Blackout

What a week!

I'm happy to say that it's the morning of my long run (11 miles) and I have 3 runs under my belt already...THAT MEANS I'M GOING TO RUN 4 TIMES. Good work, self. (Also, I'm watching "I Used to be Fat" while writing this, so I may be distracted). I am especially happy with the 3 runs because I've had QUITE the obstacle this week. On Sunday night, sometime while I was asleep the power went out in my house (along with 40,000 people in town) because of an ice storm. Where I differ is while most people's came on throughout the next few days, it didn't come back on for me until Wednesday at 4pm. Oh yeah, then it went back out at 10pm. I was SO ready to just be alone (because since Monday I had been either at work, or at someone's house since it was dark, cold, scary and sans-television at my house) so I came home after work on Wednesday, SO excited to just be at MY house, sit and watch tv, and not feel like I was burdening anyone...or have to talk to anyone really. Well, it was FREEZING since the heat had only been on for about an hour. I killed some time by running (which I'll talk about in a moment), and by the time I got back, it was up to about 57 degrees. Cold. So I ordered some take out Lebanese food, brought it home, wrapped myself in a big coat (over my sweaty running clothes...yes), and then draped 2 blankets over that. And I [tried] to eat in that set up. I said [tried] because I was still able to eat, but I got it EVERYWHERE. Oh well. I convinced myself to take a shower since the water MIGHT be hot...and it was. It was glorious. And so I was out of the shower, the apartment had heated up to about 65...a LIVABLE temperature, and Top Chef was about to start, and I was ready to start a new blog post. After the opening credits rolled for TC, The. Power. Went. Out. I was FURIOUS. And instead of going anywhere, I found a mini flashlight, an old book, and read until I was sleepy and went to bed under 4 blankets. It was still off when I woke up, but I hear it came on about an hour after I got to work.

Some highlights of my time away from my apartment because of the lack of power: I re-saw the first 2.5 episodes of Lost, made my mom watch RuPaul's Drag Race, kept my fridge food in the back of my car overnight because I was afraid it would be too cold outside, had to play Sofie's Choice with my condiments (and also found out my fridge needed a CLEANING), and accidentally exposed myself at the gym (but I'll get into more of that later). Anyways, I know this isn't a "my power went out" blog, so I'll just get right into it.

Monday, 4 miles, Dreaded Treadmill, 5pm
So this was Monday, day 1 of no power. I got out of work and then realized I had no where to go. I had to knock out a 4 mile run, and I didn't want to run outside and then get home to a dark and cold apartment with no shower, so I figured I'd kill as much time as I could at the gym. I packed a gym bag with all my shower stuff (which was kind of difficult since I didn't have any mini bottles of shampoo and whatnot, just those giant 32oz bottles that were on sale at Ulta) and I headed to the gym. I have to interject that I HATE the treadmill. It's SO boring and all I can do is stare at the time/distance and count the tiny numbers that go by until I'm done on this awful, awful machine. I also feel the speeds are out of wack, I run 9ish miles (sometimes faster, sometimes slower) on the road, but on a treadmill, I run like 11-10min miles. WHAAT. But today was different. I hadn't been on a treadmill since about December, and believe it or not, I'm a little more in shape than I was then (I wonder if it has to do with my Marathon training...). I started on the treadmill completely expecting to hate it and DRAAG out the 4 miles, but it wasn't terrible...surprisingly. I know I was really happy with my body after the 10 mile run from the weekend, but the fact that I could keep myself together on a treadmill is INSANE. I wouldn't say I enjoyed myself, but I also didn't feel tired at any point. At around mile 3 I could feel my arch blister acting up OF COURSE. I figured out that anything over 4 miles required 5 minutes of pre-run foot taping, but for some reason it came earlier this time. Ugh.

So I finished the run, lifted a little, and hit the showers. This is where things get a little inappropriate. Now a lot of the older ladies at the gym don't mind just walkin' around totally naked. I'm not one of those. I even change in the handicap bathroom. But today I thought "no, I stand here a gym person today. I will adapt and try not to think about my...self being exposed to the outer world. I QUICKLY changed into a towel, while in the back corner facing the lockers (I may have "tried" to change in public, but who am I kidding?) Well the towels at the gym are veeeery small and thin. I knew that, but I didn't take that into account while placing it on my person for the seemingly endless walk to the showers. As I mentioned before many of the older ladies walk around naked all the time, but you know who was in the gym when I was in my towel, girls my age. Girls who DON'T change out in the open, they don't even change at the gym half the time. They use the locker room to go to the bathroom, check their makeup in the mirror, that type of thing. So I just thought "ok Erica, just walk to the shower, you're more covered up than most ladies who....are not here currently." And as I started to walk, I felt a brisk breeze....on my bottom. I figured it was just because the towel was so short and it was ok, since half the time when I wear skirts it always feels SO much shorter than it actually is. This must be the same scenario...right? I walked past 2 of the girls, and they just gave me this LOOK. After I had passed them I was in shower domain, and I turned around to the full length that was behind me to see TO MY HORROR that the towel left little to the imagination in the back....as in 3 inches of the bottom of my bottom, JUST HANGING OUT. Ok, if I'm 5'1, and the towel doesn't cover from my chest to MY BOTTOM, who are we making these towels for?! I wonder if they put up posters in the locker room with my face on them with the words "Inappropriate Exposing" underneath. Mostlikely.

Wendesday, 5 miles, 5:30pm, sunny, sidewalks icy and not very clear
So this is that 5 mile run I was talking about earlier. I ran it because I had to get 5 miles in..but mainly for the apartment-heat-up-time-killing-aspect of it. Honestly, there was nothing too remarkable about this run, I felt great again (like on the treadmill), so it's nice to see my long distance runs are starting to positively affect my shorter runs. I taped up my foot because of the arch blisters, and the ground was so uneven that almost each step I could feel my "dressings" coming loose...which is SO irritating. But it was COLD outside. I even had to wear a full hat, not just the ear warmers.

Friday, 2 miles, treadmill
Yep, it may just be 2 miles, but it gets me to that 4-runs-this-week place! I took Friday off of work, and John and I went to a brewery on Thursday night called 3 Floyds (best. beer. ever.)

After our few beers, I picked up a growler of this fine fellow.
I plan on getting acquainted with Mr. Bruce tonight after my long run.

We didn't stay out late, but I'm guessing having some HEAVY beers right before you go to sleep can't aide in your morning run. We were going into Chicago on Friday, so I brought my running clothes with my half thinking I maybe might think about possibly running, but Friday morning I work up much earlier than John, and figured "why not, they have a treadmill in their basement." Well, I think I mentioned before I. Don't. Run. In. The. Mornings. And for some reason I forgot this details (and that I still had beer in me). I hit the treadmill, going nice and slow, shooting for anywhere between 3-4 miles since I had limited time. Well, it was PAINFUL to even make it to 2 miles, and I was COVERED in sweat, so I figured 2 miles is enough for me, I still ran, and I'll take and it not feel bad. And you know what? I don't feel bad. I'm happy I got up and ran instead of watching tv or something, and I know that I need to start running in the morning more (since the marathon itself is at like 7:3am).

So I'm planning on running 11 miles in a few hours, and I just trying to figure out of I do 1 long loop and have John meet me at the halfway mark with some Gatorade, or do 2 laps of a smaller loop so I can swing by my house and get some. I know, decisions, decisions.

Charles v. Crunchy

Are you a Crunchy or a Charles?

Well, the real question would be do you have a Crunchy or do you have a Charles. The C conundrum comes from dueling personalities found in bigger dogs like Labs or Golden Retrievers.

This is a Crunchy:

Notice the slack jaw, the vacant look in the eyes, the mind that seems to scream “oh boy, walkies!” This, my friend, is a Crunchy. This dog spares no expense to poke his nose where food may be present, bark at a moving body, and is just kind of dumb (in an adorable way, of course). You often see them in cars in the Target parking lot, going crazy everytime someone walks past, taking you by surprise so your heart hurts for like 3 minutes because you thought there was some type of monster behind you, releasing a war-call right before he mounted you and ripped your head off your shoulders with his (yes, HIS) giant mouth full of 4 rows of razor-sharps…or something like that. But yeah, they like to bark absently; I think that was where I was going.

This is a Charles:

He is what we might call a “Blue-Blood.” Charles has years of obedience school under his fluffy canine belt, and wouldn’t dare bark at anything other than a duck his stern owner is hunting. Charles is well-mannered and well-groomed. A Charles would never be left alone in the car, because any owner of a Charles knows he can take care of the empty house. Take care of it in his majestic and regal ways, intertwined in his golden locks of fur, so soft it’s as though the gods themselves have handed down this magical and enchanting coat. Although deep down, I think every Charles wants to be a Crunchy. Even in the dog world: Ignorance is bliss.

Why bring up this battle of the C’s? Well on my recent 10 mile run it was BORING, but I came across 2 Crunchies, therefore making that off-the-cuff barking the highlight of my run. Once we (John and I…well, John really. I’m latching on for comedy’s sake) made this Crunchy/Charles analogy, all I can do is mentally label every dog I see, even before they move or bark. But the thing is, Crunchies always give it away with their big stupid eyes. And I don’t mean their eyes are stupid, I mean through their eyes you can tell they’re just dumb dogs. Loveable, yes. Dumb, absolutely.

Saturday, 10 miles, 2pm, SUNNY, and the sidewalks were as clear as the day was sunny (redundant?)

I was pretty excited to start this run, oddly enough. I feel like I had a major breakthrough last week during my 8 mile run (even with the post-run 2 hours of shaky legs), and I was curious to see how it would trickle into the rest of my runs. Well, I’m happy to say I knocked it out of the park! I wasn’t excited for the route I chose, because it had a lot of…redundancies (sorry, I’ve already over used the word, haven’t I?). I had a 1 mile stretch and a 2.5 mile loop. So what did I do with this? I ran the 1 mile down and back (2 miles). Then I ran halfway down the mile stretch and came back (up to 3 miles). I ran the loop, bringing me up to 5.5 miles, and taking me past where I started, where I had strategically placed an almost-empty Gatorade and water bottle in my hot sun-filled car parked on the street. I know what you’re thinking and yes, I should work for the special services. Then back to the mile stretch and back (up to 7.5 miles) and then finished it up with the 2.5 mile loop (10 miles). But the thing was, as awful as that planning was for the run, I felt great again!

I didn’t feel tired throughout the whole thing (endurance HO!), and I even had enough gall to push myself during the last loop. Normally during my long runs I never EVER try to push myself in the speed department, because, hey, I’m already running a long distance, shouldn’t I just be happy with that? Well during this run I was not satisfied with the distance, and I manned up, and accelerated my speed. It wasn’t like I was zooming along, but I was definitely at a healthy “trot.” Well, the town of Munster, Indiana is completely flat. Which at first glance seems like a runner’s dream, but my god, nothing to look at AND no change in elevation, yiikes. So I’m running along, looking at…nothing, and MONSTER ATTACK! That heart piercing Crunchy bark comes at me from nowhere. And the thing is, Crunchy and Crunchy owner were not only across the street, they were about 200 ft in front of me. SO FAR AWAY. Oh Crunchy, so eager to bark at me, yet too dopy to know what to do about it. Even though I had a mini heart attack (I kept my composure though. And you best believe that if I saw a Charles I would be very conscious of my form, because deep down, we all want to impress the Charles’ of the world) I still wanted to play with Crunchy, because they make the best playmates. I also saw a broken toilet on the side of the road. I really want to know the story behind that.

Now Laddie, from The Simpsons, is the picture-perfect Charles. If I saw him while I was running you better believe I'd check myself and my form, I mean, I don't want to make a fool of myself in front of LADDIE!

Lessons Learned

So I almost forgot to mention an old friend of mine came out during my 8 mile run. A friend I like to call...ARCH BLISTERS! I could start to feel it around mile #5, and it's only on the right foot! Well I didn't care about it by the time I got home because, y'know, I ran 8 miles. I was a little worried about it when I was getting ready for my 3-mile run, but I had bought these "blister" blister protector pads earlier this winter (they're these weird plastic blister pads that you stick over real blisters that act like the blister so your feet don't get them...or something? I don't know, they looks weird and feel even stranger...see below)

Guess how much those cost. $12. And there are only 6 pads in the pack. THAT'S $2 A POP!

So the run starts off rather unsettling-ly because there's a fake blister over your REAL blister (stay with me, I'm getting very meta) but then you eventually forget about it. Well, you forget about it until your foot starts to hurt because the DAMN blister pad is SLIPPING and MOVING out of place because the adhesive is WEAK and CHEAP. What happened to the good ol' days when $2 meant something?! What has happened to this country! I want to live in a world where a girl's fake blister on top of a blister protects the original blister! (sidenote, Shawshank Redemption is on tv right now—for maybe the 15th night in a row—and it's the "Brooks was here" part. Great movie. Not see-15-times-in-a-row movie, but still). I have another line of defense ready for when I get new shoes (which I believe should be in about 2 weeks or so...maybe even sooner on account of the...unpleasantness). Behold: Heat Moldable Custom Footbeds. Boo. Ya.

Oh hey, remember that $12 I spent on blister pads? Well these suckers were $45!!! W$@%&H!!!

That's right. You stick these puppies in the oven until they're mold-able, then you put them in your shoe (or in my case NEW FUTURE SHOE) and they magically mold to your sole. Hopefully eliminating the dreaded arch blister. But hey, the anti-blister products don't stop there (don't worry). But enough about the past, let's get back to tonight's REAL entry:

Oooooooh man. Not only have I seen enough dog poop to last me until the next millennia (or at least until real spring), but I have also learned a lesson in choices. Let's take a walk, shall we?

Wednesday, 5 miles, sidewalks clear but puddle-y, sun shining proudly at 5:30!
I was still riding my high from my 8-mile, 3-mile runs earlier this week, so I was excited to go for a run (plus it was like 45 degrees out...which is like drop dead summer hot in Michigan terms for February 16), but I was still a little anxious about the 5 mile distance. 5 is going to be my norm for off-runs (you know, not long runs), 5's, 4's and 3's. At least for a few weeks, then I'm sure it'll be like 8's and 17's, because I'm running an f'ing marathon! But I digress.... On my way to work I stopped at Walgreens to pick up another solider for the frontline to fight my battle that is blisters. I picked up the following:

Blister Bandaids $4.99 for a pack of 10. $0.50 each, not too shabby.
Waterproof Athletic Tape. $2.99 for 5yds. $0.60 per yard.
Cheapest blister-related purchase to date.

On my drive home from work I was scoping out the sidewalks to see the yeay or nay factor of my planned route and I'll be damned if I couldn't pay attention to the sidewalks because I say a man running in shorts and a SLEEVELESS SHIRT! Ok, now I know us Michigan people freak out at the slightest sign of "warmth" but sleeveless?! C'mon! (Hypocrite alert: I was talking to my friend Andrew who lives in Washington, DC the other day, and he was saying how silly it was that as soon as it hits 50 degrees there people act like it's so warm. I told him that if it was 50 here I'd be running around in a bikini having the time of my life) So fast forward to me "suiting up" for my run. I go to grab my normal outdoor running pants and I realized "holycrap! I can actually wear calf-baring pants!" And bare my calves I did. It felt SO liberating to wear something that was a tinge of not crazy cold layering-clothes. I also popped that bandaid blister on m'foot, covered it with a square of gauze type cloth (leftover in my medicine cabinet from past arch-blister related concoctions), and taped it all up to prevent moving. Yep, I added about 1/2 inch thickness to my foot. Whatevs. I hit the road and then I started to run...and learned something new. Apparently dog owners do not like to pick up after their dogs while there is snow on the ground. Well when it's 45 degrees outside, the snow starts to melt, and the once-frozen poop that was nestled in the sweet frosty bosom of jack frost starts to reveal itself. Everywhere. I must have ran past at least 70 piles of dog shit. Good thing I look down while I run (which I'm still not sure is a good thing or a bad thing, but look at the ground I will continue to do), because I dodged all (at least I hope I did...yikes). Another thing I learned was that first warmth of the winter season brings upon what I like to call "amateur hour." Now, don't get me wrong, I don't think of myself as an expert by any means, but I'll at least give myself the credit that I've been around the block a handful of times, and I know how to DRESS APPROPRIATELY FOR THE ELEMENTS! "Oh hey, it's finally nice outside, I'm going to start my New Year's Resolution of getting in shape and today is the first step toward my goal to fit into those slacks I've been holding onto for the better part of my adulthood!" During this thought apparently the common sense part of the brain never chirped up saying "um...steve? yeah, while I totally support you in your new journey, let's work together to find the most weather-friendly outfit for this jaunt." We had ol' Sleeveless McGee and Tank Top McGinley just jogging away, trying as hard as they could to look like they weren't cold BUT SO OBVIOUSLY WERE, but the worst was Ms. Fleecey Anderson. This girl was not only overdressed, but everything was BAGGY and made of FLEECE! First we had a fleece hat atop her head (and if you have ever gone running outside, you know that it takes a COLD day to wear a hat, let alone one made of fleece. Hats hold in SO much heat and should be operated with caution), a big fleece hoodie (it could have been a snuggie, I wasn't paying close enough attention), oversized fleece sweatpants just SOAKING up all the melted snow puddles that riddled the sidewalks, and thick fleece gloves. So. Much. Fleece. Not only was she weighed down by at least 16lbs of extra snow-water weight affixed to her snuggly outfit, but her cheeks were RRRRRRRRRRRED! Oh MAN I don't know how she could even breathe in that little get up. Or better yet, what the f she was thinking when she got ready to go for a run. Oh, yeah, I also saw a couple riding a tandem bike with the woman (who was on the back seat) acting as the blinker with her outstretched arms. Yes, they do exist. But anyways, I got home and my arch really hurt from all the extra girth (ew I know, that word is gross) I added to it as protection, but I do believe the blister didn't get any worse, so, go me!

That brings us to tonight. Up until now I have only run 3 times a week (with the exception of last week when it was only 2 times). Now the running schedule I have is 4 times a week (plus I train at the gym 2 days a week), and I've never actually made it all 4 times. I always get to 3, and that's it. After yesterday I was so excited to run a quick 3 miles tonight since my long run this weekend (10 miles!) is a must, plus it was even warmer! 52! But here we come into the choice territory. I was at work (I work with restaurants, have I mentioned that?), at one of the restaurants, and I stayed later than I thought I would, and then I ate some tasty raw bar (oysters, shrimp, and ahi tuna...mmm), and I have this weird thing (oh I know, what? Erica was a weird quirk about herself when it comes to ANYTHING?!) that I can't eat 2 hours before I go for a run. Even at work I know I can't eat snacks after 3pm if I'm running right when I get home. SO after I ate I went out with a friend, but only had 1 drink, and now here I am, home at a decent hour, ready to watch Shawshank's 15th encore and the new 30 Rock, but un-run'd. I am SO disappointed in myself. Remember when I mentioned Runner's Guilt? Well, hoowe, I've got that. And the worst part? I didn't even do anything wrong. There's plenty of time left in the week to run that coveted 4th time, but you know what? I know that I won't. And if I do, I'd surprise and impress the hell out of myself. If I'm going to keep this up I'm going to have to find a happy medium between work and play. I know I'm going to start having to run in the morning (gasp!) once the weather gets a little nicer. And that will probably be a good thing, well, it'll be a great thing, actually. I'm sure. But at the rate I'm going if I run, I don't do anything else. If I don't run, I go out and feel TREMENDOUS guilt. I've decided something today (well, this may be what John refers to as "girl plans" when one declares something and are EXTREMELY serious about achieving it...and that's where it ends. You often see this late nights at bars when girls are talking about hanging out in the future, going on trips together, or planning an event "no! We're going to do it!"). I want to plan my vacations around races. I want to visit my friends in DC, well hey! There's a marathon-relay and/or half marathon in June. Why don't I run the race, and then stay a few days for friend-fun-time?! I don't have to feel bad when I don't run the entire time I'm with my friends because hey! I just trained for and ran a race, rest/celebration time! We have friends in Austin, San Fransisco, and Portland we want to go visit. Well, whatdya know, there are races of all distances all throughout the year! I'm not worried about too much "Racing" since my "Races" are more like "runs," and by "like" I mean "are." I'm sorry, I'll stop using "quotations." What is discouraging is that I spent time today researching all these races, and I got SO excited! And yet I couldn't turn those feelings into a run. Yeah, I'm being hard on myself for no reason, but this is my sounding board, and sound sounds I shall. Blisters, guilt, dog poop, and fleece. Just another 2 days in the kooky mind of a lackluster runner.

Real Long Distance

I stand before you—internet audience—a woman, NAY, a runner!

So since my 5 mile run last week, I actually didn't end up running until my long run on Sunday. SO yes, I only ran 2 times last week, but HEY, I felt great, and I hit the distances I needed to. I did learn a valuable lesson, and I did encounter some...unpleasantness. Anyhoo, I'll just get right into it.

Sunday, 8 miles, sidewalks clearish, sunny
My christ was I worried about this run. Up to date (well, in about 2 years) the longest run I've done is 6 miles, and although it's a good amount of distance (and I'm sure for all non-runners it's enough to make them throw up and promptly pass out just thinking about...or at least ask me to shut up because they're sick of hearing me talk about running...either way), it's not marathon-material, if ya know what I mean. So this was really my first step in the long distance direction since we all know how well my 7 mile run went last week in Indiana. -Let me just interject really quickly that a commercial on tv just came on called "Shedding for the Wedding" about engaged couples who are, let's say gifted in the weight category, and they compete to lose weight as a couple and the winners get their wedding paid for. I SMELL A NEW OBSESSION OF MINE- Well hallelujah Sunday came and I'll be damned, the sun was shining and the snow was glistening as it turned into spring-like water...water that clung to my shoes like I cling to tv for reality elimination shows. It was the first day I didn't have to wear my running tights under my running pants. My legs shed their inhibitions and hit the road. There was actually adequate space for shoulder for street running! It felt great to be on the road on such a nice day, but I was taken aback by an unfortunate scene. I saw 2 poor squirrels that had apparently come in close and oppressive contact with a car, because the only parts that weren't totally flattened into the concrete was half of a bushy tail sticking toward the shining sun on one squirrel, and the front teeth and 2 claws of the other. And you bet I let out an audible yelp when I saw those pancake brothers. So fast-forward to the end of my run. I felt so great at the end of my run, I even ran an extra 3 blocks! So this is there the great feeling ended. Once my heart rate came down, I spent the next hour on my living room floor exhausted, trying to stretch my legs as much as I could laying on my back (which I'm sure was a PATHETIC yet hilarious sight to see). After I could stand up again, I felt like I was going to puke. You know the feeling when you're out of shape or just try too much...like run 8 miles? Well I think this is where the training needs to take a turn and I actually have to start watching what I eat (and...god forbid, maybe what I drink). And by "watch what I eat" I mean I need to start eating more, and eating "fuel" type food, not just pizza with 3 extra toppings since that constitutes "more" food (and speaking of pizza, man have I been on a wanting-pizza-kick). What was nice is that John was actually in town this weekend, so I got to pull the sickly-pathetic schtick of "jooooohn, can you bring me a glass of water? I'd do it myself, but I'm afraid my doe-like legs may buckle."

Monday, 3 miles, sidewalks clearish, sunny (EVEN AT 5:30!!)
I thought about taking this day off since I had just run 8 miles the day before, but I thought "Screw it" and plus, it's not like I had anything else to do anyways. And MAN was it awesome running just 3 miles after running 8. I almost felt guilty later in the night for not running since it didn't seem like anything. Ha ha runner's guilt, what a burden. But, it was during this run the...unpleasantness...occurred. So I was a little over 1 mile into the run, and my nose was runny (nothing new). Well, I know this protocol, I simply pull back the thumb and forefinger portions of my gloves (because my awesome running gloves have that capability, so you can understand why I was so upset when I thought I lost one), place these fingers on either side of my nose, blow, and pinch off the stream, or as we in the industry like to call "The Snot Rocket." So for me, this is nothing new, as I use this practice at least 3 times during each run (I'm just full of snot). But this day, this day was different; the wind was angry that day my friends. I was about halfway into blowing when I realized the breeze had shifted and taken a turn toward...me. By the time I realized my shifted stance could do no protecting for my person, it was too late. The snot landed on my shoe. Not only on my shoe, but in...IN the laces!! I freaked out and tried stepping in snow to "wash" away what had just happened, but it was too late. I'm still just trying to forget about what happened. I mean, I'm due for some new shoes soon[ish].

I got some Gatoraide, stocked up on veggies, and am ready to see where this whole training thing takes me (besides over squished squirrels and under my own snot).

Nourishment

ENCOURAGEMENT!!

Yep, a different tone than when I left off. So when I last signed on I was what we might call “down” in the metaphorical “dumps” (insert joke about falling ‘down’ i.e. landing on my knee and losing my noodlely-cheesey goodness) and feeling all around defeated. Well, la-de-da, I have a terrific run tonight! Which is EXTREMELY surprising since I haven’t gone running in 3 days (since the 4.5 debacle in Munster, Indiana) which is not a good thing for a marathon training schedule (and I may or may not have had too much to drink last night. It was Wednesday night, it just seemed fitting to do a little sauce sipping). Anyhoo, before I delve into my triumphant run, I’d like to do some food-talkin.



So as I mentioned before, I bought “The Athlete’s Palate Cookbook” post-Christmas shopping as I was armed with a Barnes & Nobel gift card (which still has about $8 left on that I’m just ITCHING to spend…maybe it’ll be a latte, a magazine, a book, who knows! But I’m guessing it will be some type food-related item). I’ve looked through it a bunch of times, thinking “ooo, that sounds tasty! But look at all the ingredients I’ll have ot buy for probably a one-time-use” or “yikes, that looks gross!” and the occasional “I like this recipe because there is an adjacent picture.” But I have marked a few tasty options to start out with and I created my first dish from this book: Cassoulet with Lots of Vegetables by Mark Bittman (food columnist for the New York Times). (sidenote, this book is comprised of recipes of famous food people/well known chefs, and before each recipe is a little note about the chef and how they got into running/cooking for runners. I’d say 80% of these stories are “well I was a smoker for over 10 years, and once I quit I started running” and the sort. Ahhhh chefs. They certainly do like to smoke. And if they’re not smoking they’re, running?)



So basically you take these ingredients and make a soup-like item. I love veggies, and I've been on a sausage kick lately (hold the jokes, please) so this was kind of the perfect recipe for me.


Did I mention I was on a sausage kick?

So anyways, it was extremely easy and the results were TASTY. Cook Sausage. Take sausage out of pan. Cook veggies in delicious sausage fat. Add canned tomatoes (with juice), add back sausage, and add some red wine and/or chicken stock (I opted for both because hey! booze and meat juice!). Simmer. Enjoy.






Wednesday, 5 miles, 6pm (yet lighter than normal), pretty clear sidewalks.
And here we are. Tonight. I KNOCKED THAT SUCKA OUT OF THE PARK. And, I admit, 5 miles isn't a HUGE feat for me at this point, but it was how it felt. I was a little nervous to hit the road today because of obvious reasons (crushing defeat and utter let downy-ness). I started off the run and MY GOD was it cold. By far the coldest run I've had yet this year. My face was in actual pain for the first 12 minutes or so of the run (which when you have hurty-cold face seems like an eternity). Once I got over that, I started thinking about how poorly I had been doing this week as far as running goes, and then I had to talk some sense into myself. I didn't run Monday and Tuesday because I hurt my knee on Monday morning. I didn't run on Wednesday because I had a late meeting that turned into a little boozin' which hey, there is nothing wrong with when done in moderation. So although it was 3 days of no running, it was "well-deserved"ish, and it's not something I should keep beating myself up about. And hey! It took a mile's worth of time to think this all out, so boom, I was more than 2 miles into my run, and I felt vindicated and my face wasn't cracking. It felt good. When I hit the 2.5 mile mark and turned around to begin my journey back home, I was feeling good. Almost great (I tried not to get too excited, because we all know what happens..I overdo it and look foolish FOOLISH!). Anyways, I had encouraging thoughts throughout the run, and now I'm not as afraid of my long run this weekend: 8 miles. What is a little intimidating is the longest I've run to date is only 6 miles. But I think I can do it. And you'll be here to hear all about it, RIGHT??!

Oh, and another quick update, remember that wall-bat that was screeching? Well I came face to face with him last night. I was actually in the bathroom and saw his shadow as he was swooping around my living room. Yes. A terrifying way to see a bat. But—something I'm not proud of—I've experienced so many bats in the past few months, I didn't freak out. I was able to bat him to the floor, swoop him up in a sheet, and send him on his way outside. And as I watched him majestically fly up into the sky toward the frozen moon, I just thought to myself "WHAT THE F&@$! I'm so god-damn sick of these bats!!!"

Oh, also, I backed into a pole parallel parking this morning (what? I figure this is just a self-deprecating sounding board for myself).

Ups and Downs

So there’s a bat in my living room wall squeaking loudly (and it’s right behind the couch in the living room OF COURSE, so it’s making it very unnerving to engage in my favorite past time: television), so to distract myself from the high pitched spine-shattering noise of a bat who lost his way, I’m going to tell you all about my running in the past week (and I’m overdue anyways)

Last week was full of ups and downs. I thought I had a breakthrough, and then got defeated by going out of my comfort zone. But I’ll start from the beginning.

Wednesday (day after blizzard ‘11), 4 miles, dark, sidewalks ½ super plowed, ½ 13 inches of snow deep.
So starting around 6pm on Tuesday the wind came. Then the snow came. And then they didn’t stop until about 8am on Wednesday. Public schools were closed, Western Michigan University was closed, my gym was closed, Pfizer was closed, Stryker was closed. My office was open. The roads for me actually weren’t bad, besides taking 25 min to dig my car out, it was relatively easy getting to work, but then again NO ONE was on the road. After an EXTREMELY quiet day at work (doughnuts were brought in, and in that first bite of sweet doughy goodness, being at work suddenly wasn’t terrible, but then again I do gauge events in my life based on my ability to nap before or after, and food) I was actually really excited to go for a run. I wasn’t sure how the sidewalks would be, but I knew no one was going to be on the road since public safety urged people not to be on the road unless it was an emergency. I’m guessing most people took this as “watch tv, eat a lot of food, get drunk, and don’t leave your house.” Apparently the greater Kalamazoo area was only too happy to oblige (hell I would). So I suited up for my run, pumped myself up and headed out for my 4 mile run. Right off the bat (hey-o! Bat, get it!?) I encountered sidewalks that were shoveled, but were slick with a thin layer of ice. I am EXTREMELY ungraceful, so I immediately shortened my stride and barely lifted my feet off the ground. So imagine a slow shuffle-type movement, complete with arms way out to the sides, bracing for the imminent fall. Good news though, NO FALL! After I passed through the ice (oh, did I mention this was part of a 1/3 mile uphill? Well it was), the sidewalks ranged from fully shoveled where you could actually see the concrete to 0 shoveling from the snow…meaning impossible to even try to run through since the 13 inches would practically swallow my short legs whole. I don’t like running in the street during the winter months. The roads are already narrowed with the lack of shoulder because of the snow pushed to the side, and even if there is room, ever heard of a little thing called black ice?! A car tries to swerve slightly (although it’s always WAY more than it needs to be…I do the same though, I practically get into the next lane, even if it’s oncoming traffic) and BOOM, black ice, flattened runner. But tonight I saw about 8 cars the entire 36 minutes I was running, so hey, with those chances, why not. So when I encountered these unplowed stretches, I just jumped into the street, where it was COMPLETELY clear, and ran until I could see sidewalk again. I can’t tell you how fun it was. It was a run I’ve done a hundred times, but it gave it a new adventurous twist. And I think what made it even better was the fact that there were barely any people out (i.e. the 8 cars I saw). It was like I had my own icy and too-cold obstacle course. I now realize this is why—I’m guessing—people run in the morning. No one is out. But my love of naps extends into my love of sleeping in the morning as late as possible. So rarely do morning runs happen for me, but I’m guessing as the months get warmer, and my social life becomes more active during the week (how can you NOT go get a beer with friends at 5pm on a nice day after work!?), my tune may be changing. Stay tuned for details I suppose? All in all, it was a surprisingly fun run.

Thursday, 3 miles, dark, sidewalks same as Wednesday.
My previous night’s run really had me excited for tonight’s run. It is the first time in a long time I was excited to put on my running tights and 372 other items of clothing for my run. It was a quick 3 mile run. Unlike last night, there were more people out. This made sidewalk-street hopping a little difficult. What was different also was it was FREEZING outside. The 2 stoplights I encountered during my run were EXTREMELY noticeable, and this is just a 30 sec or so stop. As soon as I stopped moving, I could feel the cold seep into my sleeves and my nose! My poor nose! But besides the cold and the car dodging, it was a really encouraging run. I was actually excited to go in the first place, which I felt was a HUGE step in the right direction, especially when you think about ALL the running that goes into a marathon. At this point in the week, I was ready and excited for my long run: 7 miles.

Sunday, 4.5 miles, noon, no sidewalks. In Munster, Indiana.
Remember how great I felt and encouraged? Well, savor that, because it’s going right out the window (or whatever hole is in my apartment that keeps letting bats in). So I went down to Munster Indiana (home of the best beer ever, 3 Floyds) to visit my boyfriend John’s family, and their 3 dachshunds (you know, wiener dogs). Well Munster is right outside of Chicago, and they got hit by the blizzard worse than we did. Not keeping that piece of information in mind, I went to Map My Run to see if there were any existing 7 mile routes. Well, there weren’t, but I didn’t let that get me down. “I’ll create my own route! It’ll be like exploring a new world, a world where you can’t explain where you are with the aide of a pointed finger and a hand” (ooooh Michigan humor, I wonder if anyone outside out mitten-like state cares as much as we do). So I mapped out the prefect 7 mile run. It spanned 4 roads in a big square and I couldn’t wait to hit the road! This was Friday while I was still at work, this was also the point when John explained that 3 out of the 4 streets were MAJOR roads with heavy traffic. Major roads with heavy traffic that didn’t have their sidewalks plowed. AND YOU KNOW MY POLICY ON WINTER ROAD-RUNNING. So boom, wind out of sails. I have run a handful of times in Munster, so I’m not expert of the roads, but I thought I had a pretty good gauge of the distance and whatnot. Fast-forward to (Super Bowl) Sunday, noonish, and I’m lacing up my Nikes. I have a route I think will at least hit 6 miles, and hey, if I skimp it by a mile, what’s the big deal? I hit the road, and right from the beginning I’m COMPLETELY out of my comfort zone. Something that keeps my mind occupied during my runs is knowing down to the ½ mile where I’m at during my runs (I drop it to full mile markers after 5 miles). At this “seat of my pants” run I had no idea where I stood, and my Nike+ ipod chip hasn’t been calibrated in about 2 years, so it always adds on .8 to 2.4 extra miles to each of my runs‑yes, I’ve been too lazy to re-calibrate it—so that wasn’t an accurate telling of my mileage. What was nice is that since it was Super Bowl Sunday no one was out and I was able to run in the street since we all know the conditions of the sidewalks. Throughout the entire run I was SO distracted with not knowing how far I’d gone, I felt tried and out of breath the entire time. You know the saying “running is 20% physical and 80% mental” (or whatever numbers, I’ve heard 10 and 90, 40 and 60…blah blah), well, it’s SO true, at least for me. I HAVE to listen to music or a podcast during my runs or I’m SO distracted and end up getting really defeated. 45 min later I was finishing up the route I had put together, and I was coming back upon John’s family’s house. I didn’t even hit 5 miles. I was so discouraged; I didn’t dare keep running to add the mileage I intended.

To add injury to insult (you’ll understand the switch in just a moment), early this morning (the day after my 4.5 blunder Super Bowl run), I was leaving to head back to Kalamazoo and to work, I hurt myself. I was saying goodbye to John’s mom—who had just given me a tuber ware container of AWESOME leftover lasagna for my lunch at work—and had one foot out the door, and where that foot met the outside ground was ice. Thick, slick, slippery ice. My foot flew forward, I fell out of the doorway and onto the front step, flinging my things I had in my hands all over the ground. I landed right on my left knee, hard. And the worst part, the lid of the tuber ware came off and the lasagna went all over the driveway. THE LASAGNA HAD BEEN SOILED. John’s mom rushed out to see if I was ok, but I was only worried about my ruined lunch prospect. She went inside to get me another portion, and I finally picked myself off the ground and realized how much my knee hurt. As I was straightening it out I thought “well that’s great, I shattered my knee cap, I deserve to eat a pie, or at least a handful of chocolate chips.” It’s not broken

All in all I’m feeling more discouraged than normal, especially since I have a lot of early and late meetings this week, so I’ll have to talk myself out of after-work naps in order to get all the runs in I need. Sigh. It’s time to start getting serious. But hey, I have a cookbook called “The Athlete’s Palate” which has recipes by and for runners. I picked out a stew/soup type-situation to make this week, so you all can hear about my cooking and the results! Oh, and in all this typing, the bat has stopped screeching. $10 says it starts in about 20 min. Great, wonderful.

Missing a Mate

My god I love weight loss shows. It started as any type of reality-based show, but slowly my sights have shifted to large, robust, sweaty beings, crying every week about people they've let down in their lives, and lunging their way back into happiness, and thinner jeans (or at least pants sans-elastic waist). MTV's "I Used to be Fat" NBC's "The Biggest Loser" and Bravo!'s "Thintervention with Jackie Warner" (I LOVE JACKIE WARNER).The Biggest Loser was actually an extra push for me to sign up for the marathon. I had never actually watched it before (but don't let that detour you from realizing my love of weight loss shows), and I caught the second to last episode from the past season (it aired early December 2010...yes, that recently). For those Biggest Loser Fans out there, you know the second to last episode is the marathon episode. Yes. 26.2 miles. Seeing all four people finish (between 4 and 8 hours) the race gave me the "yes you can Erica!" feeling to take the plunge and make the commitment to run. Of course I immediately regretted it, but hey, we're a month into the most recent season, so I figure I have a "you can do it! INSPIRATION!!" episode coming my way soon enough. My most vivid memory of The Biggest Loser comes from my mother though. She's been watching it since it started (I think we're in double digits by now as far as how many seasons they've put out. If NBS continues to film, America will continue to produce overweight people looking to shed some pounds, win some money, and the hearts of millions). Anyhoo, I just remember talking with her about what she had done the previous night, and her replying "well, I watched The Biggest Loser and ate a bunch of cookies." And in the end, isn't that how we should all watch these shows? I know that's how I do.

This is my snack of choice for this week's episode
(and by week I mean year, because I didn't even take this picture tonight, I already had it on my phone...from November. I sent it to about 4 different people, because that is what my friends and I gossip about: Food. By the way, if you've never experienced Garden Fresh Salsa...well, there just aren't even words.)

So, back to running. Unfortunately I don't have any runs to report as of Sunday (I chose going to the gym today after work over running because being in Southwest Michigan today we are on the cusp of a HUGE Blizzard...at least that's what the radar maps would lead us to believe). I want to address the topic of expensive runningwear, and how truly upset it makes me when I lose these purchases. Lucky for all of you, both of these stories have a happy ending (but I don't want to give away too much...)

Saucony Running Gloves. Black and BRIGHT Orange. $40.
I know, I can't look myself in the eye either. $40 for running gloves. But they turn from mitten to glove, and one has a ridiculously bright blinking light built in (for my characteristic night runs, yet I can never bring myself to use it..oh well). Much to the chagrin of my friends/co-workers (and boyfriend) I wore these as my everyday cold weather gloves for the better part of a year. That was until one went missing. Not only did I need these to shield my hands from the elements during my thrice-daily snow removal from my car (maybe 3 times a day is a bit of a stretch, BUT IT'S MICHIGAN PEOPLE!), but that one glove is $20 worth of merchandise! As my friend Dan put it "If you lose one glove of a set, is that $20 worth of merchandise? Or really more like thirty or forty? What is the value of one glove? Is it just half the value of the set? Or is the whole greater than the sum of its parts?" Yes, I was so upset I had to seek out friends to console me. I went about 5 days without the glove, running with the right Saucony glove and one large kind of fuzzy black glove I found in my closet. One hand freezing, one hand sweating. Uncomfortable. One day I was tidying up my living room (let me just interject that I am not what one would call a "neat freak" or even an "organized person". I'm more of a "messy" or "lazy" person, if you will) and I decided to put some shoes away in my 9-cube ikea knock-off shoe cabinet/storage unit. Well low and behold my missing left glove was hiding IN one of my shoes. How it got there I don't know, but I didn't care! I literally sprang up, gasped aloud, raised my arm and clutched that glove in my outstretched hand as though I had just won The Biggest Loser (and we've come full circle). I am happy to report my Saucony gloves and I have been together again for a full week now, and still going strong.

See what I did there? You can see one "mittenized" and one in "gloveform"

Smartwool Running Socks. Black with assorted stripes. $18.
As I've discussed before, I love Smartwool socks. These were $18, $1 more than the usual $17 I'm used to because there were some complications with the purchase. Well, not really, anything beyond "the easiest possible way" is considered a "complication" to me. I went into Gazelle after they had their sock sale, and I have small feet (size 6.5), so I can only really wear the small size of these socks. They had only 2 pairs of Smartwool socks in my size left due to the sale (I could have kicked myself, a SALE and I wasn't a part of it?! And of all things, SMARTWOOL!). So I bought the 2 remaining pairs and my feet gasped in excitement (the other pair was actually the white pair you saw earlier here). I wore them for a few weeks, and in my most recent clean laundry pile, I could only find one (this overlapped my missing left glove by about 2 days, so brace yourself for the reaction). I looked everywhere for that other sock. EVERYWHERE. And of course thought "well great Erica, there goes $9—or $18 according to Dan's accounting—why don't I just throw away all my expensive running accessories because you deserve cold hands and foot blisters! Would you like that? YOU'RE WORTHLESS!!!" Fast forward to today at the gym. I was changing into my painfully cold clothes that had been sitting in my car all day (which truly is the hardest part of going to the gym. Have you ever had to put on a freezing cold sports bra? IT'S TERRIBLE) and I noticed once everything was on there was a strange lump under my t-shirt by my shoulder. I figured it was a rogue piece of clothing and just went to grab it, and *gasp* it was my other Smartwool sock (flashback to my glove discovery). I immediately looked up at myself in the mirror with this goofy 8-year old smile, eye aglow with excitement (probably at the silent "cha-ching" sound of that $9 being put back into my "things I own" bank account), and I happy gasped. The socks are once again a pair.

I realize they resemble socks a middle-aged woman would wear while hiking under Birkenstocks with eco-friendly cargo shorts, but once you wear them in the winter, you'll understand. You'll know.

And I know I keep talking about Smartwool yet never explain why they're so great. I feel I've gone on too long as it is, so that's a story for another time. What you have to look forward to: my shenanigans and mishaps during this upcoming blizzard (call me crazy, but I feel a falling story coming on).