Giving NaBloPoMo a Go

Despite having this blog since 2006, I have never participated in what used to be a hugely popular thing called NaBloPoMo. It stands for National Blog Posting Month and it happens every November and was (is) a way for people to test their writing boundaries, get their creative juices flowing, get used to writing and posting every day and to meet others in the same boat. Over the years, people stopped blogging and so it kind of went dormant, except that San, who I have been following since way back in the day, decided to keep it alive by hosting it on her own. You can find the list of participants here. 

I decided to do it this year because I have SO MANY half finished drafts and my plan is to finally finish them, clear my outbox and move on with my life. I also will follow some rules, which I will outline below. 

I will not be commenting on all of the participants posts every day. This is probably the main reason that I have never done this project before. I am a maximizer and also not one to do a job half assed, so I feel like if I am going to do something, I have to do it 100%. I am telling myself, and you right now, that I my 100% will be commenting on maybe 8-12 posts per day, and this includes my regular list of people, even those who are not playing along. I will not leave them behind. I will follow along with the NBPM folks, and will probably read but not comment on a lot of them each day. 

I will still be responding to people's comments. I find this is the most important part of blogging to me, that I am accountable. However, if in the melee I miss one or two, please forgive me in advance. 

My schedule will be thus. I am telling you this because feel free to skip the ones that don't appeal to you; I will not be offended!! And for all of those people who get this in their inbox, I apologize for sending you so much stuff!! Feel free to delete them all and come back in December. I will not take offense! 

Monday: Money

Tuesday: Travel
Wednesday: What I Learned

Thursday - Sunday: TBD / free form

Making the above list just gave me a sense of Deja vu, because back in the day, we used to do Workout Wednesday, What I Ate Wednesday, Wordless Wednesday etc. So many themes!! 

How I will stay organized. I have created a list of posts that I will be writing for sure, as well as a list of ideas for the days where I am feeling flat. I also will write 90% of the posts a few days in advance and schedule them for a few days afterward, so that I am never trying to write frantically the night before. 

I also created a Feedly group where I copied or added all of the participants so I can keep things segregated. This way I can make sure I don't neglect my regular reads because of the hustle and bustle of the NBPM posts. 

Also, to fill in any blanks, I will periodically be answering Ask Me Anything questions, so please go to my form and fill out some questions or leave your questions in the comments below! 

Stay tuned for tomorrow, when I will be telling my origin story for those of you who are new here! 

Have you ever participated in NaBloPoMo? Are you participating this year? What is the number one reason that you blog? If you don't blog, what is the number one reason that you read blogs and/or comment on blogs??

This post is part of NaBloPoMo. You can find the rest of my posts for this challenge here. You can find the list of participants and their information here. 

Mt. Diablo

Every time I do something physically challenging, it makes me think of my Dad.

Dad -- Hiking the PCT

(FYI: if it's factually challenging, Mom's the one. In fact, we call her Moogle because when you need an answer, you just call her and she will know!). He used to drag us up and down mountains, to the ski slope on days where the snow was ripping your face off, and into other such situations where we thought we couldn't possibly succeed. I can't say I necessarily LOVED doing much of it, although I don't remember really hating it either (or did I? Dad/Mom? Did I whine a lot?)

Hiking the Pacific Crest Trail

However, I did love the sense of accomplishment, of pride, that you get when you do something difficult and live to tell the tale. I did love the view from the top, the one that I got to see because I had pushed myself to the limit (or past it sometimes) of my capabilities. I did love that feeling of strength that it brought.

And I guess that part stuck.

In two weeks, Broski and I (and possibly Dad and Moogle) will go to Mt. Shasta to once again see if we can conquer the high peak another time.

Shasta Summit 2009

For another training session (see the first couple here), Broski and I decided to run up to the summit of Mt. Diablo, the highest point in Contra Costa county, at 3,849 ft (source). We were aiming to do the "5 Peaks of Mt Diablo" which would be about 16 miles and 5,200 ft of total climb. The five peaks are Twin (1,733 ft), Eagle (2,369 ft), Diablo, North (3,557 ft) and Olympia (2,946 ft) (source). In that order.

You know how I always say how I went up and then down and then up and then down? Well this time...I went up. And up. And up. And up! In case you don't know, Contra Costa county is hot and Mt. Diablo is no exception. As my brother said, it's not called Diablo for nothing! We climbed and climbed and climbed and finally made it to Twin Peaks. Then it was up some more to Eagle.

Unfortunately, there was some down between Eagle and the main summit. You can see it there, right around mile 3. And it was HOT. After the problem I had with dehydration last time, I made sure to drink about 2 - 3 liters of water before we left, plus I ate breakfast AND a snack, plus I carried 3 liters on me. However, even with these precautions, I was pretty tired by the time we started heading downhill from Eagle Peak. In fact, I remember looking at the trail and at the elevation on my Garmin, knowing that I was going to have to do a lot of climbing due to this downhill, and thinking "S**T, I don't wanna!".

Broski on the down between Eagle Peak and the Summit.

I really wanted my sandwich. I had stuffed two of them in with my icy water in my hydration pack, as a sort of cooler system. I was craving that sandwich and some shade, but neither were in the cards just yet.

We make it to the summit, but it was a long, dusty, hot, shadeless, scratchy, poison oak filled 7.6 miles. It was one of those hikes (/runs) where you were trying to look out for snakes and not touch the poison oak and try not to twist your ankle on the rocks all at the same time.

Remember what I said about loving to see the view because I pushed myself? Well, ironically, the summit of Mt. Diablo is one you can drive to. So we made it to the top and it is filled with people, trying to find parking spaces, snapping obligatory photos and wearing white cutoff shorts and cute tank tops and flip flops.

We ate our still cold (and must I say, completely delicious) sandwich pretty quickly and then started to head back down. In fact, looking back now, I realize we did not even take an obligatory summit photo!

The trail went straight down. In four miles, we dropped almost 3,000 ft. It was hell on knees; welcome to Mt. Diablo. After about two miles of this, we decided to skip peak 4 and 5, not because we didn't want to hike up them, but because we didn't want to hike down them! We were tired of downhill already! So we took a shortcut and got the heck out of there.

Still fresh -- this was before peak #1

We finally got to the trailhead and drank some nice cold water and dreamed about ice cream (which I never got. Pity). So, I had plenty of water this time, but I still think that the heat really takes it out of me! I think I will go back to this mountain, as it is yet unconquered, but next time I will do it in January!

Total miles: 14
Total time:4:54
Total elevation gain: 4,300 ft

Well Dad, I think we are ready for Shasta. Who's in?

What gives you a sense of accomplishment and pride in yourself? What obstacle have you faced and beaten? Do you prefer mental or physical challenges?

So Long Sugar

Last week I decided to join up with Laura in a sugar detox, where we would remove all processed foods and sugars from our diet for one week. I mentioned before how I am not really a sweets person, so things like soda or dessert would not be an issue for me. However, it was kind of fun to see what there was in my life that I did miss.

I think I mentioned in my last post that I would have a hard time with coffee and morning oatmeal, since I do use a bit of Splenda in both (or for coffee I use flavored creamer). These were not as bad as I thought they would be. Actually, I put a little unsweetened applesauce (or extra fruit) in my oatmeal and I was good to go! For coffee, I just used whole milk and it turned out fine as well!

The other thing I thought would be difficult was running fuel. I had a race on Saturday and it turned out okay, food-wise. I had some oranges, some bananas and some potatoes with salt. If the race would have been longer, the no-sugar may have been an issue, but as it was, it turned out fine! I did kind of miss the gummy bears, as these are my go-to trail race fuel!

I was worried that evening time would be difficult, as that is when I usually have a nice little after dinner snack, which is usually dried fruit or trail mix. Unfortunately, most dried packaged fruit has added sugar, and my trail mix has mixers such as yogurt chips, dried fruit (again, with sugar) or chocolate chips. So I thought I would just eat plain almonds, but actually I made do with regular fruit instead.

So...what WAS harder than I thought?

1. Booze: I actually had a huge fail due to the fact that I went out on Wednesday to see a friend's band play and had a couple of beers, on Friday for happy hour for a couple glasses of wine and on Saturday to a music festival (and a few more beers). I kind of sound like a lush! To be honest I don't really drink very much usually and most weeks not at all, but this week was probably a bad one to quit sugar! However, since I am usually pretty much of a hermit, I don't feel bad about getting out for a change and having a few drinks!

2. The small things: Things like gum and vitamins (I use the gummy ones) were something that I did not even realize I used very much. However, gum is my cigarette; I have it after lunch, before I start my commute home and often during a run (okay maybe that's not really like a cigarette...). It's such a habit to always have a piece at the ready. I also chew it when I am craving a sweet, so it usually curbs my craving. So I did have even more fruit than normal this week!

3. Eating out / People cooking: I stopped being a vegetarian partially because I was tired of being THAT picky person. You know the one who comes to your house when you are cooking meat and you have to cook something special for them? So when I went to my friend's house for Mother's Day, I ate what was there, which was processed sausages, tomato pie, croissants etc (plus Birthday fruit tart!). Also, eating out, when  you can't control what goes into the dishes, can be difficult! I went to Thai food and got the chicken curry, which I think may have had peanut butter or sugar in the peanut sauce...but I am not sure!

So...how did this make me feel?

I have to be honest, I did not have a revelation and a feeling of supreme health. I felt the same as I always do. Maybe this is because I don't really eat that much sugar or processed food anyway, so it wasn't a huge change really. I probably snacked less after dinner, which is good, but I made up for it by eating about 5 extra pieces of fruit in order to feel like I was getting a bit of sugar after lunch (one day I ate 4 apples). I think I will have to try this again on a week where I don't have any social outings coming up!

Did you join up for the detox? Have you ever given up one type of food? Is there anything you feel you could probably cut back on food-wise?

Beer, Bikes and Busted Plans

{1} Why is it the week I decide to avoid sugar is the week that...I go out to dinner with my brother (which I only do about once a month), my friend's band is playing at a bar in my neighborhood, the ladies at work get together for happy hour, I am meeting a friend for a birthday dinner (two times eating out in one week!) and it's Mother's Day Brunch. When it rain's it pours, I guess.

{2} I went to see my friend's band on Wednesday and I rode my bike to the show. I am no bike expert, let me tell you. I barely know how to shift gears. Why does it always seem like every time I shift it gets harder? It never gets easier, I swear! Downshift, upshift...either way, it keeps getting harder. So I was riding the bike back home when I shifted and the chain fell off and got tangled up in the round thingy, which I googled, and found out it's called a cassette. I had to walk the rest of the way home.

{3} I was supposed to go to a music festival this weekend, but then my friend flaked out so we decided to sell our tickets and I made other plans with other people for the weekend. But then nobody wanted to buy them and I've been placing ads on Craigslist and dealing with a lot of flaky people and I am getting annoyed. This is why I don't change plans; it gets aggravating, scrambling around at the last minute trying to coordinate things, changing plans with everybody, not knowing what your actual plans will be, and losing money on top of all of it.

{4} My roommate got a dog. That's really all I have to say about that. No really, it's cute; it's a puppy; it pooped on the floor today. What else is there to say, really?

{5} I have this race tomorrow with Broski. It will be his first 30k and his longest run ever! By the way, I think he's finally come to terms with the fact that the trail "half marathons" are not always 13.1 miles.

What's going on in your life? Any fun plans for the weekend? Do you know anything about bikes?

Pour Some Sugar on Me

I know you are singing this song now. Gotta love that hair.

I am not one of those people that eats or craves a lot of sugar. I prefer a nice salty snack over a sweet one most of the time. However, there are a few things I either eat that have added sugar, or that I add sugar to. When I say sugar, I mean honey, maple syrup, sugar, or any other form of sweetener.

Laura over at Mommy Run Fast is having a sugar detox challenge this week, which not only includes added sugars but processed foods as well. This does not include fruits or naturally sweet foods, thank goodness, because in that case I am not interested. We all know how much fruit I eat on a daily basis.

At first I thought that it wouldn't be very hard, as like I said, I am not a sugar person anyway and I usually eat pretty naturally already. But there are a few things that I have pinpointed that may be a little harder to give up than I think.

1. Coffee creamer: I love the vanilla flavored creamer. It's full of things I cannot pronounce. At work we have Coffeemate plain creamer, which is also full of weird things. I will be using either cream or nothing in my coffee this week.

2. Almond Milk: I am not a huge milk fan, but almond milk has "natural flavors" as one of the ingredients (among other things). Not so natural. However, even skim milk has some weird things floating around in it. So I am considering using regular milk or yogurt in my oatmeal this week to see how it goes.

3. Splenda: I confess; I use Splenda. Don't hate me. I use it both in my oatmeal and my coffee at work (where I don't have flavored creamer). I will sometimes use brown sugar or honey but either way, this week they are out. I always add fruit, but this week I may have to add a bit extra.

4. Sweet nuts: Sometimes when I DO have a little sugar craving, I go for some maple almonds, or cinnamon (and sugar) almonds, or my favorite, coconut (and sugar!) almonds. I will just stick to plain almonds for now (which is not a problem).

5. Running fuel: Gu and gels and chews are basically all just processed sugar. So for next weekend's trail race, I will be using dried fruit or baby food as my fuel. I have done this before and it has worked out great, but the dried fruit is a bit sticky.

6. Nutrition bars: I don't eat these very often but do like to use them in a pinch from time to time. However, most of them are loaded with added sugar. I did find out that Larabars do NOT have any added sugars (source: apple pie flavor).

I am not a huge fan of cutting things out entirely; I am much more a fan of everything in moderation. However, this is more of an experiment to see what things I may need to eat less of or maybe substitute with something just as good or better. So...what's on the menu? Lentils, navy beans, beets, acorn squash, quinoa, veggies, fruits, nuts and chicken: all things that I cooked or roasted in the oven yesterday. I will check back next week to let you know how it goes!

Are you doing the sugar detox? What would be the hardest thing for you to cut out sugar-wise? What about processed food-wise?

Pre-Relay Jitters

Tomorrow, I embark on something I have never embarked upon before. A relay race. I am scared.

Vanessa posted this the other day, and it's a funny video where a runner explains to a non-runner what a relay race is all about.



It is pretty funny, because I have been asked many of these same questions. For example: Our relay is raising money for Organs R Us. We raised a few thousand dollars. We also got a sponsor to pay our entry fees. So when I told Mr Lovely that we had to pay to run this race, he didn't understand why. Why do we have to pay? Good question.

We have to rent our own vans. As the video states, we need baby wipes (lots of them apparently). And gas. And snacks. And water. And whatever is left over goes to a good cause! It will be fun (if you haven't already, see above video)! Right? RIGHT?

Sometimes I wonder.

I have to admit, as it's getting closer, I am wondering why the heck I joined a GROUP running effort. I loved playing soccer as a team, but the logistics were fairly easy. 1) put on cleats 2) drive to field 3) play soccer 4) drink beer. It only took a couple of hours. There was no, "who's going to bring the GPS and who can get 5 headlamps and where will we sleep and who is going to drive and what about reflective vests and snacks and iPod chargers and signs and BABY WIPES??" I know we don't need 10 iPod chargers in one van, and there has to be a semblance of order but I don't like relying on other people. I would rather have my own checklist with all the stuff I know I will need on it. I don't want to share my Garmin. I know; I'm mean.

I don't play well with others. I mean, I do, when it's organized and things happen at a certain time. But this has so many unknowns! How fast do people run? This makes a difference. If the first 10 people (I am number 11) run slower or faster than they said they would, we will have to run at a different time of day than we are expecting. I have routines I always follow. I need to eat a certain kind of food a certain amount of time before I run. This usually isn't a problem, but I am not normally dealing with 5 other people. I am going to bring my own Cheerios and hope we can stop for milk (and have a backup granola bar and squirreled away apple just in case we can't).

When asked to choose our slots, I said I would take any one that wasn't between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m. (that is basically 7 of the 12 runners). But when my friend asked me to take one of the harder legs, I said "no problem". This leg? Is at 4 a.m. on Sunday morning. I didn't know this, since I didn't know everyone's pace at the time. Not only that, but now that friend is sick so I am going to take one of her legs (and maybe two), adding an additional 7 miles to my total, as well as causing me to run at... 2 a.m.!

So my "schedule" (as we know it) looks like this (V = Very Hard, H = Hard, M = Moderate, E = Easy):

~ 6:30 p.m. Sat -- 11th Leg: 6.9 H
~ 2:00 a.m. Sun -- 19th Leg (sub): 7 H
~ 4:30 a.m. Sun -- 23rd Leg: 1.9 (used to be 3.7, but there is road construction) E
~ 3:00 p.m. Sun -- 35th Leg: 6.2 VH

TOTAL:  22 miles

I have cold feet. I am worrying about everything. I am dreading this race! It's not the 22 miles that scares me; it's the two middle of the night runs, which are not back to back. So I will run 7 miles and then probably try to sleep for an hour and then run again. Or try NOT to sleep for an hour and then wobble along for LUCKILY only 1.9 miles! But that one point nine miles is my blessing and my curse. If I didn't have to run it, I could try to sleep, but I have to stay up for 1.9 measly miles? And yes, right now they are "measly".

I know, I know. I need to get into the spirit of things. It's going to be a new experience and I will get in a few extra miles this week and it will probably all go very smoothly and I will be fine. And most of all... it will be fun! (seriously, watch the video)

Have you ever run a relay? If so, please reassure me... Do you work well in large groups? Are you are morning (2 a.m.) person?

Bookmark Break Challenge 2012

Last year I participated in AubrieAnne's Bookmark Break Challenge. She challenged everyone to get their dusty old books off the shelves and finish them! She said that if we read more books than she did in 2011, she would give us prizes! Well, I read more books than she did! In 2011, I read 66 books. Here is what I got for my efforts!





I also got free ad space on her blog for one year! This year, I plan on taking part in her challenge again.





My personal goal is to read at least 52 books this year, or one a week. I also think I already mentioned this, but I would like to try to read at least one book a month that I already have laying around. I am going to try not to buy any books this year (except for the ones I buy with my B&N or Amazon gift cards!) This means I will be downloading a lot of free classics from Amazon as well as reading a lot of free reviewer books from Dorrance and LibraryThing. I also plan on reading a lot of library books. At least that's the goal!

Last year I not only took part in AubrieAnne's challenge, but I also joined an online book club at The Many Thoughts of a Reader. We are currently reading State of Wonder by Anne Patchett. One of my other book goals for 2011 was to read more classics. I did read A Christmas Carol as well as several of the Anne of Green Gables series, but I need to get more on the ball this year for that.

You can find out more about what I am reading, reviewing, planning on reading and hoping to read on my BOOKSHELF page. Also, if you haven't already, come see what I am reading on Goodreads!

What are your book related goals for this year? Are you involved in any book clubs?

Hal's Schedule: Take II

source

"Do one thing every day that scares you" - Eleanor Roosevelt

So you have probably already heard me say this...a dozen times last week...or on Facebook...on on Twitter. Yes, I have been wondering for the last week or so what the heck I was thinking when I decided to bite the bullet and...

...sign up for my first Marathon! I have been wanting to do it for a while (it's on my Life List) but I have had doubt in myself. And then I talked to a bunch of wonderful runners, who have faith in me, even when I don't have it in myself. They are encouraging and strong and they made me feel like a rockstar. So.... I signed up. Then I immediately began to be scared. Are you happy Eleanor?

It's not like I didn't think about it for a while before doing it. 

It's not like I am not ready for the training. Although running in the dark and the cold, especially for 20 miles, does not sound that fun right now, as I sit in my warm room in my pajamas. However, since I had already run a half marathon a couple of weeks ago and have another one scheduled in three more weeks, I fit right into week 9 of the Hal Higdon Schedule of Hell (which will be even MORE hellish now, I bet!) **you can keep track of my progress HERE**

It's the ice baths that scare me. Like we don't already torture ourselves enough.

No, in all seriousness, I think that I can do it, but the training is a bit daunting. The other thing that I don't know a lot about is fuel. I have never eaten a Gu. I don't like Gatorade. All of those sports drinks are too sweet. So, I went to Walmart and got one each of some of the different types of candy fuel (I also have a Cliff Shot, not pictured). I plan to gag a lot practice with them over the next several weeks. I also need to get a hydration belt. I already bought a Road ID. What am I missing?

So, I need your help. Does anyone know of a fuel source that is not too sweet? Any training tips? All you seasoned veterans out there, what should I do to keep motivated?

Also, I just want to say thanks for ALL the support so far. To the running and blogging community, which Rocks and makes me feel so much more confidant that I normally would alone. To my friends and family, who don't get it but still like me anyway (and have already promised to come and cheer me on!) And for the future, because I know I am going to be bugging people about this for at least the next...8 weeks. Thank you!

Don't forget to link up with Jill for Fitness Friday!