Day 92 - Olympic Race Walking

There are enough blog posts circulating the Internet in honor of Valentine's Day about how running is like a dating relationship; I'm not going to add to that pile. Instead, I'll move from the sublime to the ridiculous.

Olympic Race Walking.



Now, I've never claimed to be a particularly fast runner, but I am somewhat distraught (not really) that these athletes can walk faster than I can run sprint. Still, their disjointed style of walking kind of makes my hips hurt. I'm just waiting for something to dislocate. The women are especially disconcerting, as most of them look incredibly unhealthy. And also ridiculous. And like they are making their joints do things they absolutely should not do, as evidenced by the lead contender's demise.



I'll stick to running, thanks.

[Thanks for sticking with me for this ridiculous post. This summer, I plan to watch this event, even though it's probably one that is shown at 3 am.]

Tomorrow: back to running!

Day 90 - A Little Yog and Some Crafting

Let's be real: saying yog instead of jog is so much cooler. Moving on...

My very stiff muscles this morning required a little jog/yog. Well, I suppose they didn't require it, per se, but it was necessary if I planned to use my legs today. Coincidentally, I did. Even though I'd eaten breakfast, I discovered 1.5 miles in that I didn't have enough fuel for the machine. I quickly grew weak and nauseous and power-walked the 1.5 miles back home, which was actually fine, as it gave me enough additional blood flow to do some good stretching. Then, I stuffed my face with about two meals worth of food. I think I've recovered all the calories/carbs/etc. burned during the 21-miler. Just to be safe, I've continued stuffing my face all day. :)

I also did some crafting today -- a pretty easy and fun project from Pinterest that required only tiles from Home Depot, mini-felt pads, modgepodge, and some maps (which you can get from AAA for free if you're a card-carrying member). And voila! You have these great coasters. I've also seen people do these with race bibs; it's the same idea.

I did DC, B-more, NYC and SF.

By now, I'm certain you've heard of Whitney Houston's passing. It's sad -- an incredible voice and a gifted performer, but such a tragic off-stage life. I'd like to remember her like this (a great song to run to, by the way):

Days 69 & 70 - Living Life

This weekend made a bad blogger out of me. Of course, it made a bad exerciser out of me, too, which translates to bad exercise blogger.

After Friday night's snow, I decided not to do a recovery run on Saturday. I had spent the night in DC with some friends, so I didn't have access to a gym. And, let's be honest, I'm a wimp with a complex fear of breaking my tailbone (again) in a fall. So, I decided against dodging slush and ice. Instead, we went shopping.

I spent the afternoon with a friend from college in Northern Virginia. We don't see each other too regularly, but it was so wonderful to catch up. As an aside, she's written a great post on grief and how we so often do it wrong. Our time together was blessed. Continuing with the friend theme, I spent the night with another friend in Northern Virginia. This particular friendship is one of the easiest I have ever experienced. We've known each other for less than a year, but it feels like we've known each other for a long, long time. Another blessing!

Today also allowed no time for cross-training, which was technically on the schedule. I suppose I could get on the bike and ride right now, but that just seems not very fun. I hope this isn't the start of a slump, because now is not the time in my training to be unmotivated. Anyway, I'm hoping a week of normal schedule and an upcoming weekend where I'm not traveling anywhere can get me back into the swing of things.

I suppose I did cross-train a bit today. My mom and I took my niece bowling, which worked a muscle and joint in my wrist that must not get a lot of exercise otherwise... Okay, so maybe that's not legitimate cross-training, but work with me on this.

Day 63 - The Day I Loved Life

That title is a bit of a misnomer, as I love life on most days. Still, today was really a day where I was so happy to be alive, in Baltimore, knowing the people that I know.

My morning included some putzing (what a great word) around the house before church. Church was phenomenal. I'm so thankful for the community I've found there and the way the Lord is working. One time, I will tell you about it; but 12:40 am is not that time. Post-church, a handful of us headed over to Fells Point to eat at Tortilleria Sinaloa. I'd never been there before, but I will definitely be going back. It's totally legit, and I loved it.

By the time I stopped by the grocery store and then came home, I only had a short time to get some sort of cross-training in, so I got in 5 miles on the trainer. Not really a big deal, but it was something.

A friend from the DC-area arrived around 5:30 and after chatting we drove over to Fells Point to revisit Tortilleria Sinaloa. Yes, it was so good that I would eat there twice in one day. Much to my disappointment, it was closed. We didn't see anything else in Fells Point that caught our attention, so we headed over to Harbor East and stumbled upon Talara, where we feasted like kings on some amazing food. It was so good, in fact, that we ordered a second round of one of the dishes we got. So, if you live anywhere near Baltimore and you like to eat, I'd definitely recommend both of these places.

In short: awesome day, awesome people, awesome eating.

Day 58 - Getting Out the Door

Today's scheduled run: 4 miles

Today's completed run: 4 miles
Pace: 8:36, 8:29, 8:15, and 8:32 (Thanks, Garmin, for making me a numbers girl)

Megan is right - most of the battle is found in getting your shoes on and getting out the door. That could explain why it took me over an hour to get out of my house for this run.

I confess, it was pretty cool to run with my new Garmin Forerunner 405. I didn't worry about planning a route; I simply chose a direction and headed out. It was also helpful to watch my pace change and learn just a teensy bit about how I control that. Obviously I knew that I was controlling my pace, but I'm so bad about knowing whether I'm going fast or slow. I had a great run today, which was very encouraging given Sunday's yucktastic ick.

I also had some really sweet moments at field placement today, including a gigantic hug from a beautiful little first-grader and some laughs from a sixth-grader as she tried to incorporate my last name into a rap. Yup. I really enjoyed being a school social worker today.

In running/fitness related news, I finally got my act together and "joined" Operation Hardcore Fit, which was started by Megan over at Watch Me Go Run. I expect it will be fun to see other people meeting their goals, even as I hope to meet mine. Ah, the camaraderie of pain... I mean, success.

And finally, in completely unrelated, uninteresting and mundane news: currently, there are zero e-mails in my inbox. I sat down tonight with great focus to clean it out and I exceeded my own expectations. I normally try to keep it under 15, but I've been hovering around 25 for the past week now, including some that desperately needed responding. It's a relief. I know that those of you who keep hundreds or thousands of e-mails in your inbox at all times are shaking your heads right now, wondering what kind of weirdo I am, but I can't help it. I'm a minimalist when it comes to my inbox.

Goodnight, friends.

Day 52 - Frozen Skin

Today's scheduled run: 7 miles

Today's completed run: 7.06 miles, because I took a wrong turn
Pace: 8:48 (avg.)

It was about 30 degrees when I set out today, which is colder than I'm normally willing to run in. Still, I couldn't bear the thought of 7 miles on the treadmill. The top of me was well covered - a skull cap, hat and hood to cover the head, a Nike cold weather shirt and sweatshirt for the core, and running gloves. The bottom of me, on the other hand, was not so well provided for. I was at a loss for what to wear, so I went with what I had - running tights. They are great tights, but I think I need a thicker pair (or maybe two at once?) for days like today. Upon arriving home, I had that obnoxious itch and redness all over my legs. I've always wondered why that happens, so I took to Google. Did you know that your skin can actually freeze? Or that you can be allergic to the cold? So interesting!

Post-run, I had the pleasure of dinner and a movie with a friend from school. Also included in there were some red velvet cupcakes. We watched True Grit, which is one of the best recently released films, in my opinion. Thank you, Coen brothers, for another incredible movie with lines: from, "I do not entertain hypotheticals. The world itself is vexing enough." -Col. Stonehill; to, "Ground's too hard. Them men wanted a decent burial, they should have got themselves killed in summer." - Rooster Cogburn

I also did some thinking today about the coming year. I'm not one for resolutions, and the idea of a bucket list doesn't quite appeal to me for some reason, but I'm beginning to entertain the idea of a 25-for-25 list. This year, on July 14, I will turn 25. I suppose a real 25-for-25 list would begin then and carry-on until July 14, 2013; but I don't like to do things conventionally. So, I'm going to make a list of 25 things I want to do this year (2012), the year I turn 25. More on this once I've completed the list. Who knows? Maybe I'll do this until I turn 85, and then I'll have to devise a list of 85 things to do... from my wheelchair.

Day 51 - Road Trippin'

Today's scheduled run: 4 miles

Today's completed run: 4 miles
Pace: 8:59 (avg.)

I squeaked out that sub-9:00 pace tonight, and it was a struggle. I think that may have been because I sat in a car all day driving back from NC with my dad. That might be an excuse, but I think it's a good one. :) We had a funny drive back, because we are hilarious; but you might only agree with that after hour three of eight.

80's night

Also funny are the treasures I found while sorting through a bunch of stuff at the house in North Carolina. These included many artifacts from high school and earlier.

So many questions...

Grossest find: my hospital bracelet from when I had stitches in my chin after a bike accident at age 9... with the stitches themselves! Yes, wrapped in gauze were the actual stitches. SO.GROSS.

Weirdest find: there are too many to name.

Memory lane finds: lots of books and stuffed animals, trophies from sports, notes from friends, a few college term papers, and pictures, of course.

On the left: an 80's night with some youth group girls in high school. So much makeup! | On the right: me, with EmG - I have no idea where we are, why there is a giant inflatable ice cream cone, or what I was thinking with the Princess Leia buns. I promise to not do those again if my hair grows back!

Day 29 - Counting Down

I'm knee deep in a Literature Review focused on mitigating PTSD among active-duty service members, so this will be brief and random.

1. A really great running resource- http://www.strengthrunning.com/. This site has answered so many of my lingering questions today.

2. A news team is coming to P.S. 124 tomorrow. I don't know why, but we were instructed today via school-wide announcement to make sure our bulletin boards look good. No joke. There is one particular bulletin board in a stairwell that has had a curse word (misspelled, of course) written on it for about a week. Today, someone took the paper down. And, lo and behold, behind the paper was... another curse word! Written on the wall. Oh, P.S. 124.

3. Dad stopped by today to drop off a table and four chairs for my upcoming Christmas potluck. He also brought a gigantic, heavy Christmas present and put it under my Christmas tree. I have absolutely no idea what it is, but he says I can open it as soon as finals are over, when I don't have to worry about being distracted from my work. Hmmm...

4. The anticipation of aforementioned Christmas present is overwhelming. Imagine what it must have been for people waiting for the Savior of whom the prophets of old spoke? Phew.

5. I'm counting down the days for a few things.
The end of my first semester of graduate school - 3 days.
Christmas Potluck Extravaganza - 5 days.
Official start of Christmas break at P.S. 124 - 10 days.
Christmas - 13 days.
2012 - 19 days.

Until tomorrow...

Day 23 - 10 am Gym Call

Today's schedule run: 3 miles

Today's completed run: 3 miles
Pace: 8:35 (consistently; I was treadmillin'.)

I found another ideal time to go to the gym: 10 am on a weekday. I had my pick of whatever treadmill I wanted and a lot of free mat space to stretch. Love that.

Normally I'm in class from 9-12, but I had an exam this morning that took less than an hour to finish, so I was free for some gym time. I thought an even 7.0 pace on the treadmill seemed like a good goal, so I pushed the up arrow, put Florence + the Machine on repeat, and ran. Every now and then, I would glance up at the TVs in front of me. My choices were Rachel Ray's cooking show or a show on Green Planet that featured volcanoes, man-made avalanches, tribal hunters, and sky burials... All that in one show!

All in all, a good run. I step up my Wednesday mileage to 6 miles tomorrow, and I'm looking forward to it. I only hope the weather in Baltimore isn't as yucky tomorrow as it is today!

To end on a nerdy note, I received two packages today, both of which contain reading I plan to get done over Christmas break.

- Inside box #1: four books from Ligonier (R.C. Sproul's ministry). I got the books plus shipping for just $23 on Black Friday.
- Inside box #2: six FREE resources from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Social workers can't turn down free resources... ever.

And, in case you did the bulk of your growing up in the 90's, like me, you'll be very excited to learn that Lisa Frank has a clothing line... for adults. Yup. I like the Rainbow French Terry Top, personally. Stylin'.

Until tomorrow...

Day 8 - Smorgasbord

Today is a rest day, but I actually thought about running. Alas, since I don't have to, according to the Master Plan, it is better that I make an attempt to conquer the huge pile of work I have been putting off.

Still, I promised to post everyday, and I'm not a girl to back away from a promise like that. So, my smorgasbord of random things:

1. I'm still eating candy corn, even though Halloween is well over. This is what happens when candy is 70% off at Target.

2. Last week, a student that I work with came in with her "hair did". It looked really good, and I told her so, at which point she said, "Miss Leslie, you could get your hair done like this." Hmmm... probably not, even if I had hair! It was funny.

3. That same student also told me I was light-skinned, not white. I love it.

4. A spell check on the word "smorgasbord" confirms that I have been pronouncing it incorrectly for my entire life. Anyone else always said smogasborg? Shame on me, the English major.

Sunrise in the NC mountains

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 5. I absolutely cannot wait to visit my family in North Carolina. My dad and I will drive down on Wednesday evening and stay until Sunday night. I expect it will be a great time of respite for me. It's hard to be stressed when you're visiting a place that looks like that.

6. Today I felt joy and peace in the midst of trial like I have never felt them before. I am certain beyond any doubt that they are from the Lord. I am so grateful. (See my exact thought at that moment here.)

7. I read an excellent post on Friday night by a college friend of mine, Meg @oursomethingnew. She speaks the truth we all need to hear.

Angry about these numbers

8. Over the weekend, I went to the beginning portion of a sleep-out held at City Hall, coinciding with National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week. I wasn't planning to sleep-out, and I could write a whole post on my philosophy there (but won't!). My politics don't necessarily align with most of my fellow social work students, but there is one bi-partisan issue on which most of us agree.

That's really all I have for today. Not too terribly exciting, I know; but some days will be like that. I'm off now to write a policy brief on Title I. Sounds fun, right?! Right...

Until tomorrow...