The Thrill of the Race

I admit, I have not been "feeling it" as far as running goes lately. It has been snowing, raining and cold outside. The fire is going inside, and there is coffee and things to do and to talk about! The cat and I have been enjoying our cozy indoor retreat.

However, like always, I go out and run anyway. Once I am out and about, it feels great. Even though it's cold or wet, I get a rush of adrenaline from running. But even then, it still can be a little boring. That is why I like to change it up, so to speak. I try different routes, run trails or hills if I can, do intervals if I can't. This makes it a little more exciting.

This week, with the snow, I am banned from the trails (they are obviously not plowed and are situated on a steep hill which could make running in snow deadly). So I have had to find other places to go.This week I went back to my normal road, which I have been avoiding since the trails are so much more fun. It was a little snowy, but passable.

The other thing I can do is go down to the valley, where there is no snow. So yesterday, I took a little field trip and had a great run in 50 degree weather!

Last but not least, another way to get pepped up when I am feeling low (on the running front) is to sign up for a race. There is something about the hype and anticipation leading up to the race, as well as the race itself, that just keeps me going and makes me feel great. Today I got an email from the race director about the race on Saturday, and it made me remember how excited I am! I had forgotten but now I am raring to go! And I just re-checked the elevation profile...I am going to kick this race's butt.

This is what the race looks like:

This is the trail that I have been training on:

I am ready. Bring it on.

How do you get motivated on off days? Have you ever run a trail race?

Twenty-One Things

Kathy at Just Keep Running tagged me in the 21 Random Things tag, and I have been working on it for over a month. Do you know how hard it is to think of 21 random things about yourself!? That you have not already shared over the last 6 years? Yeah. It's hard.

CHILDHOOD:

{1} My mother is from Back East. My father was born and raised in California about 8 miles from where they live now. This makes for an interesting "how they met" story. The first attempt was to hook my mom up with my Uncle, but she fell for my Dad instead. My Dad liked her, even though she made gummy noodles. They got pregnant right away. Along came me. The End.

{2} That's not really the end. I grew up in the mountains, near a river. I was pretty much allowed to run free. That's the good thing about living in the boonies. I also never had (and still don't have) cable TV.

A typical summer at home

{3} The bad thing is that sometimes random people who are not so great pick you up and accidentally drop you. Yes, I was dropped on my head as a child. And I turned out FINE! a;lktjpoigugh!!

{4} I also rode the short bus to school. Since we were so far from town, the big bus couldn't come all that way, so there was a separate smaller bus that picked up the people that were really far away and then took them to a main bus stop where we would meet the big bus.

{5} I played baseball, soccer and was on ski team in High School. Ski team was the best. We had meets on Mondays, so we got out of school!

All Stars Baseball 1990

{6} In High School we had a "nutrition break" from 10 o'clock to 10:15 or something like that. I don't think I ever ate anything nutritious during this time. It was just an excuse to hang out with friends, eat nutty buddies and drink cokes. Nutrition -- schmootrition.

{7} I didn't usually bring my lunch to school. My parents would give me $2/day and I would save it up until I could buy a lot of nutty buddies. I guess I've always been a saver. You have to prioritize, man!

TWENTIES:

{8} I went to school at Sac State, where my major was Pre-Physical Therapy. I then switched to San Francisco, where they called it "Kinesiology", which I think sounds much more professional. And people don't really know what the word means, so that must be good, right?

{9} I worked at Nordstrom for 8 years. First I sold coffee, then I sold shoes, then I managed people who sold shoes (and I BOUGHT a lot of shoes). As much as the corporate BS sometimes got to me, it was a great place to work when I was in school. They worked around my schedule and paid my way through college!

{10} My first trip abroad was to France, where I worked at a grocery store for two months during the summer. You should have seen me trying to get a "price check on register 3"! Speaking French was hard, and it was even harder over the phone! They had an acronym for me to remember at the register: SBAM: Sourire (smile), Bonjour, Au Revoir, Monsieur/Madam.

{11} My favorite thing to do on my day off was to hang out at Dolores Park with a book, looking at the skyline of the city and watching the gays rub banana oil on each other. No joke.

View from Dolores Park

{12} My first apartment in San Francisco was a sublet and was shared with three other people, none of whom I had met before. We had a house cleaning schedule. Only three of us actually followed it. The fourth, who was a boy, ended up being my closest friend.

{13} I was a pescatarian for about 15 years.

{14} I used to have over 20 houseplants, which I loved. I gave them away in order to travel to Europe and I never got them back. I don't have a place for them so it's okay. They are in a good place.

NOW:

{15} I can speak Spanish. Not very well, but I can get by. Especially if the subject is food, lodging or transportation. That is what traveling does; you only learn "traveling Spanish". Actually I am better at writing and reading it than I am at speaking it.

{16} I have never had braces.

{17} If I could eat one food for the rest of my life, it might be Mexican food.

Mexican food in...Missouri

{18} I have had surgery 4 times.

{19} In the past 7 years, I have been "home" about 8 months. The rest of the time I am working somewhere else or traveling for fun somewhere else.

{20} My go to outfit used to be black on black. I had to wear suits to work every day, so it was easier. Now I am starting to embrace colors, but I think it comes from being able to dress much more casually at work. If I had to wear a suit again, I would probably be back to black again.

{21} I can't stand having fingernails. I don't bite them, but I keep them cut VERY short. I hate having them hang over my fingers. I also never paint them becuase I start chipping the paint off after a while. I guess I have a fingernail fetish.

Whew! That's Twenty-One! So, if you are bored or need something to post about, feel free to join in or add some in the comments! If you are reading this, you are tagged!

Do you have any fetishes, fingernail or otherwise? Did you ever get dropped as a kid? Do you speak a foreign language?

The Best Lasagna Ever

Have you heard of the Pioneer Woman? I am sure you have, but if not, you can find her blog HERE. She makes a lot of down home things and sometimes even healthy things.  I have made a few of her recipes and they always turn out great. One of my favorites is the “Best Lasagna Ever”. 

The Best Lasagna Ever (**modified by me a tad)

Layer 1

10 oz lasagna noodles

Layer 2

3 cups cottage cheese

2 eggs, beaten

½ cup parmesan (**I used shredded, she calls for grated)

2 tlsp Italian seasoning**

Salt

Layer 3

1.5 lb ground beef

1 lb hot breakfast sausage

2 cloves garlic

2 cans (12 oz) whole tomatoes

2 cans (6 oz) tomato paste

Salt

Italian seasoning**

**2 cups chopped zucchini, celery, bell pepper or other veggies

Layer 4

1 lb mozzarella**

Brown the hamburger and sausage with the garlic. Once it’s done, drain off half the fat and add the rest of layer three to the pot. Let that simmer for about 45 minutes. While it’s cooking, mix together layer two and cook the lasagna noodles. Once everything is done, layer (in a 9x13 pan or similar) in order: 3 or 4 noodles, cottage cheese, meat, then add mozzarella. I usually make two pans at a time and can get two layers out of each. Instead of mozzarella on the very top layer, put parmesan on top (after the meat layer). Cook for about 30 minutes in a 350 degree oven.

I usually make two pans at a time and cook one right away and put the other in the freezer, where it will keep for a long time and you can make it whenever you want! If you are cooking from frozen, I found it best to leave it out all day and then cook it for about an hour and a half, but it depends on your oven strength (mine is weak).  You can also make it and then keep it in the fridge for a couple days before baking.

**Modifications:  I did use actual shredded parmesan, even though she says you can use Kraft. I also used real buffalo mozzarella, even though her photo shows the harder kind of mozzarella (like string cheese).  I also added veggies, which is not in her recipe, but I like to sneak them in when I can. For Italian seasoning, she uses separate ingredients of basil, parsley etc. But I found it easier to just use Italian Seasoning!

 If you are interested in calories, if you make this into 12 servings, it’s approximately 450-500 calories per serving. So it’s not necessarily low fat, but it sure is good! I use two pans and can get about 9-12 servings per pan, so that cuts it down a little. Except for the fact that I just eat TWO servings instead!

What is your favorite Lasagna recipe? Have you tried any of the Pioneer Woman’s recipes? Do you modify recipes or stick to the schedule?

A Bit of Snow and A Book

This week has been pretty mellow. With the weather like it is, it isn't conducive to really do much else than stay inside and read! I am still going through my stuff, both computer-wise and physically, and am finding (and throwing away) some interesting things! I may have to do a post next week about "weird things I have found on my computer". But until then, grab a hot cocoa (inspired by Kim) and check out what this week entailed!

I ate a lot of these. They are the Costco International chocolates from Belgium and other chocolatey countries. I really only like the two dark ones, and I am eating them nice and slowly, but my parents have made a pretty good dent in the other flavors! 

 I picked out my first book FROM MY BOOKSHELF to read! I have a whole box of "books I haven't read" so as I've said before, I am TRYING to read them instead of buying new ones! #1 The Handmaid's Tale. Have you read it?

It snowed. And then rained. Which became this. But it did not stop me from running 5 miles in the rain and slush! I was SOAKING wet when I got done! I would rather run in plain old snow than in this wet mess! 

But the little bit of snow WAS pretty! 

Then it rained and rained and rained HARD, and we had to drive at night with rocks on the road! SLIPPERY WHEN WET!

For Christmas I got the Macro Extension Tubes that I wanted.  Except I haven't quite figured out how to use them. Does anyone have any pointers? I feel like I am holding the camera SO close to the object!

How was your week? Did it snow in your neck of the woods? Do you go running if the weather is bad? Have you read The Handmaid's Tale?

12 in 2012 (2): January

A while back, I joined up with Jill for the 12 in 2012 running challenge. You can read more about it on her site HERE. It entails running 12 half marathons in 2012, which sounded like a great idea to me! I thought it a great way to keep myself motivated and to possibly get to run a few races in places I have never been.

I will admit, I have had a hard time deciding how to schedule these races. I should have known that it would not be easy, since I travel a lot for work and don't really have a "home base" so to speak. And even when I do have a semi-home-base, I don't know how long I will be there, since my work is on a contractual, as needed basis and can arise at the drop of a hat.

So, I wondered, how the HECK was I going to plan 12 races this year!? Well, I started off by assuming I would be home, in California. I used Running in the USA to figure out where the upcoming half marathons near me were. Of course, I am hoping I will not be home, but at least this gives me a little bit of a plan, even though it IS tentative! There are some REALLY fun looking races in my area and there are also races year round, which is more than I expected! Luckily within 100 miles of me, there is pretty good winter weather conditions!

Next up was my training schedule. This has been hard, I have to be honest. First there was Christmas and family and then New Years and travel (with hiking and pilates though!) and the next week it was roofing and sorting! There just seems like a lot to do and I am so tired! But I am trying to run at least 15-25 miles a week, even though it has been a chore (and I haven't quite made my mark each week). Thank goodness for the HBBC or else I may have been a real lazy person during the holidays. Training has not been as good as I wanted, but it has not gone away entirely!

Dec 19 - 25: 28 mi run
Dec 26 - Jan 1: 20 mi run (+ 4 mi walk)
Jan 2 - Jan 8: 10 mi run ( +19 mile hike / 9 mi walk)
Jan 9 - Jan 15: 8 mi run (+24 hr roofing)

As you can see, I am going steadily downhill, which was not the plan at all! But, this week I have 11 miles so far, and plan to run 6 today and a 10 mile run this weekend, giving me roughly 27 miles.

The weekend after, I have my first of twelve half marathons for the year! It is the Coyote Hills Half in Fremont, CA. Since most of my running lately has been trail running, I decided to sign up for a semi-trail run. I am very excited to try something new, and kind of relieved to not have to attempt a PR, since trail running is already a little slower anyway! I plan to have fun and hopefully get some of my drive back!

Has anyone else run their first race of the year yet? Is anyone else running THIS race?

Where I've Lived (2) : New Orleans

New Orleans. It's a great place to live. Even though I was there right after Katrina, it still had heart. The people still had joy and food! And music! If you ever get a chance to go, do it. Go eat all the delicious food and go to a small hole in the wall bar and watch a live show. It's totally worth it.

I not only lived in NOLA for several years, but I also started my 365 Project in NOLA and so I have a lot of photos of everyday life, which is what a 365 project is all about! I am glad that I tried it while I was there, because there are so many fun and interesting things to take photos of! You can see other photos of New Orleans HERE. 

It's almost time for Mardi Gras again! Soon people will be partying in the streets! I know the King Cakes are already being eaten. And the babies are being discovered!

9th Ward : 2009

King Cake Babies

French Quarter Doors

St Bernard Parish

St Louis Cemetery

Mardi Gras Beads (Lower Garden District)

City Park

For my previous Where I've Lived: New Orleans, go HERE. Don't worry; there are other places on the way!

Have you ever been somewhere where they celebrate Carnival / Mardi Gras (or another big event)? Did you like it or would you rather visit a place when it is less crowded?

Eleven * 3

Thanks to Lucy, I have something to talk about today. Otherwise, the brain is functioning very slowly these days!

11 things about me

1. Right now I am in a sorting mode. You probably already read about my sorting through my storage and throwing things away? Well I am also trying to sort through my computer and name all my photos and organize them and print some out etc. I need to do it more often, but traveling around a lot often causes me to just put them in a folder by month and date and then forget about them for a while. 

2. I signed up for my first 12 in 2012. But you will have to wait to hear more about it. I am excited! Finally got the ball rolling! 

3. I have a chapstick everywhere. One in my purse; one in my toiletry bag; one in my pocket; one in my running bag. I have to have it everywhere I go. I need some right now actually!

4. I don't like dogs. Sorry dog lovers. They smell and are hairy and slobbery and they pee and poop and you have to feed them and walk them and stuff. Just not my cup of tea. 

5. I love playing games. Cards. Board games. Wii. Word games. Quizzes. Whatever! Bring it on! I challenge you to a game of charades!

6. I have only read one book this year. See #1 above. Due to this, I have NOT been reading. At all. Also, I have 3 magazine subscriptions that I am way behind on, like 3 months. So I have several books and about a 8 magazines that I need to read. AFTER I sort all my photos. 

7. I barely ever wear socks except when I go running. When I lived in San Francisco (or Florida, or NOLA) I wore flip flops 90% of the time. Except when I was working. But then I often wore open toed shoes or flats, with no socks. And sometimes even at work, I wore "nice" flip flops, even though I am not sure I was allowed. Nobody said anything. :)

8. I have one brother. He makes wine. And beer. He is a very nice brother. VERY NICE.

9. I rarely wear makeup. When I need to, I put on mascara. And chapstick!

10. I haven't gotten my hair cut in about 8 months. The time before that was when I chopped it all off in Thailand. I need a haircut but I am TRYING to grow it out. Also, the last time I went to the local hairdresser, and she took about 7 minutes and didn't cut it any better than my Dad could have! What a waste of money!

11. I am dreaming of lying on the beach in Mexico. Anybody want to join me?

11 questions for me

1. If you could meet one person, dead or alive, who would it be? 

I guess Abe Lincoln would be an interesting fellow to have a little chat with over coffee. 

2. What's your favorite smell? 

Cinnamon, the first smell of rain, a nice clean soapy man smell

3. If you had to choose 3 bands to listen to for the rest of your life, who would they be? 

Pearl Jam, Led Zeppelin, Kings of Leon

4. Chocolate Frosty or Vanilla Frosty? 

Neither

5. When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up?

A Vet

6. Ice or no ice in your drink? 

Depends on the drink, but probably ICE. 

7. If they were to make a movie of your life, who would play you? 

Gweneth Paltrow

8. Guilty pleasure food? 

Cheeze-itz

9. If you had to choose between having perfect health for the rest of your life or having an unlimited supply of money, which would you choose?

Health BY FAR! 

10. How would you describe yourself in 3 words. 

Reliable

Organized

Stubborn 

11. Most important accomplishment you have done thus far in life. 

Wow, this is a hard one. I guess graduating from college was a very proud moment. Also traveling the world, but that is more fun than responsible! 

11 Questions for You: 

1. What kind of toothpaste do you use?

2. Name your dream vacation.

3. How many siblings do you have?

4. What blog do you read (almost) every day?

5. What would you do if you won 1 million dollars?

6. Do you like animals?

7. What's your favorite book?

8. What's better: having a housekeeper or having a chef?

9. What's worse: snakes or spiders?

10. Where is the farthest you have been from home?

11. Who is the most inspirational person in your life?

I tag

You

The Rules

1. Post the rules.

2. Post 11 things about you.

3. Answer the questions the tagger asked you.

4. Write 11 new questions for those you tag.

You can do this on your own blog or answer some of the questions in the comments!

A-List Monday: Roofing vs Exercise

For the last week, I have been helping to re-roof a neighbor's house. It has not been easy! Not only is standing at an angle very uncomfortable, but it also uses muscles you did not even know you had! However, this may be better than a workout! Everyone who has made a New Year's resolution to work out more should just start doing construction instead.

FYI, the roof we put on was metal, which entails metal panels about 3 feet wide and  8-10 feet long. The roof was pretty steep on most of it, which makes it hard to keep the panels from sliding. I have illustrated these concepts below with my "excellent" art skills (which are at about preschool level).

3 ways Roofing is like exercise: 

{1} Roofing is like Yoga. You are constantly stretching, kneeling, crouching to reach a stapler without having to move too far while holding a panel, doing the childs pose in order to screw in the panel you are holding down with your body, or doing a downward dog in order to hold down a panel without it slipping.

{2} Roofing is like aerobics. You are walking up and down the roof, hopping over things, running across the panels and best of all, crouching and standing, crouching and standing. I once took a salsa aerobics class in college. Let me tell you, roofing makes you twice as sore the next day!

{3} As shown above, roofing IS weight lifting! I must have screwed in several hundred screws over the past few days. This is no easy feat, since the metal panels are difficult to screw. You have to put some muscle into it. Well, when you don't have any arm muscles to speak of, this is HARD! My arm is like jello today! Just the right one though. Also, the panels don't (unfortunately) walk themselves from the ground to the roof. They have to be carried! This means military presses for everyone!

According to LoseIt, you burn 300 calories an hour by roofing x 8 hours = 2400 calories per day. It's like running a marathon!  So, for all you January resolution makers, instead of joining a gym, go join Habitat For Humanity! It's cheaper AND it's a better workout.

Have you ever done any home improvement work? Did you like it? Were you sore the next day?

Look What I Found This Week

This week, since the weather has been so un-winterlike, I decided to do a little "spring" cleaning. Since I travel so much, all my stuff (except for my one suitcase that I travel with) is in storage. This week, I went through that storage, to see what I could get rid of. Of course, if you are like me, you know that sometimes going through your storage to "get rid of it" results in a walk down memory lane. So, grab a beer (inspired by Kim) and look what I found this week! In addition, I did do a few other things. They are also included below.

Before I went crazy and started doing a major sorting movement, I had my extended family's Christmas party (in January)! It was great to see all the cousins! 

My Dad (yup, that's a kilt) and cousin

Some of my younger cousins -- pretty in pink

I went running. Only twice! I have been slacking due to the fact that I have had so many other things to do this week! I need to get back on track, so to speak! 

I found a new trail! A little overgrown but FUN!

Instead of running, I have been helping re-roof a house! It is a lot of work! 

I also went to an auction -- not to buy anything, but to see how it worked, in case I want to sell anything. BUT...you can get some darn good deals on things! I saw one 46 piece dish set, a nice one too, go for about 5 dollars! 

Okay, so you have gone through old stuff, right?
I wonder if you keep as strange of things as I do. 

{1} My diary from when I was about 8. Complete with fool proof locking device!

 

 {2} My first medal from my FIRST running race! 1986.

{3} My first digital camera!

 

{4} My "best friends" necklace from Jr. High! Remember those!?

{5} SO MANY books. It is really hard to get rid of them though! 

*in case you can't read, they are "travel/memoir/reference" and "Not Read Yet" *

*These are the "not read yet" books! 

A whole box. I am SO embarrassed! I need to get a move on with my book reading goal!*

But...and you should be very proud, I got rid of FOUR bankers boxes of books! FOUR! I am sad, but happy!! 

And, last but not least, we had a bonfire. To burn the old files I threw away (tell me, WHY did I keep some of them?) as well as....the Christmas tree! How sad. Except I don't know if you can see or not, but my parents were VERY excited about it. 

Okay now, you need to help me. Am I normal? Or do you keep things too? What item is it hardest for you to get rid of? What do you do with your Christmas tree once you take it down?

One Step at a Time

I have run on and off for a long time. From May 2010 to May 2011, I did not run at all. I traveled; I did some hiking; I did some lifting of the 40 pound backpack from time to time, but otherwise was not that active. I did not want to worry about when I would run or the safety of running (very often a concern in some of the places we went). I wanted to have fun and see the sights. So that is what I did. I also gained about 10 pounds. When I got home from my travels, I felt blah. I knew I had been eating badly and not exercising. I decided to put an end to it.

I did not start running again to lose weight. I did it for many reasons. I had just moved to a new place and started a new job. I needed to have a goal. I needed a way to keep myself busy in an otherwise unknown place. I needed to get rid of that heavy feeling.  I also changed my eating habits. Before, I had been eating out a lot. I ate everything on my plate because I did not know when we would eat again. Even when I did not eat out, food often consisted of whatever I could get my hands on and even better, what was easy to travel with or get while traveling. There were a lot of sandwiches, cup of noodles, tuna, crackers, jerky and other non-perishable items.

Six months later, I feel 100% better. I have lost weight, but more importantly, I lost that heavy feeling that I had. Running has played a big part in this feeling. I have something to look forward to and it is not only good for my health but it is good for my mental stability. My suggestion to you, if you are trying to achieve the same is:

Make a Schedule: If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. Even if your plan consists of “run 1 mile, 1x per week”, make it and try your best to stick to it. Achieving goals, no matter how small, makes you feel productive, which in turn makes you feel good about yourself, which in turn keeps you going strong and making new goals (next month maybe you will run TWO miles, 2x per week!)

Sign Up For a Race: If you feel brave, signing up for a race, a 5k maybe, is the best thing to do. It gives you something to look forward to/strive for. Also for me, it seems harder to back out once I am signed up. And I am not going to go at it half-way. Once I sign up and pay, I have made that commitment to myself to do as well as I can. It makes you more accountable. Besides, the most fun part about running is the races. If you don’t experience a race, you may never know the true joy of the sport. If you are not ready to run, join one and walk! It's fun to be surrounded by such energy!

Baby Steps: Everyone starts somewhere. I ran a lot in the past, but having time off brought me right back to the beginning. When I first tried to run 2 miles, I had trouble. Don’t worry about it. A good strategy is to run until you can’t run anymore (100 feet? That’s okay!), then walk for a little while, then run again until you can’t, then walk. Alternate this pattern for a certain amount of time. You can also use time as your guide. A run one minute, walk two (or three or four) minutes schedule is a good idea. Then you gradually increase your running segment and decrease your walking segment little by little and eventually you will get rid of your walking segment altogether.

Change in eating habits were also a huge part of my increase in energy. But this post is long enough. Stay tuned for information on how I changed my food intake in order to feel more energetic, healthier, faster and slimmer. 

Dont' forget to go check out Jill's Fitness Friday link up! 

Have you ever taken a long break from running? What advice would you have for someone just starting out (or getting back into it after a break?)