10 Days of Thanksgiving: Day 6, 7 & 8

There are only two more days until Thanksgiving! And so many more than two more things to be thankful for! Here are a few more things that I am happy about this year!

 

6. Employment

We tend to take this for granted, but after having several months off, I don't sneer at a steady income. Of course, I am still keeping an eye out for the perfect traveling, photography, writing job with good pay, so if you know of an opportunity for that, let me know.

7. Having a 401k

When I was 18 and I was getting my first corporate job, an older friend of the family told me to put at least as much money into my 401k every month as the company would match. He suggested putting more if I could, but that I should at least put in the company match, since if I didn't I would be essentially throwing away free money. He was right, and now I am giving the same advice to people just starting out in their first big job.

8. Travel

Clearly these all go hand in hand. Whatever money I am gaining from employment and not putting into my 401k is going toward as much travel as I can do! Some years it's more than others and this year has been a bit slower than normal, but I have been lucky to both do some traveling around my home state as well as doing  some visiting with friends and family around the country. I hope I will continue to make time for travel, as it is something I really love! 

Kansas City

Washington DC

Oregon

Yosemite

Do you have a 401k? Did you do any fun traveling this year?

Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice

Many people get stressed out with all the extra work that the holidays bring. Not only do you have to do your regular day to day things, but throw in grocery shopping, having a kitchen or house full of people and having to get up early and plan and cook everything so that it hopefully comes out of the oven all at the same time, and you can easily have a meltdown on your hands.

Personally, I love to cook and like we have talked about in some of the previous What’s For Dinner posts, planning ahead is key. It’s hard when you only have four burners and one tiny oven, but it can be done, and it can be fun.

For several years, I was a vegetarian, so I left the cooking of the turkey up to the carnivores. My favorite thing was the sides. Now, I love cooking and eating turkey, but my favorites remain the same. I could eat side dishes all day. Oh wait, I DO eat side dishes all day. However, this can be traumatic on my waistline! So there are a couple of things that I do in order to not feel the post dinner food coma and accompanying guilt.

First, I sign up for a Turkey Trot! I know, it’s sometimes hard to fit in in, but you can put the turkey in the oven and then go off and run. It takes less than an hour for most and you end up feeling invigorated afterward! The other thing I do is that I try to cut down on my butter and sugar intake by doing a few subs to my favorite recipes.

One of my favorite side dishes is sweet potatoes! However, the general recipe is loaded with butter and sugar. Personally I like the taste of the potato and don’t need to cover it up with sugar, so I just go Au natural. Also, I love the flavors of fall, so why not work with what’s available?

Cinnamon Apple Sweet Potatoes

3 Large Sweet Potatoes (or Yams)

1-2 Large Apples

1 cup pecans

4 Tbsp Brummel and Brown spread

2 Tbsp cinnamon

½ -1 cup Craisins

1 tsp salt (or more to taste)

Dice up the apples and sweet potatoes and put them in a large bowl. Add remaining ingredients and toss together thoroughly. Put mixture in 9 x 13 baking dish or on a cookie sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for about an hour, stirring occasionally (3 – 4 times). Remove and enjoy! The apples give it a bit of sweetness without the added sugar.

__________

Another dish I love to make is dessert. One of my favorite recipes is for these pumpkin spice muffins. If you sub part of the sugar with splenda and use Brummel and Brown rather than butter, you have a muffin you can sink your teeth into without feeling the Turkey Day bloat. 

Pumpkin Spice Muffins

1 cup Flour

¼ cup Splenda

¼ cup Sugar (or you can use ½ cup sugar only)

2 tsp Baking Powder

2 tsp Cinnamon

½  tsp Nutmeg

½  tsp Salt

4 Tbsp Brummel and Brown spread, cut into pieces

1 -1 ¼ cup Pumpkin Puree

½  cup Evaporated Milk

1 Egg

2 tsp Vanilla

½  cup craisins (or raisins)

2 Tbsp Sugar

1 tsp Cinnamon

¼  tsp Nutmeg

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease 12 muffin tins.

Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt. Cut in spread with two knives or your fingers until it is fully incorporated. In a separate bowl, mix together pumpkin, evaporated milk, egg, and vanilla. Pour pumpkin mixture into the flour mixture. Add raisins. Fold gently until mixture is just combined.

Use a ¼ cup measure to fill 12 muffin tins with batter. Sprinkle with remaining cinnamon-sugar-nutmeg mixture over the top of each unbaked muffin. Bake for 25 minutes. Take out of the oven and leave to cool for about 10 minutes before taking out of the tin. If you are like me, you will not listen to this advice and you will take one “ugly” one out for a sample right away. Somebody has to do it. 

Thank you to Good to Know & Unilever Spreads for being a sponsor. I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective. All opinions expressed here are my own.

Who is the Thanksgiving chef in your family? What is your favorite dish to eat? What is your favorite Thanksgiving recipe?

10 Days of Thanksgiving: Day 4 & 5

I will be foregoing my weekly Fitness Friday post today for a continuation of the 10 days of Thanksgiving. Today we have number 4 and number 5 of the 10 things I am thankful for this year.

4. Where my Parents Live

I have posted about this a million times before, but the place I grew up is so beautiful. It is pine trees and clean air and swimming in the cold river on a hot summer day. It is the sound of birds in the morning and the smell of pine and the wandering up and down through the mountains. It is a great place to go home to. I can't wait to go home for Christmas and play in the snow and bake cookies and play a few rounds of Rummikub and read my book near the fire. For some reason it's that much sweeter at Mom and Dad's house.

Hiking with Dad

Lovely snowy day

5. Public Transportation

One of the best things about living where I do is the fact that I don't need a car. I could probably write a whole post about this too. I have talked a little bit about the Casual Carpool, which is how I get to work, and it only takes about 20 minutes. Going home, I take the bus, which also only takes about 25 minutes. There is also the option of taking the train or a boat. I also walk a lot, and it is nice to have the option to do so. Other than that, there are options for bike shares, car shares, rent by the hour and more. One thing I recently found out about is Get Around, where you can rent out your own car if you don't need it, or you can rent a car by the hour if you do. I love that my monthly transportation cost is roughly 150 dollars and that's including all transportation and gas!

My favorite - the F train

Do you enjoy going back to the area you grew up in? How much do you spend a month on transportation?

10 Days of Thanksgiving: Day 1, 2 & 3

Lately, I have so many things going around in my head that I cannot make them settle coherently. This is good timing though, since last year I joined up with Lisa to do the 10 Days of Thanksgiving and it's about that time again! Like last year, I will not necessarily do one a day, but there WILL be 10 things! You can see the ones I did last year here. Also like last year, I am a little late to the party. That's the way it goes in November, I guess. The first three are kind of a theme... Here they are: Things I am thankful for this year, number 1, 2 and 3!

1. Where I Live

The neighborhood

This year I am lucky to be in the Bay Area, where the weather is perfect running weather all year round. No matter what you like to do, it is here. Within walking distance, there are restaurants, grocery stores, running trails, art, wine and easy biking paths. It is all here! There is something for everyone and the everyones are varied. I like having varied everyones around me.

2. Great Food 

Pancakes at La Note

Ethiopian? Vietnamese? Nepalese? Burmese? YES PLEASE! I love all the great ethnic food near me and let me tell you, I MISS that when I am working around the country. I get so tired of fried food and meat with gravy. I want a nice, steaming hot bowl of Pho! So that's great. My other favorite thing to do is Brunch. I have a list of places To Try that I am working on, albeit slowly! Some of my local favorites? Brown Sugar and Sams Log Cabin. This is up for change though! Any suggestions?

3. Places to Run 

Huckleberry Preserve

This deserves a post all on it's own, but it is so nice to not only have a great neighborhood to run in, but also several paths nearby. Best of all, there are several parks with many, MANY different trails to run on. As you know, trail running is my favorite thing to do and I also think running hilly routes is better for you, is less monotonous and makes you stronger overall. So having these so near to me is pure BLISS. I don't ever want to live anywhere where I don't have trail access ever again!

What are you thankful for this year? What is your favorite thing about the area you live in?

Looking Forward

Today I am looking forward to hopefully talking to my Mom on the phone before she leaves to go Back East to see HER mother. She and my Dad are finally taking a couple weeks off to go travel and have fun and see some family. I am so excited for both of them. I am also looking forward to my lunch time walk, which affords me views like this:

This week I am looking forward to dinner and running with the Broski (he still has not given up! Hurray!), a short work week (I guess that is next week though but I am taking it) and lots of pumpkin based dishes! I already made pumpkin curry, pumpkin spice muffins, pumpkin oatmeal, pumpkin seeds and...whoa I am starting to sound like Forrest Gump! Pumpkin!

This month I am looking forward to many family and friend reunions! November and December are all already booked full every weekend. There will be turkey with the Broski, brunch with friends, friends coming to visit from the Midwest, a holiday walk in the city with the family, 2 concerts and more! It will be a packed 30 days (or 45!)

This year I am looking forward to getting more comfortable at work, traveling, settling in more, running a couple of Ultras and of course The Boston Marathon! The family is probably going back east with me for a grand hoopla of a time. It should be a lot of fun!

*inspired by Lisa

What are you looking forward to? What is your favorite pumpkin dish?

You Are What You Eat

I track my food. I don't do it because I am on some wild diet fad; I do it because I am a number cruncher. I love spreadsheets and lists and comparing how one day or week or year compares to another. I like knowing if I am eating too much sodium or not enough vegetables. I think it's fun! I have been tracking my food pretty religiously for about a year and a half (before that it was only on and off) using Lose It and it has shown me some interesting things.

First of all, I don't eat out very often, but when I do, it makes it harder to track food. You have no idea what is being put into the dishes that you are eating. There is a reason their polenta tastes different (dare I say better?) than mine. That reason is...BUTTER. The same goes for things like pre-sweetened yogurt and pre-made tomato sauce and canned beans. There is salt and sugar and goodness only knows what in there. So, what my point was going toward was that tracking has made me more aware of how much better it is to eat a REAL piece of fruit rather than a canned one, or to make my own tomato sauce rather than dumping a jar in a pan.

So, back to the statistics. On Lose It, you can make some graphs and pull up some numbers and this is where it begins to get fun. For instance, I pulled up my most logged items for the past six months. Here is what items were on the top of the list.

Hearty oats is a mix of oats, chia, flax, almond milk and raisins. I got tired of entering each one separately, so I made it into a recipe. The same goes for cabbage salad, which includes the dressing. There are a few problems. For instance, it says I ate 48 peaches. This is actually 48 peaches. However, for strawberries, it is cups not actual berries. And bananas is actually one banana, not a cup of bananas. I wish that it were more standardized.

Or yogurt, for instance...The number 67 indicates the number of times that I HAD yogurt. I may have had a cup; I may have had a 1/4 cup. You never know. However, I do like that the top items are all real foods! I have to be honest with you though, coffee was actually my number one item, since I have it almost every day!

The other thing I found interesting was the breakdown of where my calories are coming from. Although now that I compare it with the above list, I am not really surprised.

Apparently I snack a lot. I do put fruit in the "snack" category a lot of the time, so you can see why snacking wins over meals pretty easily! Besides fruit, I often snack on yogurt (with fruit), nuts and Craisins (so the list on top is consistent with the graph below!). My carbs are also high, which is mostly due to the fruit, and the sugar that comes from my new favorite snack, the dried young coconut.

FYI: The American Heart Association recommends: less than 1500 mg sodium per day / 30 minutes of moderate exercise 5 times a week / 4-5 cups of fruit and veggies per day / 200-300 mg cholesterol per day (or less). 

So, if the title of my post is correct, I guess I am a big blob of oatmeal. With little chicken legs.

Are you running the CIM? For tips, check out my guest post over at Terzah's!! And don't forget to stop by Jills for more Fitness (and food) related posts!

Do you track your food? Do you know how much sodium you are getting each day? What do you think your most eaten foods would be if you had a top 10 list?

Currently: November

Current Book - Blood, Bones and Butter by Gabrielle Hamilton (it's not what I thought it would be, as in, it's not as good as I thought it would be).

Current Favorite Celebrity - Paul from Top Chef (my Mom and I just watched the finale)

 

source

Current Drink - Water. I have been drinking a ton of it! 

Current Excitement - A good friend is coming to visit the Bay Area for the first time and I can't wait to show her around my city, to do some running and to catch up!  We have both been busy lately and haven't had as much time to do so. 

Current fashion trend - Leggings. Are. Not. Pants. 

source

 

Current Favorite Blog/Website - My Life as a Foreigner -- her last post was about some of the things that may make her crazy. And let me tell you, one of them involves a pet snail.
 

Current Garden Item - tomatoes / lemons

Current Love -  Seeing my family not one, not two, NOT three, but five times over the last five weeks! 

Current Food - This Philippine dried coconut from Costco (ps. It's only 8.99 at Costco!). They also have mangos by the same brand. They are equally as good.

Currently Pondering -What my #12 race for 12 in 2012 is going to be!

Current Indulgence - NOT running, although it just feels wrong. The darkness is facilitating it though. 

Current Mood - Happy but a bit tired out. 

Current New Find - Samsung Galaxy S3. Yup, I got a new phone!

Current Outfit - I've spent a lot of time in running clothes lately. Plus I wanted to post this photo. Look at Broski. He is concentrating on getting over that finish line! Grrrr. 

source

 

Current Peeve - People who walk and text. Pay attention or get out of my way! Or learn to walk straight and fast and pay attention while you are doing it! 

 

Current Song - 

 

Current Triumph - I still have not bought a book this year. In fact, I haven't even missed it! Its funny how you really don't NEED many things and how there are usually easy alternatives to certain things you thought you wanted! (Next up: A no pantry buying spree!) 

 

Current TV Show - I have been tuning the TV to the local radio station. They just put out a new CD called Live From the Archives, which is all live music that was recorded in the studio or at a KFOG concert. It is a pretty good line up. You should check it out if you are looking for some good new music! (Especially if you like the song above, there will be lots on the CD that you will love!)

Current Wish-List - An apron, a new Garmin (Mine JUST stopped uploading to my computer). 

Currently Delaying - Calling DMV. What I need will probably take 4 seconds but I keep putting it off! I don't know what my problem is. 

What things do you put off a lot? Any new music you are loving lately? What's your biggest pet peeve right now? 

An Apple a Day Monday: V

Last year, through the month of November, I did a Fall cooking series called An Apple a Day Monday. I was lucky to have an available and very productive apple tree nearby last year, which facilitated dishes like Apple Bundt Cake, Apple Crisp, Apple Cider and Apple Bran Flax Muffins. This year I am not as lucky to have the apples, but have been experimenting with some other items instead.

This weekend, my Mom was in town and we had a great time exploring the area and shopping and eating! On Saturday night, Broski came over with the lady friend and they all had a chance to try my Screamin' Hot Habanero Sauce that I made out of the peppers that they gave me. Remember the one that gets rid of your socks? They both loved it and wanted the recipe (Mom is not as fond of hot stuff), so I decided to share it with you too, in case you feel like making some of your own. I got my peppers from the garden, but they are pretty cheap at the market, especially if you have a Latino market nearby. They always have the best peppers!

It's a great addition to any dish and I like it because it doesn't taste of vinegar; it mostly just tastes of pepper /  heat! And a little dab'll do ya! The problem with my cooking sometimes is that I just toss stuff in, so you may need to tweak this a little to make it to YOUR liking, just like I did. The recipe was inspired by this.

Screamin' Hot Habanero Sauce

2 cups of hot peppers (I used Serrano and Habanero)
1 tbsp salt
1 lemon, juiced
1 tbsp sugar
1/4 cup vinegar (I used Champagne, but you could use red wine, apple cider or white vinegar)
1 tsp garlic salt

First, cut the stems off the peppers. I put gloves on to do this just in case. I would hate to touch my eye afterward or something silly like that. Then blanch them in boiling water for about 2 minutes. Remove them and run them under cold water (see how to blanch here).

Place them in a blender with the remaining ingredients. Blend. Voila. Now you have sauce. This will keep in the fridge for about a year. A spoon full in any dish gives your dish a nice kick, or you can do like we do, and just spoon it on your meal, one plate at a time!

The original recipe suggested removing the seeds, but I did not. If you want it to not be as hot, you may want to remove the seeds. If you want it more vinegary, you may want to add more than I did, but I prefer it not as vinegary.

Do you like spicy things? What dish do you use peppers in? Have you ever made your own hot sauce? 

Wine Country Half Marathon

Remember I said that the Broski was talking about running another half? Let me tell you why. When we decided to run the Cloverdale Half, we did it only because the race we wanted, The Wine Country Half, was full already. It wasn't heartbreaking or a difficult decision; it was quick and easy to pick a different harvest related race, since Broski works in the wine country and so not only does this mean it is fun to do it on his home turf, but secondly, he is also busy with harvest and so it makes sense to do something closer to him at this time.

So we ran the Cloverdale Half as planned. The next day, Broski's friend Dave, who owns a winery in the area, said that he was running his first half and had put together a team for his winery and still had a couple of spots open. So, in the typical crazy runner fashion, Broski and I decided to fill the empty slots.

First of all, let me say that Dave ROCKED his first half! He finished in under 2 hours! We ran together for most of the time and it was great to get to know him and to be a part of his first big race! Second, I must mention how much I love hanging out with Broski and the Lady Friend. I always go up and stay the night and we have great times cooking, eating, drinking and hanging out.

Unfortunately, this time, Broski was nursing a cold and a fever, so he ate and went to bed early to try to be at his best for the next day. Lady Friend and I stayed up and shot the breeze for a little while. We solved the world's problems, planned a trip to Vegas and decided that we are going to create our own Thanksmas Holiday where we don't have to fight the crowds on our special day. It's sure is nice to know people who make wine, let me tell you. I had to sample the wine from the winery that I would be running for the next day!

The race couldn't have been better. The weather was perfect at the beginning. The course started off in Geyserville with a huge hill, which really separated the men from the boys right from the get go! It then meandered around with some twists and turns and ups and downs, much of it through the vineyards, which are beautiful and all fall colored!

We all ran together until mile 9, when Broski's fever/cold started to catch up to him. By this time, he must have drank 40 oz of water, and it was starting to get hotter. Plus the shirts that Dave gave us to wear were cotton and black and they were hot! We both took off our shirts and kept plugging on, but we had to do some walk breaks up the hills (and there were a lot of them!) It got warmer and we drank more water and tackled more hills until mile 12 or so, when the course went into downtown Healdsburg for the finish.

We finished in 2:06, which was a little over Broski's goal of under 2 hours, but that just means that he needs to try again! I think he did very well, especially since he (a) ran his first half marathon LAST weekend, (b) has only run a long run distance of 8 miles before this and (c) was battling a cold/fever! We also started off a little fast and therefore pooped out a bit early (but like I said before, you have to learn this on your own sometimes).

Afterward, we got a wine glass, some snacks and some red licorice (my opinion? they should have this at every race) and our choice of not only dozens of different wines to try, but Lagunitas beer as well! And the best thing of all? The medal is a wine stopper! Now that is what I call a great after party! So when is the next one?! Broski?

*This race is race number 11 in the 12 in 2012 challenge! Only one more race to go to make 12. 

Have you ever tried exercising when you were under the weather? Have you ever run as part of a team? If you could design a fitness related item, what would it be?

Then and Now: October

Another month over, another month closer to a new year. October was a fun filled month and I love sitting down and looking for photos to put on my monthly round up. However, as I was sorting photos to do this post, I got a little sad. Last year in October, I went to California, Missouri, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire and New York. This year, I went to....California, and I didn't even move around very much. Comparing the two years makes me realize where I am doing things differently. Sometimes this is a good thing and other times it makes me realize that there are areas where I need to get back on track.

Without further ado, here are the Who, the What and the Where of October 2011 vs October 2012.

THE WHO:

In 2011, I got around. 

I hung out with the Parentals, the East Coast family, running friends, 

work friends and high school friends.

 In 2012, it was local family all the way. 

I even accidentally ran into some of them at a Giants game! 

I also spent time with my favorite girls and some new friends too!

(The bagpipe player is my cousin. He can wail on that thing!)

THE WHAT:

Running Miles:
2011: 147 / 2012: 149

In 2011, I was ramping up for my first marathon, so I was putting in a lot of training miles for that. In 2012, I was busy doing more races with only a few miles thrown in on the weeks between. Raced miles counted as about 40% of all miles run this month.

Races:
2011: 2 / 2012: 4

In 2011, I did the cupcake classic (virtual race) and The Green Stride Half in MA. This year, October was the month of races and I had a race every weekend of three different lengths! They took me to Santa Rosa, Healdsburg, Cloverdale and San Francisco! See my races page for more info.

Reading:
In 2011, I read a whopping 7 books, my favorite probably being The Hunger Games or Room. In 2012, I read three books and all of them were about running. None of them knocked my socks off. Check out my bookshelf for more info.

THE WHERE:

2011: 

Home, Newport RI, NYC, Missouri, Cambridge MA

2012: 

Oakland, San Francisco, Marin Headlands, Sonoma County

The Verdict? Like I said, last year I went all over the place, but this year I only went to the four places where I had races (see above). I am realizing I need to make some travel plans! However, this year, as far as the Who portion, I am really loving getting more time to spend with some of my favorite people, which I was not able to do as often when I was traveling for work. It's really nice to be able to do things with people on shorter notice (and more often) rather than having to make a big thing out of the times when I was home. I have been having lunches or brunches with friends and I am remembering how important those little half an hour visits here and there really are!

How has your year been different than last year? How has it been the same?

Fall Back

I have always LOVED Fall Back. When I was a kid I had a great theory. It went something like this:

In the morning, we got to sleep in an extra hour. This is because if we fall back, the clock SAYS 6 now, but "really" it is 7, so we get to sleep in until what used to be 7 o'clock. Score.

In the evening, we get to stay up an extra hour. This is because if we normally go to bed at 10, when the clock says 10, it will really feel like 11, so really we gained an hour in the evening too!

After Fall Back comes Winter!

However, last night I was running on the trails and it was about 6 o'clock and it was starting to get dark and I was thinking about the whole daylight savings thing. I have said it before, thinking and running (especially math!) don't always work out well for me. I have been known to have run several extra miles due to bad running addition.

Last night it was almost dark and I was thinking about how great it would be next week because at this same time it would be light, because it would technically be an hour earlier.

But wait. Then my mind got a little twisted. Is that right?

No.

Then it dawned on me. Next week when the clock says 4, it will really "be" 5. So this means we will be getting LESS light in the evenings! Wait a flipping minute, that's not fair! Who's idea was it to have less light in the evening? Darn farmers! Who needs extra light in the morning?

So I grumbled my way down the rest of my running path in the near dark, thinking that I guess I should get in my trail miles THIS week because I wasn't going to be able to enjoy them as much next week, or for the next several weeks afterward.

I also wondered why it took me three decades to figure this out.

Now Fall Back is ruined for me forever. I liked it better when I was oblivious to it's flaws.

Do you like Fall Back? Why or why not?

Creature of Habit

I am a creature of habit. I find that it makes things easier. Rather than scrambling around in the morning or forgetting something, I feel like if I always do it the same way, it is less likely to go wrong. There are a few things I always do.

Keys: The keys always go in the same place. It a nice empty place where they can't get piled in with a bunch of other things. They have their own place of honor and they always go there. When I am on the move, they always go in the same pocket of my purse, every time.

Coffee: I almost always set up the coffee the night before if I am working the next day. That way I can get up, turn on the pot and then start getting ready for my day while it's brewing. However, I am not really a coffee snob. I have been known to make a whole pot and just nuke it the next day if there is some left over.

White Board: I have a white board where I write my weekly schedule: to do, running, shopping and evening activities all go on the board. Each Sunday, I wipe away all the things I got done and rewrite my coming week's items. It makes me feel like I have accomplished something, even when it's minor (I also leave the finished things up on the board until Sunday so I can revel is the joy of getting them done).

Black Pants: I own several pairs of black slacks. I find it's much easier to just grab a random pair of pants and snatch up a shirt and voila, I have an "outfit". It's not super exciting, but it's efficient.

Water Plants: I have this little ritual when I get home where I water the veggies and pick anything that's ripe. It feels good and seeing food that I have grown (not killed!) is very satisfying and I find it's a great way to wind down after a long day.

Alarm: I like to get up early and have a bit of extra time to get a few things done. Sometimes its something online, or maybe it's updating my planner or organizing a little bit. Either way, it makes me feel more productive during the day to not have rushed around in the morning.

Lunch: I always pack my lunch the night before. I suppose it's all the same, since it takes the same amount of time whether you do it at night or in the morning, but by doing it at night I have that little bit of extra time to do my organizing or whatever in the morning.

Shower: The routine is always the same. Get in, wet everything, shampoo, shave, rinse, condition, soap, rinse, done. I do not dawdle.

Read on Bus: I have a half an hour bus ride to get home and lately this has been the only (sigh, I know) time I have been reading. So, no matter how much I feel like I need to reply to that email or google this or that, I always take that half an hour to read my book.

As you can see from this list, it could probably be summed up by saying (1) I like to prep in the evening to save time in the morning and (2) I like routine. True. So true.

What habits do you have? Are there any weird ones? What is your shower routine?

Wordless Monday

Did you watch the game? If not, what did you do yesterday?

Cloverdale Harvest Half Marathon

My first half marathon was hard. It was hot, by the end of the race my feet were hurting and I was tired. I finished in 2:13 and change. I remember the feeling of pride and amazement when I was finished.

Last weekend was Broski's first half marathon. I want him to get the bug. I think running is fun and racing is fun! It gives you that runners high and makes you feel strong. So I was a little nervous that he would run it and it would suck and at the end, he would never want to run again. To make it worse, he hadn't run since the Harvest 10k, which was two weeks ago. So I was a little worried, because I wanted it to be FUN!!

The weekend before last, we got together with the family and all my relatives were giving my brother advice. I try not to give him advice unless he asks for it, because I know that he is like me and sometimes just needs to learn the hard way. However, some of my family members still do it. Their advice was good! My uncle said, "the hardest thing about running is lacing up your sneakers". Ain't that the truth! My father said that my brother should try to "start out slower than you think you should, in order to save gas for the end". Also true and a lesson that doesn't really make sense on paper, until you have done it wrong in a race!

My goal for this race was to let Broski run it how he wanted, only offering encouragement, not handing out too much advice (only Pink Lemonade chews when needed). I will leave that part to my other family members. Broski's goal was to finish with a smile on his face and to do it hopefully under 2 hours. Did we achieve our goals? Let's find out!

Before: It was about 44 degrees in the morning, so you know how it is trying to figure out what to wear. Broski went with the short sleeved tee, while I decided to keep my long sleeves on. In a rare show of enthusiasm, I wore orange and black. I don't have to tell you why. The lady friend and her sister came for the 5k, just like last time. They are becoming our best fans!

Beautiful morning for a run!

During: The course was beautiful. It went along the vineyards, where people were RUSHING to get the grapes off the vines before the rains came. Broski looked good. The first few miles were good, we did a little out and back loop on a creek path, which was fun because we could see all the other runners. Then we started going uphill! The hills were rolling, but they were plentiful! (Splits Miles 1-5: 8:43, 8:42, 8:45, 8:44, 8:52)

At the turn around

Around mile 6, Broski's right foot was hurting just a tad, but we kept going strong. The pink lemonade chews were a welcome distraction! Then around mile 8 (where Broski passed his longest mileage run ever), he started getting tight calves. I was a little sore as well, as I had run the headlands the day before and had hit the hills pretty hard. The entire time though, the course was beautiful and after the turnaround, everyone was cheering each other on and even when we got passed or were passing someone, everyone was very encouraging of each other. (Splits Miles 6-10: 8:55, 8:59, 9:06, 8:49, 10:23)

We had to stop and walk for a few minutes here and there in the last 4 miles, but we finished it off strong. However, my Garmin read 13.6 at the end! Our finishing time was 2:05, so by our calculations, if the course would have been correct, we would have made it in under 2 hours! (Splits Miles 11-13.6: 9:34, 9:28, 10:01, 9:09)

Finished! Wine in hand!

After: There was lunch and WINE (hurray for Harvest) and Dolly Parton was there! Okay she was a cardboard cutout. We had fun hanging out with the lady friend and her sister and enjoying a great live band to boot!

So, in my book, we made our goals. We had fun, lemonade chews were dispensed, encouragement was given and 2 hours would have been achieved if the course was not long! Plus, Broski beat my first half marathon time. I better watch out, he will be running circles around me in no time. The best thing? He's going to run another half marathon.

Tomorrow.

No, I am not kidding.

Have you ever been to any Sonoma County wineries? Do you ever stay for the after party at your races? After your first race, did you want to run another one?

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

Random Rambles

Lately it's pretty much all Giants all the time around here. Sorry. In a week, we will have won and you won't have to hear about them for...5 more months. Actually there are a few other things going on in my six minute mind these days.

- (Spoiler Alert: Mom, don't read this part) Last night after work I went running out on the trails and it got dark a little earlier than I thought it would. I think it was partly due to the cloud cover and also due to the tree cover. So I was just finishing up my run up the last hill when I saw two pairs of eyes. You know how they reflect in the dark? Two pairs, maybe a foot or two off the ground, but it was hard to tell, as I was going up a hill. I clapped and shouted and made a fool of myself and at first I thought they were coming toward me (and I had a moment of "huh, what the heck am I going to do now?") but then they retreated. Up the hill. Where I needed to go. To go back around the other way, I would have had to go about 5 miles. To go up the hill, I would be back at the parking lot in about .2 miles. So I flapped my arms and clapped my hands some more and they finally went into the bushes. I took advantage of that to get the heck out of there! I could hear them in the bushes and for the entire rest of the way I kept checking behind me to make sure they weren't chasing me.

It was probably just a couple of deer.

Lesson learned. Maybe trail runs should be done a little bit earlier in the day. 

Mountain lion in Tilden Park. Photo by Jim Hale (source)

- My friend's cat died on Tuesday. I went to the animal emergency room with her and we were there until late at night. I don't really know how to deal with with grief or with emotions. I can deal with death, but I have a hard time dealing with the people who are dealing with death. I am the person who is reliable and durable and good at things that are black and white like math, but I am not really good at the grey things, the emotional things and the feelings. What do you say or do? Do you just BE there? Because that I can do, but I am not sure if it's better to talk about other things to take her mind off of it or to talk about it or to let her talk about it or...what!! I feel so inadequate. It's a problem I don't know how to fix.

- Okay I have to throw one Giants thing in here. It is just me, or does Timmy look like that kid from Dazed and Confused?

Timmy (source)

Mitch Kramer (source)

Do you think they look alike? Or not?  It'd be a lot cooler if you did (if you can name who said that you get a golden star!)

Have you ever had to frighten off a wild deer animal in the dark? How are you with grieving friends? Has anyone ever said that you look just like someone else?