it during a run.
All in all, I did really good! We finished in an hour and 50 minutes, avg. 11 minute mile, and I didn't need to ice anything until after my run yesterday! WHAT KICK STARTS YOUR RUNNING MOJO? HOW DO YOU MAKE THE DISTANCE?
2. My boyfriend and I sat down and mapped — er, rather sketched — out our "future"...at his prompting, no less. He is one of those wonderfully classic men whose catchphrase is "my plan is that I have no plan." Great for him, mildly aggravating for a woman who is so A.R. she cannot go without planning her week on Sunday evening. Though after 2+ years together I've figured out how to work around his carefree outlook without panicking and going into crisis overdrive myself — give the man deadlines. If I have deadlines, then there is a plan — at least, enough of one for me — and there isn't enough of one to put him in a panic.
It's a wonderful thing.
But back to the point. He said, "We need to talk about our future and make some plans today." I went, "Say what now?" And then quickly agreed to do so before he changed his mind. Now we have "concrete" plans (with dates to have things done by! Ah, he's finally figured me out...) and I'm stoked about the future.
3. During my run (and actually I'd been noticing all week) I realized that my favorite running sunglasses had been squished and no longer stayed on my face quite the way I wanted them to. Sad day. I'm kind of a sunglasses snob, as it usually takes a while to find some that I like that also look decent on my face (the bug-eyed era was particularly bad for me). So as a rule, I snatch up any pair that happens to look decent if I can afford it, and for running sunglasses (which tend to be alternately all-purpose as well) I put up the big bucks, and as with my shoes, I stick to a brand I know and like.
My sunglasses of choice are Electrics, and I've been rocking the EC DCs in Black Clear Fade
and the fact that they'd been squished past the point that I couldn't (gently) bend them back, made me super sad. They're still wearable, but not for running or other sport-activities (I play ultimate too, and my "name" in ultimate is "Shades" as I always wear 'em). They're camping/car/river sunglasses now. Which sounds hoity-toity, but for someone as active as I am, you need a pair that will stay on your face!
So I went to the store to get myself some new ones, and decided that I really didn't like the solid black EC DCs, which was all they had. So I tried a couple of other pairs. The Technician style was nice, but the winner was the Charge in Tweed
They stay on my face even better than the EC DCs did, they're incredibly lightweight, and they look pretty freakin' sexy! Haha. I thought I'd get some flack for the "rasta" stripes on the side from my boyfriend and co. but as a Humboldt native, I'm apparently allowed to rock them, even if I'm about as hippie as a bikini-clad palm tree.
Anyways, so it was a decent weekend, even if my pocket is lighter for having to get new sunglasses.
I'm trying to think if I've had any yummy food lately. Oh! Yes, I did!
My sister made the best whole wheat bread. I think this is the recipe. She told me where it was, but I kind of forgot. This looks like the right one, but I'm not entirely sure (if this is the wrong one, I'll update it next post). It was scrumptious though. Just plain it was delicious, I ate it for breakfast all week. It was a huge recipe, it made 3 decently sized loaves. One turned out kind of flat, because she chilled the dough overnight (takes a while to make it and she started late), but it was still absolutely divine. DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE BREAD RECIPE OR EXPERIENCE? TELL ME ABOUT IT!
I've made baguettes in my day (easiest thing ever, by the way) and pretzels, but I've never had the bread pans (or the inclination to go buy them) to do loaved bread. I definitely am going to now — er, rather, once boyfriend and I have relocated to a home of our own (soon!) and I have my kitchen back.
Speaking of kitchens, I miss mine so much. I have all the coolest toys. I moved into my last house in San Luis Obispo after living on campus the first two years with three plates, some cups, a bowl, and a set of silverware. I may have had a pot, but that was it. Moving out...I had six good sized (as big as they could be and still be liftable by me) boxes of kitchen stuff — not counting the individually boxed crockpot, toaster, blender, and my pride and joy...
My artisan Kitchen mixer in empire red. She's my baby. The only thing that she isn't good at making is cheese cake (the mixer blade doesn't quite reach the bottom of the bowl, and with cheese cake filling it's hard to get at the bottom really well with a spatula...at least, with the cheese cake I make — me and Betty do great things). I adore her. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE, HAVE-A-RELATIONSHIP-WITH, COULDN'T-LIVE-WITHOUT-IT KITCHEN APPLIANCE/UTENSIL?
If I ever "disappear" again, that's probably why.
That or I'm busy "being there." You know what I mean.
Between the house being full of my parents and my sister (remind me why I moved home again? Free rent may not be worth it right now), my aunt's puppy (albeit a very very very tiny puppy, as Mija's a chihuahua, but she's a puppy nevertheless) and the impending arrival of my grandparents this afternoon...the house has never felt so small and I've never felt so grateful to be able to escape to work.
Now that's a new feeling. "Escape" to work. Ah, me. At least here, I can write! My sister (younger by two years) has "taken over" the office/craft room that houses my computer, so I've been barely able to check my email at home, let alone post a blog! But that makes no nevermind, as I was too cranky to write anything positive anyways.
Even after I plied myself with boba tea several times last week!
Big things happened this weekend though:
1. My lovely friend and I ran ten miles on Saturday — a first for me, though paltry for her. I did it to see if I could, my previous "record" being 6 miles, and was surprised that I not only finished, but I was still functioning (a critical point) afterwards! And topped it off with a blistering 3.5 miles yesterday morning (another foul mood that I burned off with running).
To get through the ten miles, I was up early (1.5 hours before running) to properly fuel up — had my cappuccino (real caffeine is a special treat for me, I normally drink Tazo Zen green tea in the mornings as it's better for my disposition and my body. Coffee and espresso is for days when I really really really need the extra kick, I'm going to be running a lot, or I need a special treat to get me through the day), a bowl of Honeybunches of Oats with Almonds and some craisins sprinkled on top, a "shot" of Emergen-C for electrolytes and a natural vitamin boost, and a huge glass of water.
During the run itself, we both carried water and dutifully mowed through Clifbar Shot Bloks (similar to gels, but tastier and easier to gulp down while moving) — both regular and extra salt (berry and margarita flavored!), as we both have salt deficiencies — every three miles-ish (we didn't hit it at 9 miles, because we just had one to go, though we could have). So we finished in relatively good humor. I consumed a Clifbar "Mocha" flavored gel when we were done to tide me over until I could get some real food (I had to drop my lovely friend off and her house and then drive home — so 20 to 30 minutes). Think brownie-batter. Pretty good, but wouldn't want to eat it during a run.
All in all, I did really good! We finished in an hour and 50 minutes, avg. 11 minute mile, and I didn't need to ice anything until after my run yesterday! WHAT KICK STARTS YOUR RUNNING MOJO? HOW DO YOU MAKE THE DISTANCE?
2. My boyfriend and I sat down and mapped — er, rather sketched — out our "future"...at his prompting, no less. He is one of those wonderfully classic men whose catchphrase is "my plan is that I have no plan." Great for him, mildly aggravating for a woman who is so A.R. she cannot go without planning her week on Sunday evening. Though after 2+ years together I've figured out how to work around his carefree outlook without panicking and going into crisis overdrive myself — give the man deadlines. If I have deadlines, then there is a plan — at least, enough of one for me — and there isn't enough of one to put him in a panic.
It's a wonderful thing.
But back to the point. He said, "We need to talk about our future and make some plans today." I went, "Say what now?" And then quickly agreed to do so before he changed his mind. Now we have "concrete" plans (with dates to have things done by! Ah, he's finally figured me out...) and I'm stoked about the future.
3. During my run (and actually I'd been noticing all week) I realized that my favorite running sunglasses had been squished and no longer stayed on my face quite the way I wanted them to. Sad day. I'm kind of a sunglasses snob, as it usually takes a while to find some that I like that also look decent on my face (the bug-eyed era was particularly bad for me). So as a rule, I snatch up any pair that happens to look decent if I can afford it, and for running sunglasses (which tend to be alternately all-purpose as well) I put up the big bucks, and as with my shoes, I stick to a brand I know and like.
My sunglasses of choice are Electrics, and I've been rocking the EC DCs in Black Clear Fade
and the fact that they'd been squished past the point that I couldn't (gently) bend them back, made me super sad. They're still wearable, but not for running or other sport-activities (I play ultimate too, and my "name" in ultimate is "Shades" as I always wear 'em). They're camping/car/river sunglasses now. Which sounds hoity-toity, but for someone as active as I am, you need a pair that will stay on your face!
So I went to the store to get myself some new ones, and decided that I really didn't like the solid black EC DCs, which was all they had. So I tried a couple of other pairs. The Technician style was nice, but the winner was the Charge in Tweed
They stay on my face even better than the EC DCs did, they're incredibly lightweight, and they look pretty freakin' sexy! Haha. I thought I'd get some flack for the "rasta" stripes on the side from my boyfriend and co. but as a Humboldt native, I'm apparently allowed to rock them, even if I'm about as hippie as a bikini-clad palm tree.
Anyways, so it was a decent weekend, even if my pocket is lighter for having to get new sunglasses.
I'm trying to think if I've had any yummy food lately. Oh! Yes, I did!
My sister made the best whole wheat bread. I think this is the recipe. She told me where it was, but I kind of forgot. This looks like the right one, but I'm not entirely sure (if this is the wrong one, I'll update it next post). It was scrumptious though. Just plain it was delicious, I ate it for breakfast all week. It was a huge recipe, it made 3 decently sized loaves. One turned out kind of flat, because she chilled the dough overnight (takes a while to make it and she started late), but it was still absolutely divine. DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE BREAD RECIPE OR EXPERIENCE? TELL ME ABOUT IT!
I've made baguettes in my day (easiest thing ever, by the way) and pretzels, but I've never had the bread pans (or the inclination to go buy them) to do loaved bread. I definitely am going to now — er, rather, once boyfriend and I have relocated to a home of our own (soon!) and I have my kitchen back.
Speaking of kitchens, I miss mine so much. I have all the coolest toys. I moved into my last house in San Luis Obispo after living on campus the first two years with three plates, some cups, a bowl, and a set of silverware. I may have had a pot, but that was it. Moving out...I had six good sized (as big as they could be and still be liftable by me) boxes of kitchen stuff — not counting the individually boxed crockpot, toaster, blender, and my pride and joy...
My artisan Kitchen mixer in empire red. She's my baby. The only thing that she isn't good at making is cheese cake (the mixer blade doesn't quite reach the bottom of the bowl, and with cheese cake filling it's hard to get at the bottom really well with a spatula...at least, with the cheese cake I make — me and Betty do great things). I adore her. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE, HAVE-A-RELATIONSHIP-WITH, COULDN'T-LIVE-WITHOUT-IT KITCHEN APPLIANCE/UTENSIL?
Anyways, that's all for now, though as it's Monday it's a slow day at work. I'll probably update later!
Ciao,
kc
SUNDAY: 3.5 miles
SATURDAY: 10 miles!!!!
THURSDAY RUN: 5 miles
WEDNESDAY RUN: 3.1 miles
TUESDAY RUN: 2.7 miles + .7 miles hill repeats, total 3.4 miles
MONDAY: 1.5 hrs Flow Yoga
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