Enjoying the Course

StrongStride Winner

2012-02-07T18:14:00.000-06:00

I know, I know. I said I would announce the winner yesterday, but the evening ran away from me, and before I knew it, it was way past my bedtime.

I want to shout out a huge THANK YOU to everyone who entered my first giveaway.

The winner was ...

Suzanne @ Cows and Lasers and Everything In Between

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Thanks, Suzanne, for tweeting about this giveaway. :-)

SOC - Goodbye, goodbye

2012-02-05T15:35:00.000-06:00

Today’s Writing Prompt: Write about something that you unexpectedly had a hard time saying good-bye to.

Today's topic was the kind that really gnawed at me. I knew there was something somewhat recently that I had to say good-bye to and it made me sad, but I couldn't for the life of me remember what it was.

Was it our car? We've been living car-free since Aug 2010. I knew it would be difficult, but I didn't really have a hard time saying good-bye.

So that wasn't it.

I racked my brain.

Finally, I asked my husband what he might remember. Our first apartment? Not really. Our apartment in Brooklyn? No.

And then I remembered our electric piano.

We sold it a few months ago. I didn't play it very often, but I just liked knowing it was there if I wanted to play or attempt to play.

I grew up taking piano lessons. I can't say that I loved it or that I was particularly fantastic at it, but I could get by. I played in a few recitals and competitions in high school. It was fun.

Deep down, I really believe that music can be so beneficial in our lives. I think that playing the piano is an excellent skill. It's impressive when showing off.

I miss our piano at times.

But I know we'll have another one some day.

******
Now it's your turn! Here are a few rules:

Set a timer and write for 5 minutes.
Write an intro to the post if you want but don’t edit the post. No proofreading or spellchecking. This is writing in the raw.
Publish it somewhere. Anywhere. The back door to your blog if you want. But make it accessible.
Add the Stream of Consciousness Sunday badge to your post.
Link up your post.
Visit your fellow bloggers and show some love.

Did you know?

2012-02-03T23:38:00.000-06:00

I've been blogging on this blog since the summer of 2006.

Occasionally I've done Flashback Fridays posts. Usually these posts were random photos from my past, but I thought it would be fun ~~and I didn't have anything else to blog about today~~ to re-post some of my older posts.

The following post, How Many of Me?? was originally posted on February 7, 2007.

Clarinda Dodson

HowManyOfMe.com

There are:
0
people with my name
in the U.S.A.

How many have your name?

Clarinda Wilson (This was surprising to me.)

HowManyOfMe.com

There are:
5
people with my name
in the U.S.A.

How many have your name?

There are 1,500 people in the U.S. with the first name Clarinda.
There are 50,995 people in the U.S. with the last name Dodson.
There are 1,016,894 people in the U.S. with the last name Wilson.

I honestly was surprised at how many Clarindas there were. I've never met another one (besides my Great-grandma) and most people I meet have never heard the name before.

Of course there is that small town in Iowa...

End of original post.

Five years later?

HowManyOfMe.com

There are

or fewer people with the name Clarinda Dodson in the U.S.A.

How many have your name?

HowManyOfMe.com

There are

people with the name Clarinda Wilson in the U.S.A.

How many have your name?

Apparently one person has my name now. Or is that one person me?? *shrug* I don't know.

Have a great weekend!

Don't forget to enter my giveaway for StrongStride. Only two more days to enter.

Marathon Training 2012

2012-02-02T20:11:00.000-06:00

I finally got around to creating my training schedule for my upcoming marathon. If you click on the image below, you can see it a little larger.

I modified the training program I signed up for to include cross training as well as core, speed and hill work.

Wish me luck!!

P.S. I also published this same post as a Page up at the top of my blog, if you're interested in keeping track of my training. I also plan on doing a weekly progress report - hopefully on Mondays.

Day One

2012-02-01T19:30:00.000-06:00

Well, my first day has come and gone. I'll never have another first day.

Until tomorrow, that is!

The school I'm at is on a modified block schedule, so tomorrow will be like another first day because I will be meeting all new students.

Still, it won't be the same. I don't think I'll be nearly as nervous.

Today was good! But tiring. Mostly because I wasn't really doing much. The World History classes were watching a Frontline video on China. It was really interesting but still difficult to watch the same documentary twice in one day. :-)

I am looking forward to a fun semester, though.

Despite being am a little intimidated by my mentor teacher. He is awesome and so full of knowledge!, I do think I will learn a lot from him; we should work quite well together.

Here are a few thoughts from my first day.

Dress in layers. i.e. wear a cardigan or sweater. I knew this would be the case, but still I chose to ignore it today. I usually get pretty warm when I'm in front of a group, but since I was mostly watching a movie today, I ended up pretty cold most of the day in my short sleeve top.

My first day's outfit.

Bring more food. I ate half my lunch as a snack during prep around 10:30am or so. I had to stop myself from eating more. I finished my lunch during lunch period, and I was pretty hungry by the time I got home. On second thought, maybe I shouldn't bring more food. Y'know, to aid my weight loss journey.
Teachers are master cryptographers. Most of the students in the two World History classes today had decent enough handwriting, but others are quite a stretch to decipher. I'm pretty pleased that there was only one whose writing I couldn't stumble through at. all.

Overall it was a great way to ease into teaching and my home for the next three months.

The time has come ...

2012-01-31T21:59:00.000-06:00

My lunch is ~~mostly~~ packed.

My outfit is all laid out and ready to go. Accessories included.

I've checked the bus schedule.

Now just to get some shut eye.

Hope I sleep well. I'll need my rest.

For tomorrow, I begin molding young minds.

I'm excited. And nervous.

Wish me luck!

Sponsor Me!

2012-01-30T09:48:00.000-06:00

It's time again for ...

with Stasha from The Good Life.

This week's topic was chosen by Bruna over at Bees With Honey.

Her challenge to us was: "If they were to make a movie of your life what would the soundtrack be like? Share 10 songs that best tell the story of your life. Be sure to include the period or event that each song represents."

I thought it sounded like a great challenge/topic, but you know what? ~~I really couldn't think of 10 good songs to describe my life.~~ I'm going to be a ruler breaker this week and do my own topic.

As you probably know, my marathon training begins two weeks from TODAY.

It will be my third marathon. I ran my first in 2002 and my second in 2003. Twin Cities Marathon both years.

And then I said ... NEVER AGAIN.

Yet, here I am endeavoring on this adventure once more.

Whenever I tell someone I've run a marathon, and they are impressed, I always downplay the accomplishment. My time wasn't fast enough. I walked a lot. I didn't properly train. Blah. Blah. Blah.

This time I want to make the most out of my training. Hopefully this will improve my time. Hopefully this will give me a little more pride in my accomplishment.

BUT I think I will need some help in staying focused. In staying motivated.

So, without further ado Sorry for the lengthy back story here is my list of 10 ways you can sponsor my training for Grandma's Marathon 2012.

Motivate Me. With quotations. Or videos. Or images. Or maybe just a funny story. Or an inspiring one. You can share these with me on my Facebook page, Twitter, or mention me in a Pinterest pin.

Share your own training story. Any tips you have for devoting the time to the training. Or for cross-training, hills, speed work, etc. Story of your own personal accomplishment. Of running a marathon or something else that was a difficult goal, but you persevered and felt a sense of pride following it.

Sing me a song. Or just send me your favorite songs to listen to when you are out running. What songs/artists inspire you to push yourself? To keep going when you just don't want to.

Run with me. In person. Obviously in person it would need to be in St Paul or somewhere I can get to easily via public transit.

Run with me. Virtually. I'm talking on the phone. Since I’d likely have headphones in, we could chat instead of listen to music. Sure I would likely be out of breath a bit, but at least I would have someone to talk to who was also exerting the effort of breathing, talking, and running.

Fuel me. Send me your favorite fuels. Or your favorite fuel recipe. Pre-run. During run. Post-run. Whatever. Or even simply suggestions of what has worked for you.

Race registration fees. Not for the marathon. That's already paid for. I would like to do a few races in the meantime, though.

Cheer for me. At the marathon in June. Or at the Get Lucky Triple 7K I’m doing in March. Or even during a long weekend run. Obviously in person would be fun, but you could also cheer for me via email or gTalk. I generally run with my phone to record time/distance and for safety.

Product testing. If you are a company or have a running product you'd like to promote, I'd be happy to test it out in exchange for a review. Or let me know your favorite, must-have or obscure product, and I can contact the company directly.

Carpool. If you happen to also be running Grandma's, I'd love a ride. And maybe split a hotel room. :-) I have yet to figure out logistics. The marathon is only 20 weeks away, and most of the nearby hotel rooms are already booked or way too expensive for me.

You could sponsor me for a day. Or a week. Or the entire training period. I hope to get my marathon training schedule posted later today or sometime this week. It will have it's own tab under my header. You know, in case you want to ~~really hold me accountable~~ choose when in my training you'd like to sponsor me.

If you want to do any of these to help me out, please let me know. You can email me at enjoyingthecourse@gmail.com. Or contact me on FB, Twitter, or DailyMile (links in top left sidebar). Or I guess you could just surprise me.

Happy Monday! Make it a great week, everyone. :-)

SOC - Ahhhhh...

2012-01-29T19:09:00.000-06:00

I'm linking up with Fadra's

Today’s Writing Prompt: Describe, in detail, the way you like to relax.

In detail? I don't really know.

In general? I'm pretty easy to please.

I could relax by:

simply vegging in front of the TV watching a favorite show or a movie.

reading through my favorite blogs.

reading a book.

going for a run or to the gym.

taking a bubble bath. maybe with some glowing candles.

I don't really need anything to relax for me.

I'm not really a comfort-food or drink kind of chica.

I mean I do tend to eat a lot, but not really as a way to de-stress or relax. I just eat because I'm hungry or because it's there. Unfortunately, it's sometimes too often the latter.

Relaxation can come in various ways, I suppose.

I kind of prefer the escapist way to relax. Mind-numbing. Not needing to think. Or laughter. I love to laugh!

******
Now it's your turn! Here are a few rules:

Set a timer and write for 5 minutes.

Write an intro to the post if you want but don’t edit the post. No proofreading or spellchecking. This is writing in the raw.

Publish it somewhere. Anywhere. The back door to your blog if you want. But make it accessible.

Add the Stream of Consciousness Sunday badge to your post.

Link up your post.

Visit your fellow bloggers and show some love.

What are your favorite ways to relax? How did you relax this weekend?

Freeze Your Thorns Off 5K (virtual race)

2012-01-28T15:29:00.001-06:00

This afternoon, I participated in The Boring Runner's virtual 5K.

When I signed up, I was considering running a half marathon today and doing the virtual race as part of that race. I decided against the half because 1) my knee is still bothering me, 2) I ~~babied my knee~~ slacked on the training a bit these past few weeks, and 3) I didn't want to pay the registration fee.

Adam said we could run it "Wherever the crap you want! Outside, treadmill, in front of the WII, nude in the shower, wherever!"

I considered running nude in the shower. But I figured that would probably be even more boring than the treadmill and almost as slippery as outside. ;-)

Since the sidewalks are still a little icy, I headed to the gym instead.

I kind of strained my knee during Thursday's virtual race, so I decided to take it easy for this one. I started real slow, walking the first 1/2 mile. I could pretty much feel my knee during the whole run. Boooo.

Here is how I broke down my race:

Miles	Speed
0.0-0.25	4.0
0.25-0.5	4.5
0.5-1.0	5.0
1.0-2.0	5.5
2.0-2.25	6.0
2.25-2.5	6.1
2.5-2.75	6.2
2.75-3.0	6.3
3.0-3.1	7.0

I probably still pushed it a little too much. Ugh. At least it is over.

So, yeah. I didn't exactly freeze anything off during this race. Or get a PR.

Good thing all the prizes are randomly selected. Hope I win!!

Speaking of prizes, don't forget to read my review and enter my giveaway.

Did you run any races this weekend (real or virtual)?

StrongStride Review and Giveaway

2012-01-28T12:10:00.000-06:00

I'm excited for my first ever review ... and giveaway! I hope you are, too. Please give me any feedback on this review (length, comprehensiveness, type of product, etc) and/or the giveaway (entry options, etc). I'm a newbie at this, so I welcome all feedback. Thanks!

When I saw this video on Collage Video's facebook page, I immediately knew it was something I wanted to try out. An exercise video specifically designed for runners? Sign me up!

Here is a little preview of the video.

My first thoughts? Wow! This is NOT for beginners. This was a very challenging workout. I think I probably only did about half of it the first time. I couldn't keep up and my legs were so tired. Even when I was doing it, I don't think I had very good form.

The first time I tried it out, I tried to do all of Workout 1 in one session. It runs about 46mins and is broken into 6 segments. I had to skip the 5th segment altogether because it's all plank exercises resting on your elbows and forearms. My forearm was bruised at the time from a fall a few days prior, so it hurt too much to put all my weight on it.

As I’ve tried it a few more times, I have gotten stronger and able to make it through more of the workout, but I still end up taking small breaks and not doing complete sets. I also tend to do the exercises at a little slower tempo, which also prevents me from completing full sets.

A little more about the video.

StrongStride is a pilates and strength training regimen that will strengthen your core and improve your stride. – From the video intro.

The breakdown.

Program 1 (~46 minutes) and Program 2 (~51 minutes)

Each of these workouts are broken into 6 segments - Glutes/Hamstrings, Hips, Hip Flexors/Quads, Core, Core (Planks) and Back.
You can easily do the whole workout or choose to focus on one or more of the segments.

Strength Training

Broken into Warmup (~5min), Running Muscles (~32min), and Non Running Muscles (~26min). The Running Muscles and Non Running sections are further broken into Weights and no Weights.
The menu for this section of the DVD is a little cumbersome. You can’t select to do the all three segments without returning to the menu. Also, if you wanted to just do the weights portion or the no weights portion, be sure to select those words. If you select Running Muscles, for example, it will automatically start playing and go through the strength training with both weights and no weights.

The Weights and No Weights workouts are very different. I thought that the No Weights would be the same exercises as the Weights segment, but just not using any weights. I was wrong. Pleasantly so. This greatly added even more to the variety of exercises done throughout this video.

Dynamic Warmup (~3min)

This is just a simple warm-up to do before you head out the door on a run.

A few of my random thoughts

Like I mentioned before, This. Was. Tough, but the good news is that after only a few sessions, I do feel like my strength increased. I haven’t been able to run as much this month because of a sore knee, so I can’t testify to it actually improving my stride and running ability. That said, I think if I continue to work out using this video which I definitely plan to do, I really believe it will have long-term, positive effects.
I am not really familiar with pilates, which possibly made this workout seem more challenging for me. There are a lot of similar exercises with just flexing or pointing your toes. Is that common in pilates? It definitely seemed to make it trickier for this girl. Even though there are a lot of similar exercises, there is also a lot of variety, which I definitely enjoyed.
There are times in the video when I wish she would alternate sides more rather than doing everything on the right and then having to switch to the left. This seemed to really tire me out more and then I wouldn’t be able to complete the second side without a little breather.
The models in the video are shown wearing shoes, but after reading some reviews on Collage Video’s website, I generally did Program 1 and Program 2 barefoot. It seems this is more common for pilates. I felt like it was more difficult to point and flex my toes when I had shoes on.
While there were modifications shown in by the models, these modifications were never vocalized, so I wasn't exactly sure what the options were for modifying the exercises.
I would suggest probably going for a short run or walk as a warm-up because she just gets right into it for Programs 1 & 2. Obviously, there is a warm-up you can choose for the Strength Training. Well, I’m sure you could do the strength training warm-up before the programs, too. :-)

Overall, while there were a few minor things I didn’t like about this video, I would definitely recommend it to any runner how there wanting to improve their stride or simply anyone looking for a good at-home strength training program.

Pros	Cons
*TOUGH	*Modifications are not really explained
*Easily customizable to fit your fitness needs/goals	*Tempo is kind of fast (for me at least)
*Menus are easily navigable	*No Warm-ups before Programs 1 & 2
*Lots of variety within each segment

You can purchase this DVD from Collage Video for $19.99.

Or you can enter below to win a copy.

Before I get to the giveaway, here are just a few notes about Collage Video.

They are an exercise video distributor. While they don’t have a lot of selection specifically for runners, they have an excellent selection of a variety of other fitness videos.

You can browse by Goals (e.g. Weight Loss, Endurance, Stress Relief) or Workout Types (e.g. Aerobics/Cardio, Stretch/Yoga/Tai Chi). You can also browse by specific instructors, brands, and equipment.

Every video has a description that includes a nice breakdown of the different segments of the video.

Also, all the videos also have customer reviews, which I find very helpful when choosing a new video.

You can also create a Video Wish List. I love websites that allow that, so I don’t have to remember all the videos I want to try.

If you want to read a few more reviews on StrongStride, be sure to visit its page over at Collage Video.

And now for the giveaway.

Collage Video has agreed to let one of my readers try out this video for free. How cool is that?!

To enter, simply follow the instructions in the Rafflecopter below. If you have any questions about how to enter, please feel free to email me at enjoyingthecourse AT gmail DOT com.

a Rafflecopter giveaway
**I received this video free-of-charge from Collage Video, but all thoughts/opinions are my own.

THE END + 5QF #3

2012-01-27T22:36:00.000-06:00

Today was my last day of work.

I know I'm off to bigger and better things plus I was a bit of a slacker at work, so I was pretty much looking forward to finishing up this assignment.

Still, it was with mixed feelings that I ate my good-bye lunch and worked through this final day.

Of course, our company holiday party is tomorrow evening, so I'll see everyone one last time.

In addition to a free lunch today, I also got a card signed by everyone in the office (about 10 or so people) with a $100 GC to the Aveda Institute included. That was very unexpected!

I think I'll hang on to it until around Spring Break. I'm betting I'll be ready for a little pampering by then. :-)

My boss also made me this pretty pendant.

And then her boss gave me a $50 Visa gift card as a thank you for working over MLK weekend.

All in all definitely not a bad last day of work.

And now for Five Question Friday.

1. Do you swim in the winter?
Only if I have to. I'm not a big swimmer, but I'll go every now and again to encourage my husband to get some exercise. Last weekend I swam with the sharks at SeaLife. Does that count? Hopefully I'll get a post on that up in the next few days.

2. Do you love or hate winter?
Yeah. I'm pretty much a winter hater. I hate the cold. The dry, itchy skin. The bloody noses. The cold. The dark. Blah.

3. Do you put makeup/actual clothes on when you know you're going to be home all day with just family?
Ha. Sometimes I don't even put makeup/actual clothes on when I'm going out and about. Oops!

4. How old were you when you had your first alcoholic beverage?
I was 20.

5. How many ill calls in a 12 month period do you think are acceptable?
I'm not sure. Maybe 9-15.

Have you ever received gifts on the last day of a job? What are you up to this weekend?

Virtual Race - 3.5

2012-01-26T09:25:00.000-06:00

This morning, I participated in my first ever virtual race.

I did it on the treadmill because, well, I ~~am a wimp~~ didn't want to risk running outside in the dark with snow-packed sidewalks.

Since this was a race, I wanted to really push myself. I think I may have pushed myself a little too hard because I can feel an increased twinge in my knee. I hope it doesn't last all day.

Here's how I broke down my speed:

Miles	Speed
0.0-0.5	5.7
0.5-1.5	6.0
1.5-2.5	6.2
2.5-3.0	6.5
3.0-3.4	7.0
3.4-3.5	8.0

I took a pic of my final results on the treadmill.

Time: 33:43 Distance: 3.5 miles

Sorry for the crappy picture. It looks better on my phone, but when I uploaded it directly from my phone to Picasa, it cut off the bottom for some dumb reason. Weird. I tried it twice before deciding to just crop it and go with that.

There were several times when I wanted to stop to walk OR just pause the machine to take a quick breather, but I RESISTED!

Other than that, I felt great. And, of course, finishing felt great, too. :)

Running a virtual race is not quite the same as running one IRL. I find it a little more difficult to push myself when there aren't other runners out there to attempt to pass and no spectators to cheer, but I think I'd still do another one. I still pushed myself a little more than I normally would have.

There is still time to join me in this race - but not much. Head over to Running, Loving, Living to sign up. Then run 3.5 miles either today or tomorrow. She's got lots of great giveaways, too. I'm sure I won't win with my time, but fingers crossed I win a fabulous drawing. :-)

Now don't delay, run today (or tomorrow)!

Have you ever participated in a virtual race?

One week

2012-01-25T13:04:00.000-06:00

One week from today, I'll be a student teacher. My semester actually begins on Monday, but next Wednesday will be my first day in the classroom.

I still have some things to do to prepare.
Like read the student teaching manual.

Overall, I'm very excited.

But I have some concerns.
That are not at all teaching-related.

What will I wear? Technically, there is no dress code, but it is business casual. No jeans. My closet is a little pathetic right now and could easily go for a nice overhaul. Unfortunately, that just isn't in the budget.

What will I eat for lunch? My current office has a full kitchen - with an oven, stove, microwave, refrigerator. Can I bring my own lunch? Where will I store it? Will I have easy access to a microwave, or do I need to bring cold lunches? Where will I eat? Classroom? Teacher's lounge?

How will I stay hydrated? Sometimes I feel like I have the smallest bladder. The more water I drink, the more often I need to sneak away to the potty. I won't have the luxury of just heading to the bathroom whenever I like. I also ~~can't~~ shouldn't simply deprive myself of water, though.

Will I be able to get enough sleep at night? I already have poor sleeping habits. Will student teaching help me correct this or make it worse?

How will this affect my workouts? I begin training for Grandma's Marathon on Feb 13th. Will I be able to successfully focus on both? Will I be able to incorporate exercise into my daily routine and actually get more energy rather than have it zap my energy?

Source: 30.media.tumblr.com via Bre'an on Pinterest

I know I'm largely needlessly worrying. Once I get started and into a routine, this post will seem silly.

But right now, I'm concerned.

Any lunch / hydration tips for me? How do you stop from needlessly worrying about the small things?

Before I Die

2012-01-23T10:26:00.002-06:00

It's time, once again, to link up with Stasha for ...

This week's challenge comes to us from Ally at Two Normal Moms. If you aren't already reading her blog, you should. She is awesome. Anyway, her challenge for us was to list 10 things you'd like to see happen before you die.

I've changed it slightly. I've added things I'd like to do as well.

So here goes.

I'd like to ...

1. Scuba dive in all 5 oceans.

2. Run a marathon (or half) on 6 of the continents. I don't think I'm up for an Antarctic race, even if there is one to be run.

3. See the world move away from fossil fuels and move to alternative energies.

4. Visit at least seven of the Wonders of the World.

5. Witness a total solar eclipse (maybe while singing Total Eclipse of the Heart by Bonnie Tyler)

via

6. See an end (or at least a huge decrease in the amount) of greed in the world and a narrower gap between rich and poor.

7. Know treatable diseases were actually being treated in 3rd world countries (particularly the countries of Africa).

8. Hike in the mountains. Not rock climb. Not venturing where no one has been. Not any particular mountain range. But definitely mountains. With a guide.

source

9. Visit Dubai.

via

10. See all my nieces and nephews follow their dreams and find true happiness.

Dang! This was a lot more difficult than I'd have liked. Perhaps it's too early (10am? hahah) on a Monday morning. It can't possibly be because I don't want to see or do much, right? It's got to just be a brain fart. I'm going with that.

What do you want to see or do before you die?

SOC - Sunday Mornings

2012-01-22T09:28:00.000-06:00

I'm linking up with Fadra's

Today’s Writing Prompt: How did you spend your Sunday mornings growing up? What are some of your favorite memories?

Most of the time Sunday mornings were filled with chaos as we all got ready for church. Luckily for us, church was only about a 15 minute drive, there were usually up to 7 people who needed to get ready and only two bathrooms. There was generally a feeling of rushing around trying to get showered, dressed, and breakfast eaten. It wasn't so bad. Church wasn't until 10am, so at least it was a little more time for sleeping in than during the week when we'd have to get up earlier to do all the same things in order to catch the school bus.

These were mornings with my mom.

On infrequent visits with my dad, I have many memories of pancakes on Sunday mornings. He wasn't a church goer for many years. When he started back to church, then the pancake morning were relegated to Saturday mornings. I loved those mornings!

He taught me how to make pancakes, really. I used to love helping out in the kitchen. I remember flipping the pancakes when all those little bubbles started breaking. I also remember being in charge of making the orange juice.

***

Today's 5-minute Stream of Consciousness post went by really fast. I feel I could have probably gone on and on. Perhaps that's better for you all that I had to stop at 5 minutes. :-) I really didn't think I'd have anything to say on this topic, so I was caught a little off guard when the timer started chiming.

Thanks for a great topic today, Fadra!

Want to give it a try? Here are a few rules:

Set a timer and write for 5 minutes.

Write an intro to the post if you want but don’t edit the post. No proofreading or spellchecking. This is writing in the raw.

Publish it somewhere. Anywhere. The back door to your blog if you want. But make it accessible.

Add the Stream of Consciousness Sunday badge to your post.

Link up your post.

Visit your fellow bloggers and show some love.

Five Question Friday #2

2012-01-20T09:33:00.000-06:00

I'm linking up with My Little Life for...

1. Where do you hide the reeeally good snacks?
I usually just give the reeeeally good snacks to my husband, but if I do want to keep something for myself, I'll just put it in any cupboard that isn't the snack cupboard. Sometimes hiding things from him is soooo easy!

2. Do u keep your vehicle clean or am I the only one who has things falling out of their van?
We've been car-free since Aug 2010, but back when we owned a car, we kept it relatively tidy. It's easier, I think, without any rugrats.

3. Have you ever been to Vegas?
I have. I went with my step-mom and sister back in 2002 (I think). It was a great trip! So fun!! I'm going again this coming June for a mini-college reunion. I. Can't. Wait!

4. Warm room light blankets or cold room warm snuggly blanket?
Definitely warm room light blankets. While I do love snuggly blankets, the cold room just makes it that much harder to creep out of the blankets in the morning.

5. What is the worst airplane/flying experience you've ever had?
I don't think I've really had too many horrible flying experiences. A few delays and minor (might have seemed major at the time) inconveniences. Nothing that really stands out though.

It's snowing here today. No huge flakes, but definitely a constant flurry and some accumulation. I'm not sure how long it's predicted to fall, but I'll likely stick to the treadmill for tomorrow's run. I've starting watching Warehouse 13 on Netflix, so I might start timing my treadmill runs by episodes. I figure 1 episode should get me close to 4.5 miles.

Oh, and Sunday, I'll be swimming with the sharks at SeaLifeMN.

It's gonna be a great weekend! What are your weekend plans?

3TT #2

2012-01-19T09:01:00.001-06:00

I really had high hopes for being a great blogger during January when I didn't have any homework, and I was just biding my time until student teaching started. Unfortunately, work has been keeping me busy and I've just been too ~~tired~~ lazy to blog in the evenings.

So, here are at least 3 things that are going on with me this week.

Thing 1 - Less than two weeks until I am in a classroom for student teaching. I am both excited and pretty nervous. I met with my mentor teacher last night. I think we'll get along great and work well together (based on that initial meeting). He teaches 3 sections of 10th grade World History, a section of AP Government, and a section of AP European History. I'll be most active in the World History classes. I get to plan a unit on Latin American history. This is intimidating, yet I am looking forward to the challenge!

Thing 2 - I ran for the first time this morning since Jan 2nd! I tried out my new shoes. They were a little awkward for the first 1/4 mile or so but felt great after that. No knee pain at all during the run; there is a little discomfort right now, though. :-(

Nike Zoom Structure Triax 15

Thing 3 - An Arctic cold front blew in last night. When I left for work this morning it was -11°F. Straight temp. Today's high is forecasted to be TWO whole degrees. It was so cold when walking the 3 blocks to the bus that the collar of my coat frosted a bit from my breath.

If you were taking a class on Latin American history, what would you like to focus on or hope to learn in the class? How's the weather where you are today?

Never, never, never!

2012-01-16T00:55:00.000-06:00

It's time for Monday Listicles!

This week's challenge, brought to us by Greta, is "I'll Never...": The Top Ten Things You Said You Would NEVER Do And Have Caught Yourself Doing.

1. Go to graduate school.
2. Become a runner.
3. Live in a super small town (luckily this was only for 10 months and was several years ago now).
4. Enjoy going for long bike rides.
5. Have (and love more than anything) a dog.
6. Go for a run wearing just a sports bra (well, and shorts and stuff). Ok, so this just happened once, but as I move to hotter climes, it might become more frequent.
7. Cut my own hair.
8. Run in the dark with a reflective vest AND headlamp. (safety first, y'know!)
9. Be flattered by comments of how young I look. This used to bother me immensely when I was in my 20s. Now, eh, not so much!
10. Run another marathon. Training for #3 begins in less than a month!

SOC - Winter

2012-01-15T19:05:00.003-06:00

I'm linking up today for the first time with Fadra's

Today’s Writing Prompt: How does winter make you feel and what do you do with those feelings?

Winter makes me feel cold and sleepy. It's gets so dark and dreary here in MN. Somedays I just want to curl up and sleep all. day. long.

Of course, there are wonderful things about winter. Like hot chocolate and warm cookies.

It's been a pretty pleasant winter so far this season, and I'm not entirely sure how this bodes for the remainder of the season. If it's nearly 60°F in early Jan, what will it be like in mid-March? Will it be super cold or will summer come early?

I've always been the type of person who would much rather be HOT than COLD. I know, I know. If you're cold you can always put on more clothes or wrap up in a blanket. yada yada yada.

BUT I'd much prefer to wear little and sweat a LOT.

Maybe I'm just weird that way.

This will be my last winter in the frigid north, though. I'm very excited to live in an area with much more temperate weather in the coldest months. I'm looking forward to beaches and diving. And RUNNING outside. all year long!

Want to play along? Here are a few rules:

Set a timer and write for 5 minutes.

Write an intro to the post if you want but don’t edit the post. No proofreading or spellchecking. This is writing in the raw.

Publish it somewhere. Anywhere. The back door to your blog if you want. But make it accessible.

Add the Stream of Consciousness Sunday badge to your post.

Link up your post.

Visit your fellow bloggers and show some love.

Comment Interaction

2012-01-14T14:19:00.000-06:00

I ♥ Comments. (What blogger doesn't?)

I also love the interaction that comments can bring. I love getting a response to a comment I've left, and I love responding to comments I've received.

But not every person that leaves me a comment has an email address attached to their comments, so I can't always send them a personal response via email. :(

Today, I noticed that Blogger made some changes to the embedded comments. Replies can now be posted to a comment! I've longed (a little dramatic, huh?) for this moment for a long time. Now, I can easily to respond to every comment AND I can reply to other comments on other blogs.

Thank you folks at Blogger!

3TT

2012-01-12T21:17:00.000-06:00

I've seen lots of blogs do this, so here goes.

Thing 1 - Turns out, my rash is not likely pityriasis rosea as the doc originally suspected. Nope. My throat culture came back with high levels of staphylococcus aureus. I've been on antibiotics for a few days now, and the rash seems to have gotten a bit better. Unfortunately, now my skin looks (and feels) like it is on fire. And it's still itchy, just not as bad. At times. It's got to get better soon, right?

Thing 2 - Tomorrow I'm attending my first ever professional workshop. I'm excited and nervous! The topic is Renewable Energy: Wind, Solar and Biofuels in the United States and Central Europe. I'm excited to learn more about this topic and how to incorporate it into my future classroom. I just hope it's not too scientific and will be useful for a social studies classroom as well. Best part is I'll receive a handful of CE credits before I even get my license to teach.

Thing 3 - It's back to being stupidly cold here in MN, but on Tuesday we had record highs. Our neighbor wanted to take a walk and stopped by to ask if she could take Sallie with her, so she wouldn't have to walk alone. Jeff let her go but messaged me all nervous about her being gone. It was so cute how overly concerned he was. Sallie came back home happy as a clam and super stoked after enjoying the nice weather.

This is from a few months ago, but isn't she the cutest?

So there you have it. My first Three Things Thursday.

Would you let a casual neighbor take your dog for a walk? Have you experienced an extreme weather change this week?

It's almost Friday! Whoohoo!!

I Did What?!

2012-01-09T13:27:00.000-06:00

It's time for Monday Listicles with Stasha! I know it's only my 2nd time, so you're probably not used to seeing these posts each week.

Anyway, today's theme, brought to us by Squashed Mom, is Top Ten Strange (odd/unusual/funny/interesting) Jobs you have held in your life.

Here goes (in chronological order) ...

1. Dished up minnows and wrote out a LOT of fishing and hunting licenses at the family bait shop.

2. ~~Stalked~~ Assisted women at a clothing boutique. Everyone was a potential shoplifter.

3. ~~Rule Enforcer~~ Resident Assistant at college. Very fun, actually. I got to make the rounds and check on all the girls. You know, instead of studying.

4. Shot girl at a dance club. Would you like a bj? Worst. Job. Ever. Ok, maybe not so bad, but definitely not good for my personality type. This may have lasted two weekends?

5. Server at TGI Fridays - back when you had to have flair.

6. Read the phone book a.k.a. Appointment Setter a.k.a. Telemarketer. When can our sales guy come to your home to sell you the most fantastic vacuum? Very short lived.

7. Served beverages high in the sky. Being a glorified waitress in the sky is not all that glorious. It was boring and made me kinda, sorta develop a teeny phobia of flying. Not good.

8. Managed a bookstore in Manhattan. At a theological seminary. Supervising work study students.

9. Worked with students needing a little extra help/supervision. Once I was even mistaken for a new student ... by a high school student. I was more than 10 years older than her.

10. Went on drive-bys with my husband. Sounds much more dangerous than it was. Though we did find ourselves in some sketchy neighborhoods from time to time. Really, I just navigated while my husband pontificated, oh, and tried to get in touch with homeowners in foreclosure.

For a more comprehensive, less exciting look at the jobs I've had, you could read this post.

What's on your top ten list?

Time for a Change

2012-01-08T22:19:00.000-06:00

Wait? What? Didn't I change things up enough around here already?

This time I'm not talking about blog changes. :-)

As you may recall, last week my doctor strongly urged me to buy new shoes. I lamented that it would mean not being able to get my haircut.

So, I decided to take up the shears on my own.

Now, I'd cut my hair on my own before (click here for my post about my very first time), but once I went really short, I told myself it would need to be kept up by a professional.

Well, my finances dictated otherwise.

So, I made a trip to Sally Beauty Supply and Walgreens to get some better quality tools, and ...

You tell me.

Did I do a good job?

I am very satisfied with how well it turned out.

Jeff is equally impressed and has assured me that it, indeed, does look professional.

Hair dye: $4.50
Hair cutting kit: $9.99
Blending shears: $17.99
Sense of personal satisfaction and some pretty big bragging rights? Priceless.

Have you ever cut your own hair to save money? What kinds of things have you done to score bragging rights?

#HBBC Finale

2012-01-07T10:44:00.000-06:00

My participation in The Holiday Booty Buster Challenge really fizzled out by the end. Bummer!

The challenge is now over.

Since I didn't post my recap for Week 6, here is my recap for the final two weeks.

Week 6

12/24: 10 points

Ran 9 miles - Joined TCRE for a group run. Much bigger group than I'd originally thought, which worked out well. I was nervous because the last I'd checked there were going to be 3 of us, and we all had very different paces. I wasn't sure how we would manage, but more people showed up and it went really well!
Stretched for 20 min - I'm usually really terrible about taking the time to properly stretch after a long, hard run. Not today! I took the time to really just relax and enjoy some good stretching time.

12/25: 0.6 points

I convinced my sister and niece to go for a walk with me on Christmas Day. It was fun to walk around my parent's neighborhood and such a beautiful evening! I was kind of disappointed in the lack of visible Christmas lights in the area, though.

12/26: 0 points

REST!!!

12/27: 3 points

Ran 3 miles - This run went really fast - despite a slower pace. Sometimes it's fun to just run!

12/28: 0 points

I couldn't seem to drag myself out of bed this morning. Plus, I was on a deadline to finish my portfolio, so I didn't really have time in the evening, either.

12/29: 4.8 points

Ran 4.8 miles - I really wanted to get in 5 miles, but the sidewalks and trails were slippery in patches. After falling twice, I ended up turning around and walking quite a bit of the way back.

12/30: 0 points

REST!!!

Week 6 Total: 18.4
Challenge Total: 113.35

Week 2

12/31: 3.1 points

Resolution Run 5K - Got a PR and a fancy new running jacket. Love it!

1/1: 0 points

Was going to run 10 miles out to my parent's house, but there was a snowstorm the night before, and I didn't feel safe about running on the paths.

1/2: 11 points

Ran 10 miles - Treadmill. I really wanted to get in 10 miles even though my knee was hurting slightly since the 5K on Saturday. I just took it at a nice, slow pace. Attempted to watch movies to fight the treadmill boredom.
Stretched for 20 min - Another great stretching session after a nice long run.

1/3: 2 points

Exercise video for 40 minutes - Since my knee was still bothering me, and I'd developed some sort of rash, I decided against running and swimming. Instead I tried out a new exercise video at home that is designed to help runners strengthen their cores. I'm going to try it out for a few more sessions, and then I'll do a full review and giveaway. Very excited about this!

1/4: 0 points

Knee still bothersome; rash even itchier.

1/5: 0 points

Went to the doctor for my rash and complained about my knee while I was there. Her orders? Buy new shoes and strengthen my core.

1/6: 0 points

We had dinner plans with some friends, so I intended on getting up early and doing that workout video. I just couldn't seem to crawl out of bed! I ended up catching an even later bus than usual. Booo!

Week 7 Total: 16.1
Challenge Total: 129.45

Would I do this challenge again? Yes, I think so. Even though I didn't get as many points as I would have liked, it was still a good challenge. I think it may have been better if I'd signed up on time. I may have taken it a little more seriously.

What's my next challenge? Well, I've been pseudo-training for a half marathon on Jan 28th. I still have time to register for the early registration rate, so now I'm hoping that my knee gets to feeling up to it. After that, training for Grandma's starts mid-February.

According to my phone ...

2012-01-06T14:01:00.000-06:00

It's currently 44°F outside.
And I just walked outside for some lunch with just a sweatshirt.
No hat.
No gloves.

It's been an incredibly mild winter so far. If I were the superstitious type, I'd say I shouldn't type that out. That it will only ensure cold, cold winter days ahead. Luckily (hehehe) I don't go for all that.

It's been nice.
And I'm not complaining at all.

In January 2010, we went on a trip to the USVI - St Thomas.
In January 2011, we went on a trip to Costa Rica.

There will be no trip in January 2012.
There will be no grabbing of our wetsuits and jumping in the ocean.

At least the bright sunny days and relatively warm weather doesn't make me want to desparately look forward to a non-forthcoming vacation at the beach.

Besides, by this time next year, we'll be living in a sunny location where I won't be freezing my a** off every winter.

Our future destination is still to be determined but it will certainly be somewhere sunnier and warmer and near the ocean. Jeff would live in his wetsuit, if I let him.

Okay. Maybe not.

But we are still focusing on summertime when we can don our gear and get back into the lakes. AND THEN move to wherever the wind blows us next.

Our adventure is just beginning.

In the meantime, we'll likely be jumping in a big aquarium to check out some sharks. Stay tuned for more on that later.

This post was sponsored by the folks at BodyGlove.

Doctor's Orders

2012-01-05T13:21:00.000-06:00

Ok, so she's actually a physician's assistant. Good enough.

I went to the doctor this morning because I've developed some annoying rash. Well, it's moved beyond annoying. It's itchy.

And so I've scratched until it's spread over much of my arms and legs.

She actually gave me some Zyrtec, which is helping a LOT.

She thinks it might be a non-textbook case of Pityriasis Rosea. Don't quote me on this. It's hard to remember big, fancy medical jargon.She's wasn't exactly sure, so she had them swab my throat (to rule out strep) and draw blood (to check white blood cells).

In the meantime, it's Zyrtec and Benadryl.
Hydrocortizone, if needed.

While I was there, I decided I should talk to her about the pain I've been experiencing in my right knee.

Her first question? How are your running shoes?
My answer? Pretty bad.

I know all you runners out there are going to cringe when I say I've been running in the same shoes since July 2010. That's a long time for running shoes!!

She couldn't stress enough the importance of getting a good pair of running shoes.

So, I guess I *need* to go shopping. Ugh. I don't mind shopping - except when I don't have any money.

This also likely means no haircut for me. Running shoes (especially with my upcoming marathon training) are WAY more important, right?

She also suggested really focusing on strengthening my core.

So, I'll be taking a week or so off from running to focus on my core, do some cross training, and BUY NEW SHOES!

After how many miles do you generally replace your shoes? What have you had to sacrifice to be able to afford new shoes? How bad does something usually have to get before you go visit a doctor (or physician's assistant)?

Happy New Year!

2012-01-02T09:07:00.000-06:00

I really intended on writing this post yesterday, but it took much longer to re-design my blog than I'd intended.

Without further ado ...

Let me introduce you to ...

Enjoying the Course

An Average Girl's Journey Through Life

I'll still be posting many of the same types of posts, but the emphasis of my blog will really be focused more on running and maintaing a healthier lifestyle. I have lots of work to do in this regards, so hopefully blogging about being healthy will help motivate me to becoming healthier.

I hope you all had a lovely ringing in of the New Year!

In true New Year's fashion, I'm setting a few resolutions.

Run 600+ miles. This shouldn't be too difficult. It's an average of 50 miles a month, and with training for a marathon, I should be able to do this relatively easily (I hope).

Read 12+ books. I really want to read more, so I'm making it a resolution this year and putting a specific number on it. I'd like at least 6 of these books to be history, geography, or education related. This is only 1 book a month, but I didn't want to make it much more than that. I'm just not sure how much free time I'll have from Feb - May with student teaching and marathon training.

Be a better blogger. I'd really like to improve my blogging skills and get my name/story out there. I've also created a Facebook page and Twitter account. Feel free to follow me there as well. I'm hoping to incorporate some reviews / giveaways (I already have something exciting in the works). Mostly, though, I'll be sharing running progress, marathon training, race reports, motivating pictures / stories, an occasional book review, updates on student teaching, and well, anything else that strikes my fancy. If you have any suggestions on what you'd like to see, please don't hesitate to contact me.

I think that 3 is good. Manageable.

Happy New Year!

See ya in 2012

2011-12-31T22:31:00.000-06:00

I finished 2011 with a bang!

5K PR, baby.

Time - 28:12

Beat my previous PR by over a minute. :)

Now I'm totally ready for 2012!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Be sure to check back in the next few days for some pretty exciting changes to the blog. :)

Looking Back

2011-12-30T10:22:00.000-06:00

Where did 2011 go? I feel like this year really flew by! It was such a great, fun, stressful, overwhelming, encouraging, exciting, terrifying, fantastic year.

Looking back I realized just how little I blogged about some of the greater events this past year.

Well, I guess at least you can get a little taste of them here in this recap.

Just for fun (and because I've been meaning to for quite awhile now), I'm going to link this list up with Stasha over at The Good Life.

Yes, I'm fully aware that it's far from Monday, but I've still got a few more hours to add my link.

So, here's my Top 10 of 2011...

10. Jeff and I got certified as SCUBA divers. This was definitely a challenge for me! But ultimately, I bucked up and finished. We've only done lake diving in MN and WI and are now really looking forward to getting to the ocean one day.

9. We did some volunteer work on the Mississippi.

8. I joined my friend Laura for a women's Pedal and Paddle weekend. I can’t believe I never got around to blogging about the trip. Ugh. This was an hilarious weekend spent with women I didn't know. We pedaled. We paddled. We laughed. A lot. It was exhausting, but I'd love to do it again!

7. I read and studied. A lot!

6. I passed the MTLE. This was a huge relief. I was so stressed about the test and SO happy to get the results.

5. I joined DailyMile in April and enjoyed tracking all my workouts.

Total mileage - 926.74, since April

4. I became a runner (again)! I already wrote a running recap. You can check it out here.

Total Running Miles - 392.2 since April

3. We spent a week and a half in Costa Rica. It was beautiful, fun, relaxing - just as any good vacation should be. I never ended up blogging about the trip. So sad! We spent a few days at the Arenal Volcano Lodge. It was cloudy much of the time, but we did get to see the top of the volcano one afternoon. Yes, it is an active volcano. No, it didn't erupt while we were there. We also we for a horseback tour (did not enjoy it) around the base of the volcano and ziplining (loved it) through the canopy. I did post some pics to FB here. The rest of the time in Costa Rica was spent on the Pacific coast in a little surfer village outside of Nosara. It was a trip and a half to drive through the poor roads, but a great adventure! This leg of the trip was just lots of sunsets, playing in the ocean, relaxing, and monkeys in trees. Go here for some more pictures, if you'd like.

2. I completed all my requirements (assuming I finish my e-portfolio by tomorrow night) to be able to student teach. There were many, many times when I felt like quitting, like it wasn't worth it. BUT I eventually overcame my defeatist attitude and I managed to knock it out of the ballpark!!!

And my #1 accomplishment for 2011 ...

1. I exceeded by blogging goal! Sweet!! I know this seems weird since I had so many blogging fails, but I did manage at least one post every month. :-)

What's up for 2012?

I'll be doing a Resolution post later, but here are few key events on the calendar already

Student teaching
Swimming with the sharks at SeaLife MN
Trip to Vegas with some college girlfriends
Grandma's Marathon
Cross-country move

2012 is gonna be EPIC!

What a Mistake!

2011-12-29T19:26:00.001-06:00

Yesterday, I was supposed to run 5miles at my goal half marathon pace.

My nose had other ideas, so I didn't get a run in at all.

If I don't go before work, I just don't seem to have time in the evenings - especially this week with my portfolio due date looming.

So, I decided I'd do my 5mile pace run this morning instead.

This was not a good idea.

*****
During my warm-up walk - Ooh. These sidewalks are a little slick in spots. I'll just walk/run along the grass next to the sidewalks, and I should be fine.

Did I mention it was 5:30am and DARK?

0.8 miles - I tripped on a rock (or was it a root?) and fell. Hard. I took a second to catch my breath and decided to just keep going.

I ran a little further on the side, but figured it was stupid, so moved back to the paved path. My pace was SLOW, but I kept saying, well, this would be my half marathon pace if the conditions were icy. I was practically walking at some points; I felt like I was running in slow motion.

2.2 miles - I fell again. It still wasn't exactly the slipperiness of the path. No, this time, the path jumped up at me. Yeah there was a buckle that I didn't compensate for, and I went down.

I really wanted to keep pushing for 0.3 more miles to get in my 5 miles.

2.3 miles - I succumbed and turned around.

I tried to push myself on the way home to try to gain back some speed, but my body just didn't want to. I could feel bruising on my left arm and thigh from where I'd fallen. And I just wanted to cry!

4.2 miles - I gave up and decided to just walk the rest of the way.
*****

I slipped a couple more times on my way home but nothing serious. I was cold and tired and cranky and sore by the time I walked in my door.

I was very concerned about my clothing. Thankfully, no tears. No damage! Yay!

Now nearly every step hurts.

This sucks.

Especially since there is no visible bruising on my thigh! I mean, c'mon, let me at least have some proof - bragging rights - that I attempted to conquer the icy running paths.

Now I have tomorrow to rest and, hopefully, recuperate. I'm running a 5K NYE in the evening, so hopefully I'll be feeling much better by then.

How do you deal with icy/slippery conditions? Any tips for sore muscles, bruises, scrapes that are a result of falling while running?

Book Review: All I Want for Christmas is You

2011-12-28T21:57:00.001-06:00

All I Want for Christmas is You by Lisa Mondello

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A fun, light love story. Centered during the few weeks leading up to Christmas, this is a cute twist on the classic love-at-first-sight story.

Six-year old Kristen Alexander asks Santa for a daddy for Christmas. Kyle Preston, owner of mall and Santa stand-in, takes note of Kristen's mom, Lauren, standing off to the side. Her bad luck (her car battery is dead after leaving her lights on) when leaving the mall turns into his (well, ultimately, their) good fortune. He helps her with her car that night and spends the rest of the book attempting to break through her hardened shell.

Unfortunately, this book is bit riddled with grammatical errors. It wasn't too distracting from the overall story, but they were definitely noticeable. They seemed to get a bit worse as the story progressed. This definitely would have gotten 4 stars if it wouldn't have been for the number of errors.

View all my reviews

#HBBC, Week 5 Recap

2011-12-27T08:38:00.000-06:00

I know. I'm really late getting this out. I guess I got distracted with Christmas, and, you know, being lazy.

This definitely was not my best week for #HBBC.

Week 4
12/17: 6.5 points

Ran 6.5 miles - Joined TCRE (my running group) for a run. This was a TOUGH one. Thanks goodness for running partners - otherwise I'm not sure I'd have been able to finish this one.

12/18: 3 points

Cycled 1 hour - Cross training at the gym.

12/19: 0 points

REST!!!

12/20: 3 points

Ran 3 miles - Nothing really remarkable about this run. Familiar route. Walked a bit in the middle.

12/21: 5 points

Ran 5 miles - Not the greatest run pace-wise, but I did manage to pass another runner. It felt like a pretty great accomplishment. Plus, it was my anniversary, so I was happy to have squeezed in a run before work, so I could celebrate with my husband after work. :-)

12/22: 3 points

Ran 3 miles - Today's challenge was to not look at my watch. Success!

12/23: 0 points

REST!!!

Not once this week did I manage to get in the 7 fruits/vegs. :(

Week 2 Total: 20.5
Challenge Total: 94.95

Hope your Christmas was merry and bright!

Be Gone Grinch!

2011-12-23T19:06:00.000-06:00

I've been kind of a grinch this holiday season.

Maybe it's the warm temps and the lack of snow here in Minnesnowta!

Maybe it's the devastating news of the suicide of an employee at work (not at the location of my office, so no one I knew personally).

Maybe it's the overcommercialization of the holiday.

But I just haven't been feeling it.

Until, I saw this video.

And I welled up at the end.

No matter your spiritual or religious inclinations.
This holiday should be about family and friends.
Dissolving differences.
Striving for selflessness.

And, when able, being Home for the Holidays. Whatever that may mean.

So, to you and yours, may you have a most enjoyable holiday filled with love and laughter.

This post is sponsored by T-Mobile.

Best of 2011: The Running Edition

2011-12-22T09:21:00.000-06:00

NOTE: I'm not sure yet if there will be other editions, but this one is definitely specific to running. It's been a great year!

I found this on RunToTheFinish, but it's originally from Miss Zippy. She asked her readers to share some running highlights from the past year, and I thought it would make for a great post.

So, here is my Best of 2011.

Best race experience? I think I'll have to go with the Urban Wildland Half Marathon. I'm not going to say it was easy, but I did it! It was my first in many years. I got to meet a couple DM friends. My sister ran it, too. Best of all, my husband met me at a couple points along the course, which made me smile. :-)

Best run? I had quite a few good runs this year. It's the year I really decided to get back into running. My first inclination for my best run; however, was my first run with Twin Cities Running Experiment (TCRE). It wasn't easy. I had to make us stop a couple times, and I got home to bloody toes. BUT it was the best run because a) I made a new running friend. Most of the group was a lot faster than me, but she ran with me and we paced each other pretty well. b) We talked almost the entire time, which made the 1hour+ run go by very fast. And c) Our overall pace was 9:40, which is something I never thought possible for that kind of distance. This run showed me just how fast I could go and still have fun while doing it! It was pretty shocking and eye-opening.

Best new piece of gear? I didn't really get a lot of new gear this year, but I'm having a hard time deciding between the amphipod Hydraform Handheld Thermal-Lite and the iFitness Ultimate Race Belt. Both of these items were really, really helpful to me throughout my running this year. I love the ease and convenience of always having water with me, but I also liked being able to run with my phone and not having to use safety pins during my races. So, I'm just going to have to leave it at a tie.

Best piece of running advice you received? Well, I guess it's probably not exactly running advice, but a friend told me about DailyMile back in April, and I joined. I love being able to track my runs (and other activities), but even more than that I've loved meeting new running friends. I've met a few irl now, and it's been great to connect with other runners. Best of all, through a fellow DM'er, I found TCRE.

Most inspirational runner? I'm going with a tie on this one, too. My first thought was Lauren @ The Running Cook (now Sweat-Junkie). Hers was one of the first running-themed blog I discovered that I really connected with. She was training for her first marathon but got back injury just weeks beforehand. She's now starting to get back into it, but it's a slow process. She inspires me not only because she remained upbeat despite her injury and DNS, but because she didn't push beyond her limits even though she wanted to. Sometimes we've just got to listen to our bodies...and for runners, sometimes that really hard to do.

My second most inspirational runner is Tyly @ one mile at a time. She's just got the cutest smile and some really fun running outfits. 2011 has been a very difficult year for her in a non-running-related way. As for running, she's totally rocked it with several PRs, I believe. I don't know why, but her blog is no longer public. I hope she comes back soon.

If you could sum up your year in a couple of words, what would they be? I became a runner! I'm planning on writing up my running story in a separate blog sometime in the next couple weeks, so stay tuned for further explanation on this answer.

So there you have it. My Best of 2011. What a great year!

What's your Best of 2011?

What's in a Name?

2011-12-18T22:11:00.000-06:00

Well, a lot. I think.

A name draws you in.
A name entices you to read.
Am I right?

I want to take my blog to the next level.

I started this blog way back in 2006.
Without a niche.
Just a place for me to share some of my random thoughts.

More than five years and a few hundred posts later, I feel like I need to change it up a bit.
I'll still share randomness that goes on in my life, but I'd like to focus more on my running/fitness goals. Of course, that's kind of been the focus for quite some time now.

Perhaps a name change is in order?

I've been wracking my brain for the past week or so trying to come up with something creative and fun. Here are a few ideas I'm considering. I'd love to hear what you think.

Middle of the Road Gal

I'm average and that's OKAY

(too whiny? too political sounding?)

Don't Get Excited

Just an average girl running through life

Keep Your Shoes Laced

You never know what's coming next

Running Poppycock

Enjoying the Course

An average runner's journey

What do you think? Which is your favorite or do they all stink? Do you have any suggestions?

#HBBC, Week 4 Recap

2011-12-17T12:11:00.000-06:00

Week 4 of the #HBBC was off to a great start, but really petered out at the end.

Week 4
12/10: 10 points

Ran 9 miles - Joined TCRE (my running group) for a run. I'd intended on doing a LSD run of about 8 miles. We went a bit faster and further than I'd wanted, but I still felt pretty good about the run. Plus I met a new friend who lives nearby and offered me a ride home - saving me from a mile walk in barely double digit weather wearing super sweaty clothes. I gladly accepted the ride.
Walked 1 mile - Walked to pick up the HourCar to pick up my race packet for the Get Lucky Triple 7K (half marathon) I'll be doing in March. I know it's super early, but I just couldn't wait for the super awesome sweatshirt.

12/11: 5 points

Cycled 15 miles - Cross training at the gym.

12/12: 1 points

REST!!!
7 servings of fruits/vegs. Yay!

12/13: 5 points

Ran 4 miles - Took advantage of the beautiful weather that has melted all the snow, and ran along the river. At night. In the dark. It's wasn't bad at all. Felt pretty good actually.
20 min of weights - I was really short on time, but better than nothing, right?

12/14: 4 points

Ran 4 miles - Treadmill. My goal was to run 4 miles at a 9:30ish pace. I set the treadmill to 6.3, random workout with average level of 2. I really had to push myself a few times to fight the urge to walk. I gave in 3 times and ended with an average pace of 9:43.

12/15: 0 points

I had a final to study for a final bright and early Fri morning, so I chose to study instead of workout. It was my last final, so at least for a few weeks school won't get in my way of working out. :)

12/9: 0 points

REST!!! - After a few days of little sleep preparing for my final, I really welcomed an evening with nothing to do. Plus, I didn't want to wear myself out for Saturday's run.

Week 2 Total: 25 - most points in one week for me! yay!
Challenge Total: 80.95

I PASSED!!

2011-12-14T18:31:00.000-06:00

I know you've all been on the edge of your seats awaiting the results of my MTLE.

Well, the wait is OVER.

I PASSED!! (obviously you figured this out from the title)

I am so excited about it.

My scores aren't terrific, or anything to brag about, but I PASSED and that's all that matters.

Here's a little more info...

FIRST, I was tested on my pedagogical knowledge. This was broken into 2 subtests.

Here's a breakdown of what the Performance Indices mean...

I did much better on the 2nd than the first, which means...

Maybe I won't be the best teacher, but I at least I'll be ethical and know what to do & where to go to find ways to improve myself as a teacher.

SECOND, I was tested on my knowledge of Social Studies. This also was broken down into two subtests and covered a wide variety of subjects.

No big surprises here. I've never been good with Economics - and it shows.

Now, I'm off to study for my US History final. It will finish off all my content courses.

After that I have two weeks to work on my online portfolio.

AND THEN ... and all-out break in January before I student teach.

#HBBC, Week 3 Recap & Myplate.gov

2011-12-10T09:51:00.003-06:00

Well, Week 3 of the #HBBC was a bit of a dud, but there were a couple of successes as well.

Week 3
12/3: 0 points

Visited The Russian Museum of Art with my Russian history class. It was fascinating, but somehow it kind of drained me. I was pretty worthless after returning. Well, I do think I got *some* homework done.

12/4: 7.5 points

Ran 7.5 miles - On the treadmill. I was not looking forward to such a long run inside, but I didn't want to run out in the cold, either. I brought A Bug's Life to watch and that helped a LOT, but next time I need to find something a little more engaging (i.e. something I haven't watched a million times already). After my run, I felt like I was positively gliding on my walk home. Bonus!

12/5: 0 points

This was my designated rest day. Aaaaahhhhh!!!!!

12/6: 0 points

I got distracted after work doing something on the Internet, I suppose. Boy, this week was really off to a rough start!

12/7: 2.6 points

Ran 2.6 miles - Outside. It was a beautiful afternoon!! I couldn't resist taking Sallie out for a run. I'd intended to go 4 miles, but her little tootsies kept getting too cold. She had to stop several times to lick out the snow/ice. Before you think I'm a bad doggie-mom, we turned around after the first time she stopped. Poor girl.

12/8: 4 points

Ran 3 miles - Back on the treadmill. Mostly I just don't feel comfortable running outside when it's dark, and I can't clearly see the ice patches on the ground. I was attempting 4 miles to make up for the miles I missed the day before, but just around 3miles, the power went out at the gym. Well, the whole neighborhood, actually. I'd intended on visiting the weight room, but once the power went out, I headed home instead.
I ate 7 servings of fruits/veggies! I. am. shocked!

12/9: 1 point

This was another designated rest day. Aaaaahhhhh!!!!!
I ate 7 servings of fruits/veggies TWO days in a ROW!

Week 2 Total: 15.1
Challenge Total: 49.45

Yes, I'm as shocked as you are that I managed to get in 7 servings of fruits/veggies TWO days this week. I find that it's much easier to accomplish if you have a plan. Making a meal plan ahead of time is really something that I struggle with. It's so time consuming! Towards the middle of the week, I decided to stop fighting it and let SparkPeople do the work for me. They have system generated plans that are super easy, super filling, and loaded with fruits/veggies. It makes it tons easier to just bring up the website and know what I'm going to make. If I don't like something they suggest, it's super easy to swap out the entire meal suggestion or just one of the components.

I've also discovered MyPlate. This site is produced by the USDA and is a great resource. I haven't spent too much time on the site yet, but it appears you can create meal plans and track your foods. I think you need to sign up for an account of some sort, of course. They also have something they call MyFood-a-pedia where you can look up over 8,000 foods for nutritional info. You can even compare two different foods. There aren't name brands, but it's more general in nature.

I think I'll play around with the site more in the future and do a full write-up/review of the website at that time.

Have you visited the MyPlate website? What do you think? Do you plan out your meals ahead of time or just wing it?

Five Question Friday

2011-12-09T19:30:00.000-06:00

It's my first time linking up with My Little Life for...

1. What is your favorite Christmas cookie?

I ♥ Christmas cookies!! It's so difficult to choose a favorite. Here's probably my top 3...

Chocolate Crinkles

Chocolate Pinwheels

Candy Cane cookies

Mmm....now, I just wanna bake some cookies!

2. What's your favorite holiday movie; why?
I honestly can't think of a favorite.

3. Is there a gift that you bought for your kids that you wish you hadn't after they opened it?
Nope.
Of course, this could be because I've got no kids - just the sweetest, cutest little dog.

Playing with her favorite toy.
Or, taking a break from playing with her favorite toy.

4. What is the messiest room in your house right at this moment?
Hands down ... the kitchen. The dishes are always needing to be done. It's worse than laundry!

5. What is the furthest you have driven for the holidays?
Not far.

It's a Good Day!

2011-12-06T19:18:00.000-06:00

I had an incredible day!

Wanna know why?

I handed in paper #4 for my Russian history course. I didn't really read this book, but scanned it to find information that would support my thesis. I hope I did a good enough job to fool my professor.

Only one more paper to go!!!

I got an A+ (150/150) on paper #3. This was on a book by Gorbachev that I found very interesting. I really would recommend it. Here's the comment my prof wrote: Excellent paper, Clarinda - very focused and clearly argued. :)

That alone would have totally made my day,
but wait...there's more...

I went to my clinical practice (student teaching) placement meeting this afternoon, and I got assigned to my TOP CHOICE SCHOOL!! I'm super excited. Clinical practice will be Feb 1st. While I still have a bit to do to prepare, it's a relief to know that I at least got a good placement.

I'm cutting things really close with some of my content courses. I just turned in one final on Sunday, and I'm taking the other final on Friday, but I'm concerned about the time it will take for the profs to grade the essays/exams and for BYU to get my transcript to UST. I was assured that if the transcript isn't in my Jan 1st it isn't the end of the world. I just need to keep the Director of CP informed of the situation. Yay!

I still haven't found out my scores for the MTLE (licensure exams), but I asked what would happen if I didn't pass them. I was told, "You just retake them." In other words, , but I will need to pass them before I can get my license. What a relief! Btw, I should get the resultsI can still student teach even if I didn't pass next week.

We had a birthday lunch at work today. I actually missed it because of my CP meeting, but I got to enjoy some delicious leftovers at my desk. Chicken Tortilla soup? YUM! Chocolate cake? DOUBLE YUM!

via

Things are really starting to fall into place, and the nearer the end of the semester I get, the more elated I get. Yay!

#HBBC, Week 2 Recap

2011-12-03T23:36:00.000-06:00

Did you notice the button over in my right sidebar? I kind of threw it up there without any explanation, but I joined up with the Holiday Bootie Buster Challenge 2011. I'm new to it this year and signed-up a little late, so I don't qualify for any of the fun final prizes. Still, I thought it would be a good way to challenge myself through the holiday season.

Here's how I can earn points each week:

1 Point per mile (run/walk)
1 Point per 3 miles biked
1 Point per 20 minutes of weight lifting, Pilates, yoga, stretching or abs
1 Point per 15 minutes of low impact cardio (i.e. low impact aerobics, easy biking, skiing, skating, water aerobics, snow shoeing)
1 Point per 10 minutes of high impact cardio (i.e.spinning, kickboxing, lap swimming)
1 Per day where you reach a minimum of 7 servings of fruits and veggies (here are details on what is a serving)

I'd like to do a brief recap here each week. Since I missed week 1, here's a recap from both weeks.

Week 1

11/19: 0 points

Studied all day for MTLE on Monday morning

11/20: 0 points

Same as Saturday

11/21: 5 points

Weights - 20 min
Elliptical/Stairmaster - 30min

11/22: 0 points

No real good reason. :(

11/23: 1.1 points

Walked 1.1 mile

11/24: 4 points

Walked 1 mile - had to pick up / drop off the car
Turkey Day 5K - ran with a friend from high school. So. Much. Fun! (and crazy crowded)

11/25: 2 points

Ran 2 miles

Week 1 Total: 12.1
Challenge Total: 12.1

Week 2
11/26: 0 points

Skipped my run. Went to a wine tasting with my stepmom, sister, and brother's girlfriend. Well worth it. :)

11/27: 7.25 points

Ran 7.25 miles - Very pleasant run spent listening to the radio. Quite enjoyable, in fact.

11/28: 0 points

I can't even remember what happened this day.

11/29: 3.9 points

Ran 3.9 miles of hills on the treadmill. Was very tough!

11/30: 2.1 points

Ran 2.1 miles outside. The weather has been so pleasant!

12/1: 2 points

Cycled for 30 min. Slowly. While attempting to read. Not very successfully.

12/3: 4 points

Ran 4 miles on the treadmill. Attempted speedwork.

Week 2 Total: 19.25
Challenge Total: 34.35

Where I'm really falling short is the fruits/veggies part of the challenge. I really struggle to eat nutritiously. Hopefully this will improve once school is finished, but right now it would be a real challenge for me to even eat 3 servings a day, let alone 7. That seems like an incredible amount to me.

What tips do you have for incorporating fruits/vegs into your diet? How are you battling the heaviest eating season of the year?

Well, that was weird...

2011-12-02T18:12:00.046-06:00

I was just taking a little Friday afternoon nap.

via

When I abruptly awoke from my 1st ever, bona fide blogger dream.

Now I know that dreams are a bit nonsensical, but there were such fun bloggers appearing in this little ditty that I can't help but share the bits I can remember.

First, I was neighbors with Ally from Two Normal Moms. She lived on the street behind my house, down a hill, and a few houses over. She had a gorgeous, pet friendly home.

I know because not only were we neighbors, we were friends.

Good enough friends that I felt comfortable entering her home.

And hanging out.

When no one else was there.

It wasn't creepy, I promise.

While it was most definitely Ally's home, there was a sense of Mark from Forward Progress. He didn't actually appear in my dream, but he recently lost two dogs, and I remember making a comment in my dream about how comfortable Sallie was in Ally's house because of the loss of her two dogs. I'm guessing that's how that tied in since I know Ally hasn't lost any pets (and least not that she shared on her blog).

There were some funny occurences happening at Ally's.

For some reason, Sallie kept escaping to Ally's house.

And there was a misunderstanding with my family, who apparently didn't like the people in the house where she kept ending up. I kept thinking, Who couldn't love Ally? She's my favorite neighbor??

You know how dreams can flip in an instant, so suddenly, I was hanging out with Lauren from Sweat Junkie. We were all in some kind of class. I wanna say it started out as some sort of exercise class / boot camp type of thing, but it may have morphed into some thing more ladylike. hehehe.

All I remember is at the end of the dream, Lauren, sweet Lauren, was getting berated by an older woman (50ish) who was teaching/conducting the class (and no longer were any of us wearing workout-type attire).

And then.

In swooped this guy (presumably a celebrity of some sort) who got right in the face of this older woman, and yelled, "Say Sweat Junkie!"

This totally flustered the woman and sent the class into riotous laughter, with everyone repeating Say Sweat Junkie.

Trust me.

It. Was. Hilarious!

And then I woke up and thought, "Well that was weird."

******
Dreams are funny things. I don't usually put too much stock in them, and I rarely try to find meaning from them.

And I'm not going to today either.

But these are a few of my favorite blogs, so I figured I'd tell you a little about them and maybe why you should check them out.

Two Normal Moms
Meet Ally and Lela. Two best friends that grew up together and now blog together. They blog about a wide variety of things - each of them writing separately. It's fun to follow their lives. Ally tends to blog a bit more frequently than Lela, so I'm a little more familiar with her. They are both well written and funny.

Forward Progress
Mark and I are friends on DailyMile. His blog is fairly new and mostly tracks his running progress and everyday activities.

Sweat Junkie
Formerly the Running Cook, Lauren recently switched to a new blog. She loves to sweat and share all her sweaty stories with us. Last month, she had to take a DNS for her first marathon because of an injury week's before the big day. So sad.

I find inspiration from so many blogs/bloggers - not just these three.

I love blogging and connecting with bloggers from across the country. It's fun to read about different experiences by real people.

So tell me. Have you ever dreamt about a fellow blog or blogger?

It's December!

2011-12-02T08:36:00.000-06:00

Which is scary.

And overwhelming.

IT'S CRUNCH TIME!!

Of course, I've pretty much been saying that since September, but now I really am down to the wire.

Here's what I still have to finish:

Read TWO books
Write THREE papers (one 4 pg and two 3-5 pg)
ONE quiz
ONE final (scheduled for a week from today)

My plan, my hope, is to have all that finished by the 15th, which will give me about two weeks to finish my online portfolio. I started this earlier in my program and haven't really looked at it in a couple years now. It will take a lot of work, but I think two weeks is pretty reasonable to finish it.

I'll admit this past weekend and early part of this week, I had a completely defeatist attitude. I doubted highly I would be able to finish everything, and I wondered if it was really worth it to push myself so hard to student teach and get my license in MN when we're planning on leaving the state next summer.

Source: iiiinspired.blogspot.com via Susie on Pinterest

But writing this out, it doesn't seem that bad.

I CAN DO THIS! Right?

On Mortality

2011-11-29T13:57:00.000-06:00

Yesterday morning, when I asked my boss how her holiday had been, she mentioned that her nephew had died. He was in his early 20s. Apparently, he had too much to drink on Thanksgiving, slept on his back, and choked to death on his vomit.

I wonder what it would be like to die in such a manner. Would you realize what was happening? Would it hurt? Would it be a peaceful way to go? Did he struggle? Could it have been prevented (other than the obvious of not over-imbibing)? What would it be like to just not wake up one morning?

This led me to thinking about mortality in general. Life is pretty fragile and can end at any moment. Everyone dies; no one is immune.

What happens next?

I, obviously, have no concrete answer for this. I could spout on about what religion has taught me or what I hope might happen.

But maybe a better topic for consideration is what happens to those left to grieve.

I'm not an expert. I can only share my experience.

I lost my mom suddenly when I was 17. She died in a tragic car accident. It was very sad.

And life changing.

Just like that my life changed completely and would never be the same.

Over time, the heartache lessened. I'm sure I experienced all the appropriate stages of grief. It will be 17 years this December. I still miss her a lot. She often appears in my dreams. Usually as someone who has come back to me, someone who faked her death. Perhaps that's weird. Maybe I haven't truly gotten to that Acceptance stage. I don't know.

Although these dreams are often troubling, they remind me of her and keep her close to my thoughts. I have many great memories of her that I will always cling to.

I will always love her.

Wow. This post took a totally different turn than what I had intended. That's OK, I suppose.

Perhaps this is more what I needed.

What are your thoughts on mortality? Have you lost someone close to you? How has loss affected you?

Thanksgiving 2011 #16 - Everything!

2011-11-24T13:56:00.000-06:00

via

Well, today is the day. Thanksgiving is finally here. There is so much to be thankful for today. Here are just a few things, as I run out the door to my parents' home for dinner.

Good food
Family
Friends
Gorgeous weather!!
A fun 5K this morning
My cutie-patootie little dog, Sallie (she's curled on my lap right now)
My awesome husband

Hope you all are enjoying a wonderful day full of love, friendship, and good food.

Thanksgiving 2011 #15 - Mixer

2011-11-23T22:17:00.002-06:00

Today, I am grateful for my red KitchenAid mixer.

via

I love the bold color!

I use it for almost all of my baking. I was asked to make dinner rolls for Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow, and my KitchenAid saved me from having to knead the dough by hand. Yeah!

The rolls are still baking, but hopefully I'll get a nice picture of them tomorrow.

What were you thankful for today?

Thanksgiving 2011 #14 - Unexpected

2011-11-22T23:22:00.000-06:00

Today, I'm grateful for the unexpected.

source

I've been working as a temp at the same company for just over a year and a half. As a temp, I'm used to not getting paid for holidays and not having paid vacation time.

I'm used to not getting any of perks of regular employment.

So, imagine my surprise when I got into work this afternoon to receive an envelope from my boss. The company sent a letter to everyone one thanking them for their dedication and hard work.

The letter also included $50! Now, that was unexpected!

And naturally, I spent most of it after work at Target.

Thanksgiving 2011 #13 - Phew!

2011-11-21T22:39:00.000-06:00

Sorry, I missed over a week of posting my daily gratitude. I should be better this week leading up to Thanksgiving.

Today, I am thankful to completing my MTLE.

Source

It was four intense exams.

My head was swirling after I finished.
Mostly I had a headache.
There was a bit of relief, but I think that won't really come until after I get the results in a few weeks.

If I don't pass, I probably won't be able to student teach.

I had to do a lot of guessing, but I'm hoping my guesses were at least mostly correct. :)

Thanksgiving 2011 #12 - Beauty

2011-11-13T22:28:00.000-06:00

Today, I am grateful for beautiful places...

via StumbleUpon

And beautiful photography.

What were you grateful for today?

Thanksgiving 2011 #11 - Tomorrow

2011-11-12T18:58:00.000-06:00

I've been having a bad day.

I played volleyball this morning. Not very well. I couldn't seem to line myself up under the ball and the floor was really slippery. Needless to say, it wasn't my best game ever.

I came home and went for a 10K run. It was very tiring.

Then I just couldn't seem to get motivated to do my loads of homework that I really needed to get done this weekend.

I took a nap instead.

And watched a bunch of TV with Sallie curled on my lap.

This is kind of a whiny post. Sorry.

So, today, I am grateful that tomorrow is another day.

via Pinterest

What were you thankful for today?

Thanksgiving 2011 #10 - Vets

2011-11-11T23:46:00.002-06:00

I know I'm pretty late to the game, but today I'm grateful for all the soldiers who have fought for our country.

Especially my two brothers.

Corey, the marine.

Chris, the army national guard soldier

Today, Chris shipped out to Kuwait where he'll be supporting the troop withdrawals from Iraq.

Happy Veterans Day!

What were you grateful for today?

Thanksgiving 2011 #9 - Snowflakes

2011-11-10T08:33:00.000-06:00

I'm not much of a fan of winter at all.

I dislike the cold,
the bare trees,
the late sunrise and early sunset.

I don't like to ski.

However, I do LOVE the snow.

I love to watch it peacefully fall around me.

And above all I love to run during a snowfall.
It's gorgeous.
It's peaceful.
It's quiet.
It's comforting.

Today I'm thankful for the tiniest of snowflakes that were falling when I went for my run. I wasn't really feeling the run, so these delightful little flakes really helped me get through it.

They were infrequent and barely visible, but it made me just a wee bit excited for the upcoming winter.

Thanksgiving 2011 #8 - Fall Leaves

2011-11-09T21:38:00.000-06:00

Soon, all the leaves will be gone.

Today, I am grateful for the beautiful yellow colors right outside my front door.

Every day the temperature is getting colder. The leaves are quickly falling and soon they will be all gone, leaving the bare trees of winter.

So, today, I'm thankful for this last bit of color to make me smile.
Also, I love the crunchy sounds as I walk through a big pile of leaves.

What were you grateful for today?

Thanksgiving 2011 #7 - Custard-Filled Bismark

2011-11-08T09:22:00.000-06:00

Yummy donut!

This morning I woke up to this gooey goodness waiting for me at my computer. It was delicious and a great start to my day (a little pre-run fuel).

Today, I'm thankful for my husband for thinking to bring me a morning treat. What a guy!

What are you thankful for today?

Thanksgiving 2011 #6 - SparkPeople

2011-11-07T21:25:00.000-06:00

Today, I am grateful to have rediscovered SparkPeople. I was looking for some new exercises to do in the weight room to strengthen my core. A simple Google search reminded me that I had a great resource at my fingertips that I hadn't used in a very long time.

It's been months since I even looked at the site (yeah, I had to really think hard to even remember my user name), so I'd forgotten how useful it can be.

I even discovered today that they have developed a very handy app for my Android-based phone. Yay! Now I can bring my phone to the gym with me and actually record my sets/reps/weight without having to try and remember it on my own. I have a terrible memory when it comes to these things.

Right now, I'll probably concentrate on logging my workouts, but eventually I hope to get back to tracking my food, too.

Baby steps, right?

What were you thankful for today?

Thanksgiving 2011 #5 - Halloween Cheesecakes

2011-11-06T08:52:00.000-06:00

Today, I'm thankful for how great my cheesecakes turned out!

We're having a Halloween party tonight at my parent's house Yes, I know Halloween was last week, but for the past few years we've celebrated at my parent's house the following Sunday, and I was asked to make a dessert. I hope these taste as yummy as they look.

What are you grateful for today?

Thanksgiving 2011 #4 - Creative Friends

2011-11-05T23:21:00.000-05:00

I'm barely going to squeak this one out. :)

Today, I'm thankful for the creativity of others. I have a great friend who has wonderful card-making creativity skills. She makes all these fun designs, and I just have to show up, stamp, adhere, and give away.

Here are the cute cards I made today.

What were you grateful for today?

Thanksgiving 2011 #3 - Kleenex

2011-11-04T08:37:00.000-05:00

Ugh.
I hate this time of the year.
Not the month of gratitude.
Or the holidays in general.
Not even the cold weather. (ok. that's kind of a lie. I do not like the cold weather. At all.)

For me, this is the beginning of the bloody nose season.

I've gotten spontaneous bloody noses most of my life, but they always seem to be worse at the season changes and worse still moving from fall to winter.

This morning's was bad.
Took me 20 minutes to finally get it to stop.

But it made me very grateful to have a box of Kleenex handy.

via

So much nicer than using toilet paper.

What are you grateful for today?

Thanksgiving 2011 #2 - Hat

2011-11-03T09:13:00.004-05:00

We've been very spoiled this fall. Gorgeous temps!

But I fear that is quickly coming to an end. It was barely 30°F when I went out running this morning. So, today, I am grateful for my new running hat.

via

It kept my head and ears nice and toasty warm. Plus it's lightweight and thin enough that as it gets colder, I can easily add another hat and/or the hood of my jacket. Today I didn't wear a jacket, though - just this hat, a long-sleeved running shirt, long pants, and gloves. It was cold to start out, especially my face, but I warmed up nicely and was pretty hot when all was said and done.

What are you thankful for today?

Thanksgiving 2011 #1 - The Gym

2011-11-02T20:33:00.000-05:00

So, I'm starting this a day late, but here it is anyway. I'm going to try to post something that I'm grateful for everyday.

via

This isn't a picture of my gym, but I'm sure grateful that my gym is right across this street. This means that my warm-up/cool-down are built in because of the sheer fact that I have to walk to get to the gym.

Perfect.

Also, it's super convenient now that the weather is getting much colder, and soon I'll be wimping out on running outside.

Tied into this, I'm grateful that I'm physically able to workout in the gym. I'm grateful that I don't have too many body image hang-ups that keep me from going to the gym. Of course, I haven't been very good about doing anything other than cardio for months. This week, I decided to change that and have visited the long neglected weight room twice this week.

It. Felt. Good.

What are you grateful for today?

Well, I've been busy...

2011-10-30T16:07:00.000-05:00

Remember this post from back in January? My goal for 2011 was simply to publish at least one post every month. There were a few banner months over the summer, but overall, that lowly little post of the month was the only one you got.

With the start of the 2011-2012 school year, it became real to me how much work I needed to finish and how little time I had to accomplish it all. I knew I needed to prioritize and make sure that my school work was my top priority. I've done surprisingly well and am on pretty good target for getting everything in order for me to student teach in February.

To give you a little glimpse, here is what I have accomplished since my last post.

► I read. A LOT.

Daughter of Han by Ida Pruitt
The Good Earth by Pearl S Buck
Selected Stories by Lu Hsun
Wild Swans by Jung Chang
Hungry Ghosts by Jasper Becker
Son of the Revolution by Liang Heng
China Pop by Jianying Zha
Cement by Fedor Gladkov

With the exception of Cement, all of these books were for my Modern China Since 1500 class. Thankfully, they did get much better than the first book I read for the course, Emperor of China by Jonathan Spence. There were even a couple books that I thoroughly enjoyed reading. I think reviews of those books warrant their own post. Yeah, that's how fascinating they were.

All those books were in addition to keeping up with the reading for my 20th Century Russia history course that I'm taking at St Thomas this fall and doing the other lessons for that China history course. I can proudly say that I just have two more essays to write to finish off that China class.

► I registered for my final history course (US History to 1877) and my teaching licensure exams. The exams are scheduled for the Monday before Thanksgiving, and I should be all finished with my US history course by December.

So yes, mostly I've been absorbed with schoolwork, but life needs to have some balance, right?

► I ran 61 miles and biked 75.86. Some of those running miles were with my running group, which has proven to really push my speed and endurance. Yay!

► I ran a 5K race (included in the above mileage) with my family yesterday.

► I went scuba diving a few more times for the season.

► I registered for Grandma's marathon next June. It will be my first marathon since 2003. I'm both nervous and excited.

► I watched the runners at the Twin Cities Marathon. This was my first time ever going out and spectating at a race. It was fun! I knew several people running, but I didn't end up seeing any of them. :-( There were so many runners! Watching the race really got me pumped up for Grandma's.

► I squeezed in a trip to Valleyfair (local amusement park) with my sister and her kids. So. Much. Fun!

► I attended a friend's wedding reception.

► I got my hair cut and colored. The bold colors didn't turn out quite as bold as I'd asked, but it still looked really great. Sorry, no good pictures were taken.

► We took my niece to SeaLife MN to celebrate her birthday, which was in June. It was the first opportunity that we could make it work.

► I played church volleyball. I've always enjoyed playing volleyball, though I've never been good. It's been fun playing this season and seeing improvement. It feels so good when I'm actually able to make some good plays and get congratulations from my team.

► My CSA provided me with an abundance of squash, so I experimented with squash. I even posted 8 recipes on my recipe blog.

That's about it. Like I said, I've been busy! I feel good that I've also managed to be quite productive. It's nice to be on target school-wise and also know that it hasn't really come at the expense of having fun and enjoying life.

Maybe she's born with it....

2011-09-02T13:11:00.000-05:00

Maybe it's Maybelline.

Well, it's neither, actually.

For my birthday, my brother and his girlfriend gave me a gift certificate to Juut Salon and Spa to get my eyelashes tinted. I had never had this done before but was very excited to give it a try.

I made an appointment for after work one evening. I thought ahead and purposely didn't wear any mascara that day and chose to wear my glasses instead of my contacts - just in case that was necessary.

The overall experience was fantastic.

I lied down on a table (kind of like a massage table), and the aesthetician applied some kind of guard under my lashes. Then, I simply closed my eyes while she applied the dye.

It needed to set for about 15 minutes or so.

At first, I wasn't sure what to do. It seemed weird to lie there with my eyes closed. I had to fight the urge to open my eyes.

But then the best part started.

As I lied there with my eyes closed, she sprayed some aromatherapy in the room and began massaging my scalp. My face. My ears. I relaxed immediately and no longer had to fight the urge to open my eyes. The ear thing she did was especially amazing.

When it was time, she rinsed off the excess dye, and I opened my eyes.

She brought over a mirror, and wow, if I didn't have just the prettiest eyelashes ever!

Self-portrait taken a couple days after the tinting.
Perhaps not the best picture to highlight the lashes. Oh well.

I was very pleased with how they turned out and the experience as a whole.

I love not having to ~~take the time~~ remember to apply mascara in the mornings.
I love how my lashes are beautifully dark but not at all heavy or clumpy.

With all that being said, I was a little disappointed with Juut and this particular aesthetician.

**It would have been nice to have the person who scheduled the appointment tell me things like "don't wear make-up" and "it's recommended to not wear contacts." I did these things anyway, but it would have been nice to have been warned as well.

**There was no consultation. We didn't discuss the procedure. There was no mention of the massaging. She even picked out the color - automatically mixing up the most popular choice.

**There was no after care advice. Whenever I've gotten my hair dyed, the stylist generally gives tips on how to make the color last longer, etc. There was none of that. Do I wash my face and eyes like normal? Maybe that's a silly question.

**Not really related to the spa or the aesthetician, but when I first opened my eyes, it really burned. She said she's never had anyone complain about a burning sensation afterwards. Guess there's a first for everything. *sigh* We rinsed my lashes again, and the second time I opened my eyes was much better.

Would I get my lashes tinted again? Absolutely.
Would I go to the same girl? Not so sure.

Have you ever gotten this done? How did you like it?
What other beauty treatments would you consider "must-trys"?

Road Rash Rocked Ragnar!

2011-08-27T10:59:00.000-05:00

The day after the Great River Ragnar, Jeff and I went scuba diving in Wazee Lake, and then it was back to work on Monday. It's actually been a really busy week, but I still wish I had taken the time to write this recap earlier.

Our team after 34h8m of running....

Let me start at the beginning...

I saw an old friend from jr/sr high school post something random about running Ragnar Great River this year on her facebook page. I'd only recently heard of this relay race and had looked over the website and was very interested in joining a team. Naturally, I zipped her a message asking for more details and if they had any more spots open.

They did! I was super excited. :-)

My confidence in my preparation waxed and waned throughout the following weeks. Two weekends before the race, I run a half marathon. I thought, if I can run a half, certainly I can survive Ragnar. Then I looked at the Ragnar suggested training schedule. I wasn't prepared.

Still....I CAN DO THIS! became my motto.

We spent the beginning of the week up at Big Lake Wilderness Lodge north of Ely on a family vacation. I had all Thurs morning to pack, but I was lazy, so only after Jeff took off for his scuba class did I realize that we hadn't taken all the bags out of the car. The bag that remained had so much of my running gear - hat, belt, shot bloks, bug spray, sunscreen, etc.

I had to get that bag! Thankfully, Bryce and Mike from my team were nice enough to pick me up and drive me to South Minneapolis to retrieve it. Jeff had stuffed it under the car - luckily it was still there!

We headed back to St Paul to meet up with the van and begin the journey down to Winona, MN. Since we had a 6:00am start time and a 5:00am safety briefing, we decided to get a couple hotel rooms for the night. Despite that, 4:00am came super early!

I was filled with growing excitement as we checked in and picked up our swag and, yes, even during the safety briefing. ;)

I wanted to RUN.

Of course, being the last runner in my van, I had hours to go before my feet would hit the pavement runnning.

Starting line

It was a cool, beautiful morning!

It certainly did heat up by the afternoon, though! Andrea and I got the worst of it during our first legs (okay, well, not nearly as bad as van 2. sorry guys!) plus the hills just about killed me!

Just after a beastly hill with another off in the distance

I ended up walking a LOT more than I'd wanted to during my first leg, but its completion meant a break for van 1. While van 2 ran their first legs, we found a park in Pepin, WI, where we ate lunch.

We also found a public beach which was actually closed, but we pretended not to notice the small handwritten sign on Lake Pepin (i.e. the Mississippi River) where we ~~swam~~ lounged in the water to cool off and to rinse of the cake of dried sweat we were all sporting.

Lake Pepin - DONE with legs 1-6!

After a nice nap back at the park, we took off to Exchange 12 to meet van 2 to begin our second legs. It was still relatively light out for runner 1, and runner 2 started out without needing her headlamp, but it was dark by the end of her leg. Someone kindly gave her an extra headlamp to use. :-)

My second leg started at roughly 11pm. I'd never really run in the dark before and never with a reflective vest and headlamp. It was a weird experience! I'd totally do it again, though.

I ran with my own water bottle, so I didn't particularly need van support during this leg. I kind of thought my team was just going to meet me at the finish. I was listening to my music and concentrating on not tripping in the darkness, when I heard someone yell out "I love this song!" I refused to use headphones and just blared my music right from my running belt! Several steps later, it clicked that it wasn't just some random person yelling that out...it was my team. Unfortunately, they didn't recognize me. What?! All runners with the reflective vests and headlamps look the same?! :-) I kept looking at all the passing vans to see the one that said Road Rash.

When I saw the One Mile To Go sign, I still hadn't seen them pass me by, so I figured I should try giving Andrea a call. No answer. Sent a text that said something like You at exchange? I've got less than 1 mile to go.

They weren't.

Good thing I was passing off to the next van! This exchange was the most complicated for me. This could be due to the dark, but I had a difficult time figuring out which way to go and where to go. Thank goodness for a couple of teens randomly sitting on a busstop bench that corrected my wrong turn!

After the exchange, I texted Andrea again to say I would meet them where the vans entered this particular exchange. I found them with no problems whatsoever.

And we were off to Exchange 24 where there was promise of indoor showers and sleeping. It was a junior high school. So, yeah, the showers sucked just as much as you could imagine. Apparently, I had no problem sleeping on the gym floor, though. I slept soundly from about 1:30 to 3:30 when I got so cold I had to actually get inside my sleeping bag. I quickly fell back asleep until 5:07 when I heard my teammates rustling to pack up their stuff.

Runner 1 would be starting us off again soon.

It was another beautiful, cool morning. While it did heat up quite a bit before it was time for my 3rd leg, it was much more bearable. :-)

My tummy wasn't too pleased with me as my leg was approaching, and I did not really feel up to running another leg, but I did it. I was actually able to stick to my 10/1 intervals, too for the most part! The running got easier as I went along, and I actually did end up enjoying this leg. Towards the end, but before the 1 Mile To Go sign, another runner came up behind me and asked if I wanted to run with her for a bit. I declined. She was just a tad too fast for me, plus I was set to do a walk break right when she asked.

The end of my third leg came with mixed emotions for me. I was glad to be finished running but not so much looking forward to waiting the 5 hours for van 2 to finish. We headed straight to the finish to wait for our teammates. The after-party was in full swing - and the beer and pizza consumption began. If I drank beer, this might have been fun - and certainly would have made the time go faster.

Finally, we saw our last runner coming down the path along the river. We all ran to meet him, so we could cross the finish together. GO TEAM ROAD RASH!

We pretty much finished right on target!

Would I do this again? Absolutely!

Definitely it was physically challenging but also so much fun! I was surprisingly able to finish each of my legs really strong - which is, ultimately, always my goal of any race.

It was fun to run and make some new friends, but it was also really fun to see the creativity of all the other teams - from the team names to the costumes to the van decorating. There was just a lot of fun energy surrounding this race!

I think most, if not all, of Road Rash hopes to do this again next year. Sadly, I won't be able to join them because I'll just be settling into life in St Thomas.

Perhaps Ragnar Florida Keys in Jan 2013... Who's in??

Urban Wildland Half Marathon

2011-08-13T23:26:00.000-05:00

What's that they say about good intentions? :)

Finally, I'm getting around to blogging about last weekend's half marathon. I'll use the excuse that it was my birthday this past week.

I had such fun running this race!

It was great to meet a couple friends from DailyMile before the start.

Ray, Treva, Me, Courtenay

I even somehow convinced my sister to join in the fun.

Me, Treva

A lot of runners had some difficulty with the weather, but I thought it was a perfect morning for a run. Guess I'm a bit more of a hot weather runner than most. I did notice a distinctive drop in humidity as the race progressed because I didn't seem to be quite as sweaty.

I was planning on just running and then walking through the water stops, but after looking more closely at the map, I decided to stick to doing 10/1 interval splits. I figured it would help give my legs a brief rest and keep me going strong through the entire race.

I also figured I'd be ok just getting water at the water stops, so I left my handheld in the car.

This turned out to be a bad idea. I was pretty thirsty by the time I got to the first water station and didn't quite get satiated during my 30-sec water walk. I think between WS1 and WS2 there were some kids handing out hard candy. I grabbed a piece just because I wanted to generate some saliva flow in my mouth (TMI??)

Other than being thirsty, I was feeling really pretty good when I met Jeff at the halfway point.

Of course, I grabbed my handheld to take with me for the rest of the race! I also ate some Clif Shot Bloks. Yum!

Hydrating!

Overall, I think this course was really pretty. It was mostly roads, but there was also some trail running mixed in through some parks in Richfield. I liked the change of scenery. :)

I had tasked Jeff with meeting a few times on the course, so he could get some pictures of me running. I hate how most of them look like I'm walking, when I totally wasn't. Alas.

The second time I met Jeff was between mile 9 and 10. During the picture taking, my new DM friend, Ray, caught up with me. She started the race further back in the crowd than Treva and me. After the race, when I was looking through the photos Jeff took, I absolutely busted out laughing at how this series turned out. I had to put it into a slideshow.

I wish I knew how to make a slideshow not automatically start playing, because it's funnier if you watch it from slide 1. In the pictures, it looked like we were running together, but in reality, I had no clue she was so close to me.

"Clueless"

Create a free slideshow with Picnik!

I think it was around this time when I really felt like my pace had super slowed down. Technically I was still in motion like a runner, but I'd bet there were a few walkers that could have passed me.

Ray only ran with me for perhaps a minute or two before we separated.

Around mile 11, I had to stop to use a portapotty. I figured I could have probably made it the last two miles, but then I thought why put up with that discomfort, so I stopped.

It was SO worth it.

Probably around mile 12, the tummy queasiness set up, but I still managed to keep my pace fairly steady - from what I could tell without any kind of pacing device (gps, garmin, etc).

When I came to that mile 13 sign, I decided, hell yeah, I'm going to push it to the end. I increased my pace. A LOT. I ran and I ran hard. So hard that I didn't even see Jeff taking my pictures just steps before crossing the finish line.

To the Finish!

I definitely needed a few minutes after I'd finished to catch my breath! I couldn't even consider going through the food line right away; I was way too queasy. I walked around the park - sipping water and powerade until I started to feel hungry.

Eventually, Jeff and I headed back to the spot where he was when I finished, so we could wait for my sister to cross the finish line. Tony joined us just a few minutes later.

I started to get a little antsy after about 20 or so minutes, so I said I was going to walk back along the course to go cheer her on. I met up with her just before mile 13. She was walking, so I said we were going to start running once we got to the mile 13 marker. She agreed.

Racing with my sis

It was fun to help encourage her to finish nice and strong!

So close!

I'm so proud of the two of us! We both met our goals and, look, we're both smiling at the end.

2011 Urban Wildland Half Marathon Finishers! Whoo hoo!

I would absolutely do this race again and recommend it to anyone looking for a good half marathon. Everyone was very helpful. During one of my 1 min intervals, a medical aid person even asked if I was ok. It made me feel good that he was doing his job and paying good attention to the runners on the course.

I managed to pull off about an 11 min/mile pace, which I'm very pleased with.

My time - 2:24:35

Treva's time - 2:57:29

Oh, and I almost forgot how great is was that several people had turned on their sprinklers for runners to run though. I definitely took advantage of every.single.one.

IT'S MY BIRTHDAY!!

2011-08-10T09:07:00.001-05:00

via

I'm 34 today. :)

It's going to be a crazy busy day, but just so.much.fun!

Here's a quick rundown:

Bubble bath to start the day out right. lol.

Work.

Birthday lunch.

I chose a summery menu - sloppy joes, watermelon, pasta salad, frozen strawberry dessert (not sure what it's called, but it should be yum-o)

Back to Work.

Free yoga class.

CorePowerYoga gave me a coupon for a free class on my birthday.

Dinner at Hard Rock Cafe with Jeff and Dan and Chelsea.

Hard Rock also gave me $10 off my purchase.

Plus, my birthday is already off to a rocking start with all kinds of fun birthday wishes and memories over on Facebook!

If you know me, please share a memory in the comments.

If you don't, please share a favorite post of mine that you've read. :)

Reading, reading, reading

2011-07-28T18:45:00.000-05:00

I registered for an online, independent study course a week or so ago. There are 9 required books. NINE! Thank goodness all but three are available at the library. :)

I certainly hope they get better than this first one, though. I've been reading it for several days and have barely made it past the introduction. Everytime I go to read it on my shuttle ride home, my eyes lose their focus.

And yeah, I totally do that embarrassing head nod thing.

On another note, I submitted my application for clinical practice (aka student teaching) tonight. I'm excited and scared and nervous and excited.

I'll find out my placement in early December.

Until then, I have to finish this course and another two, take the Praxis II AND finish my e-portfolio.

Yikes!

Inner Dialogue

2011-07-24T09:44:00.000-05:00

Last night I went for nearly a 10 mile run. Here is a brief dialogue I had with myself while running.

Wow! This is probably ones of my best runs!
You've only gone halfway. It's way too early to make that conclusion.
Yeah, that's probably true.

A couple more miles down the road...

Seriously this has been such a great run!
You've still got a few miles to go. Again, it's still too early to say that.
What am I saying? That's not very positive encouragement. I should be saying, "Way to go! Keep up the good work! This run really is going great so far, isn't it?"
Okay, okay. You're right. That's probably better. "Keep it up!"

Several more times throughout the run I had to remind myself of this dialogue. Even though it was a pretty great run, I had I hard time accepting that, I guess. :)

Anyone else have weird, fun, interesting dialogues with themselves when they run?

5FF - Food

2011-07-22T09:50:00.000-05:00

It's been awhile since I've done a Five Favorites for Friday.

Smell? Subway in the morning. It's a little piece of heaven in the morning when I walk by. I always end up slowing my pace just a bit and taking in a deep breath. I might even close my eyes. I hope no one notices. That would just be embarrassing.
Comfort food? Grilled cheese with tomato soup. Nothing too spectacular. Sometimes, I'll go all crazy and throw in some goldfish crackers. Yum.
Delivery? Jimmy John's. Hands down. They are so fast and so yummy. We have been ordering them way.too.often lately.
Grill? Several times throughout the summer, my family will have grilled pizzas for dinner. Once we even did this is February for Jeff's birthday. I love this because everyone can make their own and get the exact toppings they want.
Candy? M&Ms. Just about any variety. Today, I'm snacking on pretzel, but I also really love peanut. Plain are probably my least favorite, but I'd probably not turn them down. Of course there's not much candy I would ever turn down, so this favorite is in constant flux.

I have never, ever

2011-07-18T21:45:00.000-05:00

gone running in just a sports bra.
Let alone taken my shirt off mid-run.

But it was really HOT today and so.much.sweat was dripping into my eyes.

I finally broke down just after mile 3 to take off my shirt, roll it just so, and wrap it around my head.

I know. Super sexy.

But it really helped with keeping the sweat out of my eyes.
And even the slightest breeze, like when crossing over the Lake street bridge, felt just heavenly over my already sweaty skin.

Overall, my run today was 5 miles. I probably walked a good half of the distance.

A couple of notes:

Never run in the super heat without a hat or bandanna or something to help with the sweaty forehead syndrome. This can only result in a repeat of this evening's run.
I'm pretty sure I prefer energy chews over energy gels. They were much easier to eat and a lot less messy.
My new socks were super comfy!
Sweating profusely does not guarantee I won't feel the urge to pee.
Even with doing a LOT of walking, I was able to maintain a sub-12:00 min/mi pace. Yay me!

My next run is a 5K Wednesday evening. I imagine it will be pretty near to the same conditions as tonight's run.

Wish me luck!

Gotta Wear Shades

2011-07-18T12:48:00.001-05:00

I walked across the street today to grab something for lunch. It was super bright and sunny out, and I, naturally, had left my sunglasses at my desk.

Ultimate bummer.

Many people are complaining about the weather right now.

It's hot.
It's humid.

I actually love this weather.
The sun.
The heat.
The sweat dripping from every pore.

Oh, wait! Scratch that last one.

BUT I'm willing to pay the price of sweat and humidity in order to enjoy the sunshine and the heat.

If I'd had my sunglasses, I'd have totally sat outside to enjoy my turkey wrap.
Instead I returned to my desk and put on my sweater. Damn A/C.

Saturday's run

2011-07-17T11:22:00.000-05:00

Ok, so I just looked at the calendar and realized that my half marathon is in just 3 weeks from yesterday. Yikes! Will I be ready??

Yesterday, I donned my ifitness running belt, grabbed my water bottle, and hit the trails for an easy 6.5 miler. I brought my phone with me and even set it to record my run, but I made the decision to not worry about time or distance (I'd already mapped out my distance, so I had a general idea of where to go for my 6.5 miles). I just wanted to enjoy the run.

I walked to my starting point and stopped to stretch. I've been pretty terrible about stretching and my shins have really been protesting, so I decided I really need to be better about stretching after my warm-up and then again after the workout.

I started out a little on the slow side but was feeling pretty good.

Not too long after crossing the first bridge and heading back north along the river, I started to feel pretty tired. I needed a pick-me-up. I brought a couple gel packs with me, but my tummy always tends to feel a little nauseous and the thought of having any kind of gel really turns my stomach. I tried to just keep pushing through but eventually decided I should just give it a try.

I figured I'd walk a little ways before the next trash can, so I could open the packet, eat it, and get to the trash can just in time to start running again.

Not so.

My hands had gotten so super sweaty that I couldn't get my Hammer Gel packet to open. I even tried ripping it with my teeth. I still hadn't opened it by the time I reached the trash can and had to stand there for what seemed like a very long time still struggling with it. I finally got it opened and ate it. I tried the Apple Cinnamon, and it was actually pretty tasty. Didn't upset my stomach at all. Yay!

This all happened at just under 4 miles, and it gave me the perfect boost to finish out my run. Double yay!

I did have a couple physical problems during the race. The normal shin pain that kind of comes and goes. A little numbing in my right arm. A few pebbles in my shoes. Shoes rubbing my ankles raw.

Maybe I should run with headphones just to distract me from dwelling on all these minor problems. I also think I should probably incorporate some running on the treadmill because that tends to help with the shin pain.

After my run, I got in a longer-than-usual cool down. It felt great to just walk several blocks after running. After getting home and stretching and showering, I spent some time icing my shins. I think this was really smart, because today, they are not really bothering me so much. Sweet.

All in all, this was a great run for me. I'm not sure I could have gone on for another 1.5 miles (next week's long distance), but I felt pretty good at the end of this one.

******
Later in the afternoon, we made a run to the Scuba Center in Edina, which happened to be across the street from Marathon Sports, so while Jeff paid at the Scuba Center I stopped into the running store. I got a new (my first) handheld water bottle.

amphipod Hydraform Handheld Thermal-Lite

I'm pretty excited to try it out. I think it will be so much better than just running with my water bottle in my hand.

I also got some new non-cotton running socks.

asics intensity™ low cut

I really hope that these will help a lot with the problems I've been having with the shoes rubbing my ankles raw. It's happened to me on several runs now, and it's getting very annoying.

I also picked up some Clif Shot Bloks (orange) and some Gu Chomps (blueberry pomegranate) to try out. I think that I might be more mentally able to stomach these than the gel packs. I'll let you know!

Tomorrow, I'm scheduled for a 5 mile run. I plan on bringing my running gear to work with me and just running home after work. It's about 5.4 miles, so that should be perfect for a nice warm-up and cool-down! I'm very excited!

Whiz Bang Days 10K

2011-07-10T11:59:00.000-05:00

Stats:

PLACE		CLASS PLACE		FINISHER		TIME		PACE
42		20 W30		1026 (that's me)		1:04:54		10:27

Highlights:
Lots of family and friends ran the race, too!
Very strong finish!
My new iFitness race belt worked great!
No rain!
Small t-shirt fits again!
I only walked for about 30 seconds at mile 5!

Detailed recap:
Yesterday, I joined my family and a few friends for the 27th Annual Whiz Bang Days race in Robbinsdale. No, we haven't been doing it for that long; it was our first year ever. We all signed up for the 10K. It had been years since I have run that far. Well, years I think that any of us had run that far.

I thought I was mentally and physically prepared for this race, but in reality, I really wasn't so much. The week leading up to it, I logged more than 65 miles of biking and running. The previous week I'd only done 45. I think I may have pushed myself a little too much. It also didn't help that I did this workout on Thursday, and my glutes were pretty much killing me. Note to self: do NOT try incorporating a new weight training routine in my workout schedule just two days before a race!

My last race I biked 8 miles to the race, ran the 5K, and then biked back home. I had every intention of making this race a duathlon as well, but the weather was forecasted for thunderstorms all morning. I didn't want to ride and run and ride again in a downpour, so I reserved the HourCar and got to leave an hour later.

It only ended up sprinkling. A. Very. Little. What a waste of $45. Lame.

Here's me and my family right before the race started. Don't we look all happy and ready to go?

Marna, Dad, Treva, Selena, Me

I mentioned running with some friends, too.

Dave and his nephew Spencer

When we were lining up to go, my family started very near to the end of the pack. We all knew we wanted to start off slow, but I think this was a huge mistake for me. Next time, I'm definitely starting more in the middle or even the front. That way I won't feel quite so defeated right from the get go.

My first mile was 11:30. Yikes! I tried to increase my pace a bit at each mile marker, but I don't think I increased as much as I wanted. This is where the mental preparation wasn't quite with me. When I thought about picking it up a tad, I would say to myself, "No, just wait until the next mile marker. Keep it steady right now." OR "No way will you be able to keep that faster pace for another X miles. Better keep it a bit more gradual." Not sure if it would have made a difference.

Selena, Dad and I started off together. Selena is 15, and while naturally pretty athletic, she hadn't really done any running to prepare for the race. She made it with us just over a mile before she had to stop and walk. My dad stopped at the same time to do a little stretching. I kept on trekking along.

My dad did catch up to me just after the first turn around and ran with me for a short while until he needed to stop and stretch his hammies. Again. Poor guy.

Needless to say, I ran most of this race by myself, which is actually great for me. That's mostly how I train, and when I'm running side-by-side with someone, I'm generally too tempted to talk, and that just takes too much energy. :)

Despite my slow pace (or perhaps because of it), I didn't stop to walk at all until mile 5. I walked briskly for maybe 30 seconds. I probably didn't really need to physically. It was more of a mental breather, I think. Shortly after that, I knew the end was in sight, and I really picked up my pace. The last bend was probably the only time in the race that I was actually running closer to my normal pace.

This is where it became fun!

I started passing runners ahead of me.

I passed the two ladies pushing jogging strollers.
I passed the woman finishing the 5K with her young (my guess was 4yo) daughter.
I passed a woman with hot pink shorts on.

I could feel those jogging strollers catching up with me again, and I just couldn't allow that, so I kicked it up again.

I was running STRONG!

And there was my dailymile friend (who'd finished well before me) near the end encouraging me to run hard and give it my all.

I pushed it and I pushed it.

There was a woman in a neon green top ahead of me. I tried my damnedest to pull ahead of her, but the finishing corral beat me to it. As we were walking to get our tags pulled, I thanked her for setting a pace and helping me to finish hard. I think she thought I was a little nuts.

Even though, I think my overall performance for this race was a little dismal (missing my goal time by nearly 3 min), I love how I was able to really kick it out in the end and finish as strong as I did. That felt incredible.

*****
My dad had to walk the last little bit. Something happened to his calf around mile 5.

Treva passed Selena along the way somewhere near the end, but as the finish line approached, Selena was not about to let her mom win.

The orange speck in the foreground was the finish line. The little weasel, Selena, totally budged in front of her mom just steps before entering the corral.

*****
A couple things I really loved about this race.

The route (see below).
With two turn around points, and everyone I knew running at such different paces, it was fun to see other runners I knew running in the opposite direction. All in all, there were 8 other runners that I could high five and exchange encouraging words with as I ran the race. It was a great boost to me to be able to see such support out on the race.

View Whiz Bang Days 10K in a larger map

My new iFitness Ultimate Race Belt.
This worked just great. (Full review is forthcoming, I promise). It was nice to have my phone with me. It's what provided the above map. I also love the race toggles. No need to worry about getting my race number pinned just right.

A couple things I really did not love about this race.

There was only ONE water stop, and it was somewhat early on in the race. There was nothing in the 2nd half. The half with all the hills.

The gnats. I didn't really notice them much while I was running, but they must have noticed me. Their bites drew blood, as I finished with blood streaking down one arm. They wouldn't stop biting me as I ate my banana and bread and drank my bottle of water. I finally had to go to the restroom and wash off my salty sweat. That seemed to help quite a bit.

Next race: Wednesday, July 20th - Torchlight 5K in downtown Mpls

Hola Arepa Food Truck

2011-07-08T15:02:00.000-05:00

I didn't have time this morning to ~~make~~ grab anything for lunch. Plus I was feeling a little adventurous, so I decided to try out this foodtruck phenomenon. My boss and I walked over to Marquette Ave and the first one we came to was Hola Arepa.

The Chicken-Avocado Salad Arepa caught my eye, so we decided it would be a good place to stop. Plus, they accept credit cards, which was good for me since I had no cash.

Anyway, you may be wondering what an arepa is. Well, at least we were. From their menu: It's a cornmeal patty cooked on a griddle, split & filled with deliciousness.

They weren't lying! The chicken-avocado salad arepa really hit the spot and was oh, so tasty! And filling.

My only recommendation would be to try and find a place to cop a squat (do not look this up on urban dictionary. gross. I mean it in the Pretty Woman sense of simply taking a seat) nearby and eat outside. The salsa I added to the arepa and the mayo in the chicken salad made it a little bit messy by the time I'd walked the 4 1/2 blocks back to work to eat at my desk.

chicken-avocado salad arepa with cucumber lavendar lemonade

Like I mentioned, I was feeling a bit adventurous, so I also ordered the cucumber-lavendar lemonade. I'm not sure how I feel about this. It's definitely different. Not sure I'm too crazy about the flavor combination. Oddly, though, as the ice all melted and I've been nursing it for the past two hours, it's actually kind of grown on me. Still not sure I'd order it again, though.

All in all, it was a great experience. The guy taking our orders was very personable and answered all our questions with a smile. When you order, he gives you a playing card as your order number (I was 9 of Hearts), which I thought was a very clever idea.

Great job, Hola Arepa! I'll definitely come back. :)

Phew! It's O-V-E-R!

2011-07-03T19:12:00.000-05:00

Well, I'm shocked. Awed. Amazed.

Proud.

I did it. I completed my SCUBA training and am now a certified PADI Open Water Diver.

We did two dives on Saturday and two dives today. All four dives were in Square Lake near Stillwater. Visibility was only so-so. Maybe 6-8 feet. Apparently it's normally much better. Oh well.

Dive 1 was simply an orientation dive. There a little diamond-shaped course that we were supposed to follow. I had some buoyancy issues (getting to the bottom and staying down). And then my fins came off a couple times. I was totally able to keep calm and put them back on and adjust them without a hitch. I did get to see some fish, though. That was pretty neat. And all the plant life that's so annoying when swimming? It's kinda pretty when diving.

Dive 2 was mostly done out at a platform. We did a couple exercises to get out there. Tired diver tows. Snorkel/regulator exchanges. Once we got to the platform and descended, panic started to set in. I felt claustrophobic. I knew I was getting air, but I didn't feel like I was. It's an adjustment switching from nose breathing to mouth breathing with something in my mouth. I just wanted to get that thing out of my mouth. I did manage to remain calm, though. When the instructor came by, I signaled that I needed to go up. One of the other instructors ascended with me and talked me down out of my panic. I descended again and completed all the exercises. Fin pivot. Regulator recovery and clearing. Flooding and clearing my mask. Alternate air exchange and ascent.

I was so proud of myself for working through my anxiety and having a successful first two dives. I was really excited to go back today. I familiarized myself with the remaining exercises and discussed with Jeff the best way to accomplish them.

Dive 3 was back out at the platform. Before getting in the water, though, we reviewed the basics of using a compass. This time our descent had to be without holding onto the line, but using it as a visual reference. The panic/claustrophobia did begin to set in a little once at the platform, but I successfully worked through it. We had to do another flood/clear of my mask. This time was not as successful as the day before. I ended up taking in water and had to cough my way through it before I could clear my mask. In the end, I was successful though. We did another fin pivot exercise while on the platform and then a controlled emergency ascent. I had to repeat this exercise, because I forgot to do some basic preparation before heading to the surface. My second attempt was flawless. We returned to shore with a surface swim using compass navigation.

Dive 4 was the final dive for the certification. This time our descent was supposed to be without a visual reference. I wasn't quite able to descend perfectly straight down. Good thing everything is done in the buddy system, so Jeff stayed near me, and we made it to the platform A-OK. We were supposed to do a complete mask removal and replacement. I was unable to psych myself into doing this exercise. Fail. We did a hovering exercise and practiced a safety stop (hovering at about 15 ft for 3 min) before getting to the surface. I really was apprehensive that I would be successful at these exercises, but I did surprising well. We surface swam back to shore and then did a little more navigation work. Many of the others in the class swam out to find a sunken boat; I had to work with the instructor on mask removal and replacement.

Check out my super cute SCUBA hair
as I work on disassembling my scuba unit.

I'm still not 100% comfortable being underwater, and there are a few skills that I definitely need to improve on, but I'm certified and can now practice whenever we feel like renting tanks of air.

We already have most of the gear (yeah, that's now confident Jeff was that I would pass. Best. Husband. Ever). Including full face masks with communication units. I got the one in emerald (lower right) and Jeff got the white. These will be great because I won't actually have a regulator in my mouth and will be able to breathe more naturally through both my nose and mouth. The extra bonus is that Jeff and I will be able to actually talk with each other. I'm kind of excited to get in the water with this baby.

source

My next dive will probably be at SeaLife Minnesota (an aquarium at the Mall of America). Jeff scheduled us to go on July 17th, but I want a little more time to work on buoyancy and simply get more comfortable being submerged in water first. He'll do this first dive with a different buddy while I observe from the top of the tank. Luckily, we have access to a deep, 14' pool across the street on campus for me to practice in, so I can feel more comfortable and prepare for Scuba with the Sharks.

I'm excited!

I MADE IT!

2011-06-30T23:27:00.000-05:00

Today marks the end of my 30-day challenge. I'm kind of surprised I was able to stick to it and post something every day. Well, there were two very minor bumps in the road. Here's a few things I learned from this challenge.

I actually had something to say.
Sometimes even more than once a day.
It's really difficult to find the time.
Sometimes it made for very late nights, throwing off my sleep schedule.
It was fun!

Would I do it again?
Not right away.
But, I do hope to continue blogging regularly.

For now, I'm exhausted!
With a long weekend ahead of me.

Good-night!

And so it goes...

2011-06-29T22:51:00.000-05:00

On my walk to the shuttle this morning, the clouds in the sky over campus were gorgeous! I simply had to pause, pull out my cell phone and snap a picture.

Then, I don't know why, but I turned around to look at the sky behind me. The clouds looked to have such an amazing texture to them.

Breathtaking.

But pausing to take the pictures caused me to run late.
And need to walk faster than my shoes were prepared to take me.

They fought back by taking a bite out of my foot. I'll spare you a picture of that.

OUCH!

I slipped back into my flipflops but without much relief.

I hobbled my way to the nearest Walgreens to get some bandages for my owie.

I wasn't even hungry, but I couldn't resist
...the bag of animal crackers,
...the package of molasses cookies,
...the box of raisins.

And that's how beautiful clouds led to me skipping lunch and snacking. all. day. long at work.
Booooo!!!

Don't worry.
I punished myself by doing a hill repeat workout tonight.
Nearly 3 miles.

I Want...

2011-06-28T18:00:00.000-05:00

Here are just a few items currently on my Wish List.

iFitness Ultimate Race Belt

Nathan Quickdraw Plus handheld water bottle

Road ID The Wrist ID Sport

Moving Comfort Endurance Tank

Moving Comfort Sprint Skort

Hi-Tec Sabi Mid

My birthday is in 42 days. Just saying.

Very first delivery

2011-06-27T21:49:00.000-05:00

Farmers, at least in Minnesota, have really been having a tough time this season. Cool temperatures and lots of rain have not produced very good conditions. Many CSAs (community supported agriculture) in the area have postponed the start of their deliveries because of this.

Fortunately for us, the folks at Treasured Haven Farms have decided to stay on schedule. We only purchased an every other week package, and our first delivery was scheduled for today.

After work, we rode our bikes to our pick-up location to pick up this week's yumminess.

Baby Leaf Lettuce Blend, Green Onions, fresh green Shallots (scallions), assorted Radishes

Looks to me like the makings to a very delicious salad.

With a few cherry tomatoes and chopped walnuts, topped with a Mediterranean vinaigrette.

Our box was lacking in quality and variety, but I'm sure that as the season progresses, both will improve greatly! Right now, I'm just very grateful for what we did receive. :)

It totally still counts, right?

2011-06-27T10:40:00.000-05:00

I woke up about 3:30 this morning, 'cuz, well, I needed to use the potty.

And then it hit me....I DIDN'T POST ANYTHING HERE YESTERDAY!! I was frustrated with myself, considering I had been so good - making it 25 straight days blogging.

I did post a cookie recipe yesterday on my recipe blog, however, so I'm totally still going to count it. It should still count, right? Right? ☺

This will not count as today's post, since it is more like a make-up post.

Run for the Roses 5K

2011-06-25T23:18:00.001-05:00

This morning was my first 5K of the year! So fun!
I wanted to be sure not to miss the beginning, so I set my alarm for 5:30 am. I wanted to be on my bike by 6:30. Well, Sallie had other ideas. She wanted her breakfast at 5:00am, and told me so by nicely jumping. right. on. my. chest.

OUCH!

I fed her and crawled back into bed for just a few more minutes. I finally rolled out of bed shortly before 6am. Ate a quick breakfast. Consulted Google maps for my bike route. Got dressed. Woke Jeff up to say good-bye.

And I'm off...

My commute to Roseville went remarkably well. It only took me 45 minutes (I'd planned for 1 hour)! I got a little turned around in Como Park, so I was really pretty surprised when pulled into the parking lot at City Hall at 7:20.

It was a really nice way to start the morning! Getting there so early was perfect, too. It gave me lots of time to stretch and relax and prepare for the race.

At 7:55am, the horn blew and the skaters were off. I immediately regretted already putting my phone away in my pocket and missing out on an opportunity to take a picture. Oh well.

Then all the runners toed up to the start line. Well, I wasn't exactly right in front.

My goal was to take it slower in the beginning and not get too caught up in the excitement at the start. I wanted to pace myself, so I'd be able to increase my speed later on during the race.

For the most part, my plan worked!

Average pace for mile 1 - 9:53 min/mile

Shortly after the first mile, I picked up my pace a little and wished the guy running next to me good luck on the rest of the race. The distance between me and the other runners in front of me was lessening, and it felt great! I even ran through the water stop, taking only small sips from the cup they handed me (spilling most of it down the front of my shirt).

Average pace for mile 2 - 8:20 min/mile

The hills on the course hadn't been too bad up to this point. Unfortunately, just after picking up my pace again, I was faced with the first big hill of the race. It nearly took it out of me, but I was able to persist!

There was a group of fire fighters that ran the entire 5K in full uniform. They were behind me for most of the race, but after the first big hill two of them passed me by.

I thought, I can't lose to a someone running in full fire fighting garb! I mean I'm just wearing a tank top and shorts.

So, I pushed myself and passed one of them. The other had gained way too much distance on me. I was only able to stay ahead of the one I passed for a couple paces, actually.

It wasn't too long after this that I felt simply like I was going to vomit. I tried to keep pushing myself through it. I mostly continued to run through the second water stop, but I did pause for a moment to take a bigger, better swig.

The remainder of the race seemed to be uphill!

The worst was right before mile marker 3. It was a real doozy!! I had to walk a bit after getting to the top. Luckily the course turned to a slight decline. The end was near! I was feeling sick. Again. I tried to pick it up and push myself, but I just couldn't. I somehow did manage to maintain my pace. Sweet! :)

Average pace for mile 3 - 9:15 min/mile.

According to my GPS, I actually ran 3.3 miles.

After the race, I ate a banana and a piece of raisin bread. Enjoyed a couple cups of water. Waited for my friend to finish the 10K.

All finishers were given a rose.

I headed back home around 9am. I didn't want to push it on the ride. I figured I earned a nice, slow, easy ride after already cycling 8 miles and running a 5K.

Again, around Como Park, I got totally turned around and ended up needing to stop to consult my map a few times. All in all, I biked an extra 1.3 miles. Boooo!!

Despite the extra mileage, it was a great ride and good way to cool down after my race.

I was definitely excited when I got home and had to fill Jeff in on all the details. The runner's high didn't last too long before I curled up for a nice afternoon nap. Ahhh.

What a perfect day and great start to my summer race schedule!

UPDATE: The final results are in for this race. I'm so pleased with them, so I thought I should definitely update this post.

Time: 30:19
#83 out of 164 runners
#10 out of 31 in my division
Average pace: 9:45

C'mon Weekend...You're going to be such fun!

2011-06-24T12:26:00.000-05:00

I have got a jam-packed weekend, and I. Am. So. Excited!

Here's the rundown.

Friday
5:06am Roll out of bed. Feed the dog. Eat a couple homemade (just last night) cookies for fuel.
5:43am Warm-up. Run 2 miles (sub 10:00pace. whoo!). Cool-down.
6:30am Shower. Get ready for the day. Leave to catch shuttle.
7:10am Shuttle to downtown. Walk to work.
8:00am Work, work, work. Booooo.
9:47am Make everyone's day by sharing my delicious homemade cookies (peanut butter, oatmeal, choc chip. Yum!)
4:30pm Walk to shuttle. Shuttle home.
5:45pm Get ready for dinner!
7:15pm Dinner with friends. Whoo hoo!!!

Saturday
6:00am Wake up.
6:30am Bike 9 miles to get to 5K in Roseville.
8:00am Run for the Roses 5K. Whoo hoo!!!
10:00am Probably rest and relax. I'll be honest. I'll probably take a nap.
3:00pm Head to Whole Foods and then to a park for a picnic with friends. Whoo hoo!!!

Sunday
Sleep in as late as I feel like!
Possibly bake bread and/or a cake for my niece's birthday celebration on Sunday.
2:30pm Bike to my parent's house (weather permitting)
4:00pm Dinner/birthday fun. Whoo hoo!!!

I'm exhausted after just writing all that out.
But I'm also really excited!

Dinner tonight is with some rather new friends.
Tomorrow's picnic is with some college friends. We haven't gotten together in close to 1 1/2 years! Since then, one has had baby #2 and another is apparently "very pregnant" with baby #3. It should be lots of fun to see them all again.

What are your weekend plans?

Beware of Cooler Temps

2011-06-23T09:16:00.000-05:00

It wasn't raining this morning, so I figured I'd go ahead and ride my bike into work -- even though there is a 40% chance of rain when it will be time to go home.

With temps in the 50s, I figured I'd wear jeans and a long-sleeve, button-up shirt to work. Yes, I could wear jeans every single day to work, if I chose. Since it was so cool, I threw on my rain jacket as well.

source
Perhaps I ought to have dressed more like this...

Big mistake!

I. Got. So. Freaking. HOT!!

After about 4 miles, I had to stop and take off my jacket. Only to discover that my shirt was pretty much drenched. Ew.

Thankfully, I always keep a sweater at my desk, so I dried off with some paper towels and switched into my sweater. Sure, my yellow bra is slightly visible through the white knit, but at least I'm not sitting in my cold. wet. shirt.

Note to self. Temps in the 50s does not necessarily mean it's time to bundle up. Also, it's a good idea to bring extra clothes.

On a slightly unrelated note, I was looking over the information for my 5K on Saturday.

Courses: Challenging rolling hills courses in scenic Roseville.

Yikes! Not only hills, but challenging hills? Why did I not notice that beforehand? Will receiving a t-shirt and rose really be worth it? OF COURSE! :)

Vic's On the Minneapolis Riverfront

2011-06-22T21:33:00.003-05:00

Last night, I had a company dinner at Vic's. Our whole office went out (12 people) as a little thank you for all our hard work. Boy have I got them fooled. lol.

I love this little area of Minneapolis, and I wish I were able to spend more time down there. It had been pretty rainy all day yesterday, so the patio was very wet! Sitting outside would've been fun, but I prefer to stay warm and dry. The patio is pretty large with great views of the river and the Minneapolis skyline.

If you're into wine, they have a pretty incredible happy hour. $2 bottles of various house wines at 2pm, $3 bottles at 3pm, and $4 bottles at 4pm. After 5pm, their bottles go back to regular prices, which are still very great prices.

I got a BLTA Salad with extra bacon. It was really tasty! And, I got. so. very. full. Oh, the A is for avocado. Yum! Most everyone else got steak or pork or chicken. Something a little meatier. haha! I kill myself. Many of the entrees that were ordered were huge and some still resembled the animal a bit. Ew. I much prefer my meat off the bone and no longer resembling the animal from whence it came. I love meat; I just don't like to work very hard to get my meat.

I didn't mean to get all political. This is supposed to be a restaurant review afterall, so this is just a warning to be careful what you order. :)

The service was pretty good - despite how busy it got and how large of a group we were. The bruschetta and pepperoni flatbeard were delicious appetizers and came out pretty quickly. Unfortunately, it did seem like our food took a. long. time to arrive.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this restaurant!

Rainy Day Wednesday

2011-06-22T15:39:00.000-05:00

This morning it was POURING when it was time for me to head to work. Since I've gotten a few new followers, let me just say, My commute starts with a 5-7 min walk from my apartment to the free shuttle (thank you UST!) that takes me to downtown Minneapolis. From there I have about a 20-25 min walk to my office building. Minneapolis is awesome because I can walk the entire way inside! I ♥ the skyway system (well, I have to use some tunnels, too). It helps keep me all nice and dry!

Ok, so back to the downpour this morning. It was coming down hard. And heavy.

Oh, and have I ever mentioned my absolute distaste for umbrellas? I've never found one to be particularly effective, and I usually end up getting pretty drenched. It's totally possible that this is ~~partly~~ user error. Still, I will use an umbrella if it's just a light rain with barely any wind.

This was not the case this morning. I know it's only a 5 min walk, but a person could really get soaked in just that short amount of time. So, I decided to donn my rain jacket.

Oh, yeah. And my matching rain pants.

I checked it out in the mirror. Definitely dorky.

But I decided I'd rather be dorky than dripping ~~plus I was running late and needed to get out the door pronto~~, so I slipped into my flip flops and headed out to catch the shuttle.

I snapped this picture in the restroom after getting downtown.
Do you know how hard it is to get a decent self-portrait in a bathroom stall? I took like 15 shots and this was the only one vaguely presentable.
You can even see the beads of water on my jacket!
I was super dry underneath, though! Yeah! They work. :)

I thought it was going to be nasty all day, but I don't think it's really rained much after I got into work.

This is great news for me because 1) I can ball up my rain gear and carry it in my purse (which is what I did during my skyway walk to work. Otherwise, I'd have been super drenched with sweat. Ew.) and 2) I can go for a run when I get home. Only 45 days until my 1/2 marathon!

Happy Summer!

2011-06-21T21:19:00.001-05:00

It's finally, officially here!

I heart summer.
I love the heat and the sunshine.
The long summer nights.
The carefree, laid-back days.
Exercising outdoors.
Fresh air.

I love every.single.thing.about summer!

Today, it rained off and on. All.day.long. Needless to say, I spent the entire solstice inside. Bummer.

Let's just hope it's not an indication of how the rest of the summer will go!

What did you do to ring in the summer?

Finally...

2011-06-20T22:36:00.000-05:00

I got a pedicure!

Well, I gave myself one. It felt soooo goood!

Ahhh....

It just felt good to soak my tired tootsies and give them some much needed attention!

Cutesy tootsies!

Happy Father's Day!

2011-06-19T22:46:00.012-05:00

Hope everyone had an enjoyable Father's Day!

Don't be confused if this post just popped into your RSS reader or on FB or in an email. I *really* did think I published it on Sunday night but just noticed Tuesday night that it wasn't there. I freaked out! I haven't missed one day in my 30 day challenge...or so I thought! ARGH! So, I've post dated this to say it published late Sunday night (when I thought it had published). Take that Blogger and Blogger app on my phone!!

What Have I Done?

2011-06-18T21:39:00.000-05:00

Last weekend, my friend, Laura, and I spent a lot of time chatting while driving. I kept mentioning various experiences I'd had at various jobs, and she requested a write a post that lists all the various types of jobs I've had. I can't think of anything else to blog about right now, so here goes.

Bait store (family business)
Babysitter
Fast food restaurant order taker
Grocery store cashier
Retail clerk
Resident Assistant at college
Office worker on campus
Waitress
Bartender
Appointment setter / telemarketer
Flight attendent
Records specialist at a publishing company
HR Assistant
Bookstore Manager at a theological seminary
Classified substitute (in MN, they're called paras...teacher's aides, etc)
Receptionist / Office assistant
Drive-by rep (with Jeff) for a foreclosure investment company
Documentation specialist at a milling company

Future career: high / middle school teacher

I don't think I missed anything. Feel free to ask me any questions about any of these jobs.

What kind of jobs have you had? Any that have been more memorable than the others?

5FF - Places

2011-06-17T11:18:00.082-05:00

Lisa asked for a post on my favorite places in MN. I thought it would be a great idea for this week's Five Favorites for Friday, so here you go (in no particular order).

Alexandria

Source

I'm probably partial to this place because it's my hometown. :) I lived there from mid-3rd grade through graduation. It has a cute downtown, lots of area lakes, parks, beaches. Big Ole makes an appearance at one of Broadway, and the Kensington Runestone isn't very far away.

Inspiration Peak

from the Ottertail County Website

This is a little wayside park north of Alexandria in Ottertail County. It is so beautiful up there! Growing up in Alex, my family hiked to the top several times in my youth. I always loved it and have such great memories of going there. One day I'd really like to go back again.

Big Lake Wilderness Lodge

from their website

We first took a family vacation here the summer of 2008. We had so much fun that the next summer, we convinced even more of my family to come along. I've been a bad blogger and I can't seem to find any pictures online from 2009. Oops! We all made the trek up to Ely again last summer.

Big Lake is about 20 or so miles outside of Ely. I love it there because they have free access to kayaks, canoes, and paddleboats. They also have free day passes into the Boundary Waters for canoeing/kayaking or hiking. It is so gorgeous in northern MN!

Minneapolis Chain of Lakes

Source

This series of lakes is so fun! You can circle them by walking, biking, blading. On Lake Calhoun, you can even rent kayaks, canoes, paddleboats and other fun non-motorized water toys. I think it's so beautiful! And I just enjoy being around so many people, outside, enjoying nature.

Downtown Minneapolis

Source

Even though I grew up in a small town, I grew into a city girl. I love the buildings and the parks and the people that come with living in a big city. I love the Minneapolis skyline. I love the skyway system. There is easy access to bike lanes, the light rail, and public transportation. There are museums and theaters and sports venues. The Mississippi river is at one end and Loring park at another.

In writing this post, I've realized that there is a lot to MN that I've never really explored. Hopefully, I'll have an opportunity to view and see more of this great state in the next year. :)

If you live in MN (or ever have), what are some areas/things I should put on my MN bucket list?

If you're not in MN, what are some of your favorite places where you live?

Thankful Thursday #10

2011-06-16T20:34:00.001-05:00

I had a great day!

I'm thankful for frozen pizza! So fast. So easy. So tasty! Hitting just the right spot after my 17+ mile bike ride.

I'm thankful for google maps. Even though it sometimes creates the funkiest routes, it's still super helpful when navigating around on my bike.

That's it for now.

I'm off to finish enjoying my pizza and watch Megamind.

Ready...Set...Train!

2011-06-15T22:21:00.001-05:00

Yesterday, I decided on a half marathon to run. Today, I planned out my training schedule.

I'm super excited! It'll be my first half since 2003.

My first training run was only two miles, and boy, were my legs tired during the run! I definitely have my work cut out for me.

But I can do it, right?!

I've got a few other races I'm hoping to run as well. :)

Ick!

2011-06-14T16:47:00.001-05:00

Today I am feeling fat...and that just ain't right the day after a weekend of kayaking, running, biking, and hiking!

I ate like crap today.
I'm 99% sure that's why I feel so icky now.

I can't wait for our CSA deliveries to begin. Fresh veggies just sound sooooo gooood right about now.

Back home

2011-06-13T21:21:00.001-05:00

Well I'm back from my adventure weekend, and it was an hilarious blast. So much fun and laughter. :)

Naturally, when I went to download my photos, our computer flipped out!

Hopefully we'll get it up and running soon. In the meantime, I'm safe and had a fabulous time (read: I'm totally exhausted now).

Uff Teri Adaa I like You

2011-06-12T12:29:00.002-05:00

Day 12

I first heard this song during an episdoe of Outsourced totally funny sitcom, if you haven't seen it. So sad it got cancelled. It is such a happy song. Makes me want to twirl and sing and dance.

Enjoy!

Apparently, the video can't be embedded, so go here to listen and watch and dance and sing.

Movies I've recently watched

2011-06-11T12:05:00.021-05:00

Day 11

Hope you're all enjoying a beautiful Saturday! I'll be out kayaking 11 miles. I just hope I survive and the weather is clear. Warm would be terrific as well.

While I'm out enjoying the sunshine, here's a few brief movie reviews of flicks I've seen recently.

Die Hard - Ok, I know I'm I couple decades behind in watching this, but I just saw it for the first time in the past couple weeks. I loved it! I don't honestly know why I hadn't watched it before (probably that whole R rating thing). It was fun of action and adventure. Mostly ridiculous, but it was fun to watch. Who doesn't like to watch Bruce Willis being a badass? Seriously. I would definitely watch this again.

Jennifer's Body - I thoroughly enjoyed this movie! Maybe it was just the sexy Megan Fox, but I really like Amanda Seyfried, too. It captured my attention right away, and I really enjoyed the story. I thought it was going to be a lot scarier and give me bad dreams, but it didn't. Bonus!

Green Hornet - I didn't really care for this movie much. It took too long to get going in the beginning, and a lot of the violence seemed ridiculous and unnecessary. My favorite character was the bad guy, Chudnofsky. He was hilarious - in a scary, mobster, bad guy kinda way. Overall, though, I didn't really care for the story or the way it was told. I wouldn't recommend it.

Tangled - This was thoroughly enjoyable for me! I loved the unique telling of the story of Rampunzel. I loved the music and the animation. It was definitely a cute, feel-good movie! I would watch this again and definitely would recommend it.

If you've seen any of these, how would you rate them?

What movies have you seen recently? Are there any you would recommend?

Five Favorites for Friday

2011-06-10T12:05:00.000-05:00

Day 10

Today's will be just a quick post. I just finished my final, and I'm pretty much all packed for my weekend Pedal and Paddle. Laura should be here soon to pick me up. I'm so excited. And nervous.

Confession: I haven't gone on a bike ride at all this month!

Five quick favorites:

Color - To wear - green/orange. To admire - vibrant red, orange, yellow
Car - Toss between my first real car ('89 Dodge Daytona, red. Oh, how I loved that car) and my most recent car ('08 Scion xB, RLS 5, gold)
Author from my teenage years - Mary Higgins Clark
Flower - gladiolas or lily of the valleys
Race I've run - Earth Day Half Marathon in St Cloud, MN 2002

Have a beautiful weekend!

Send me all kinds of well wishes as I kayak and bike around northern MN tomorrow and Sunday!

Thankful Thursday #9

2011-06-09T11:31:00.016-05:00

Day 9

Ok, so the first 8 TT weren't numbered, but I thought it might be fun to start numbering them, so here we are to #9 (pathetic considering I started this over a year ago) and my first numbered post.

Today I am grateful for:

Band-Aids - They help heal, and more importantly, they keep me from getting blood all over the carpet at work (see yesterday's post).

{source}

Pop-Tarts - Ok, so these are actually Wal-mart's brand, but they are so tasty and quick and easy and just perfect for when you're in a hurry and don't have time for an actual breakfast.

My husband - He has got to be one of THE most supportive, encouraging husbands out there. I am so grateful every.single.day. BUT I was especially grateful at how understanding he was during/after our first scuba lesson. He helped calm me down and even helped me not to give up but to get back in the pool the next day. He is nothing short of amazing. Last night, he helped me get ready for my Pedal & Paddle this weekend by ~~finally~~ installing the computer ~~he gave me for my birthday last Aug~~ on my bike

and attaching a mirror to my helmet.

I figure a 45-mile bike ride will be a good ~~time~~ way to get used to riding with a mirror. So, we'll see how that goes.

What are you thankful for today?

Are my feet fat?

2011-06-08T16:01:00.001-05:00

Day 8

Seriously.

I bought these shoes back in Oct or Nov.

Super cute shoes from Marshalls

I thought buying shoes would be safe while I'm trying to lose weight. Something that would last and still fit even after a drop some pounds.

I know, I know. I should be working.
Or studying for my final.

I loved these shoes when I first brought them home and the first few times I wore them.

Now, they are T-I-G-H-T!
And painful.

Can you see the indentations? Ouch! :(

So, I ask again. What's the deal? Can feet get fat?

Oh, and I'm so desparately in need of a pedi, that my pinkie toe started bleeding this afternoon.

Ok, so maybe it wasn't completely spontaneous.