Where I blog: sitting at the counter with my little helpers.
Hope you all have a great 4th of July weekend!
Friday, July 3, 2009
Photo Friday
Thursday, July 2, 2009
12 Miler down...and some work bitterness
Well as we all know, my half marathon training has been sporadic at best the last month or two. I really really wanted to knock out a 12 before Napa on July 19th, as much for my mental confidence as for the physical training benefit. I decided yesterday was the day, and I set my alarm for 5am to try to get it done before it got hot. The high yesterday was 94 and it was pretty humid. The first 7 miles were flat, then the last 5 were the Cooper River Bridge with its steep hills. By the time I got to the start of the bridge, I was super hot and tired, so I took pretty frequent walk breaks on the uphill portions. I finished up a ultra-pokey 12 miles in 2:22 (slower than my last half marathon in March) but at least I finished! My fuel belt was completely empty by the end, which is unusual for me, and I definitely had the cold-chill feeling. Oh and as I was looking at the very visible salt coating covering my entire body once the sweat dried, I decided to rub and scrub it in as a sort of makeshift salt scrub. Kinda gross, but also kinda cool:)
I came home, drank a Hammer Recoverite and took about a 15 minute ice bath, which sounded great when I was running but in reality I hate them just as much in the summer as in the winter. But they do work wonders for the legs! It was my first time to try the Recoverite but I really liked it. At that point, mixing some powder with water was about all I had the energy to make or consume, and the citrus flavor was not bad at all. While I was ice bathing, Rich made me a delish strawberry vanilla protein smoothie. I typically tend not to eat enough immediately after a long run, and then I spend the rest of the day feeling sluggish and yucky, no matter how much I eat later. After Rich got home at 9 last night, we walked the dogs which I think helped loosen my legs up. I slept in my Recovery Socks and then walked the dogs another mile each (so about 3 miles for me) this morning, and my legs feel great today.
On a side note, today is my Monday..meaning I work today and the next 5 days. Oh wait, actually it's the next 5 evenings, 2:30-11:00. I can't even log onto Facebook because all the "Woohoo 3 day weekend" "It's almost Friday" "I love the 4th of July" messages are just depressing me. Yes, I'm bitter. I shouldn't be, but I am. Working weekends and holidays and evenings sucks. I wonder how many alcohol poisonings and fireworks injuries we will have at the hospital over the next 5 days...at least it should be interesting.
I came home, drank a Hammer Recoverite and took about a 15 minute ice bath, which sounded great when I was running but in reality I hate them just as much in the summer as in the winter. But they do work wonders for the legs! It was my first time to try the Recoverite but I really liked it. At that point, mixing some powder with water was about all I had the energy to make or consume, and the citrus flavor was not bad at all. While I was ice bathing, Rich made me a delish strawberry vanilla protein smoothie. I typically tend not to eat enough immediately after a long run, and then I spend the rest of the day feeling sluggish and yucky, no matter how much I eat later. After Rich got home at 9 last night, we walked the dogs which I think helped loosen my legs up. I slept in my Recovery Socks and then walked the dogs another mile each (so about 3 miles for me) this morning, and my legs feel great today.
On a side note, today is my Monday..meaning I work today and the next 5 days. Oh wait, actually it's the next 5 evenings, 2:30-11:00. I can't even log onto Facebook because all the "Woohoo 3 day weekend" "It's almost Friday" "I love the 4th of July" messages are just depressing me. Yes, I'm bitter. I shouldn't be, but I am. Working weekends and holidays and evenings sucks. I wonder how many alcohol poisonings and fireworks injuries we will have at the hospital over the next 5 days...at least it should be interesting.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Fun Weekend
So I had some house-cleaning and a 12 miler on the schedule for last weekend. Rich was going to be working all weekend, and I was off. Well about 1pm Friday afternoon I got a wild hair to go visit my BFF Darcy in Boston. She is moving back to Arkansas in the next few weeks and I wanted to get in one more Boston-visit before she leaves. I texted her to see if she was cool with a last minute guest, and she was so I bought my ticket (got a good deal), got off work and had 15 minutes to pack before I had to leave for the airport.
We had a great time just hanging out. We both LOVE movies, so we saw three while I was there. 1. My Sister's Keeper-I thought it was awful. The book is great, but I thought the movie was disjointed with poor acting. 2. Away We Go-pretty slow but cute 3. Food,INC this is a documentary on the American food industry and all it's evils, pretty interesting. I do agree with the fact that it is wrong that it's cheaper to buy crap food than healthy food, leaving many people with little choice when it comes to feeding their families. Take home messsage: government and a few top companies control the vast majority of our foods, mass production of meat is disgusting and unsafe, buy local and/or organic whenever you can, you vote with every bite. I think this is a must-see for anyone who cares about what they put into their bodies, and the bodies of their loved ones. I still will choose to eat fast food, or out of season berries from time to time and that's ok. But I am not disillusioned--I know the beef in my Big Mac came from a nasty feed lot, had no quality of life (because I'm one of those people that actually cares about the QOL of the food I eat. I'll eat you, but I want you to be happy while you're alive) and was likely slaughtered in an unsafe and unsanitary place. If you know the facts, then you're making informed choices. The wrongness to me is if people don't know the facts, so I encourage you to see this film as a way to learn more about it!
We also had some delish Italian food, some good cocktails and lots of great girl talk. I hope you all had a great weekend!
We had a great time just hanging out. We both LOVE movies, so we saw three while I was there. 1. My Sister's Keeper-I thought it was awful. The book is great, but I thought the movie was disjointed with poor acting. 2. Away We Go-pretty slow but cute 3. Food,INC this is a documentary on the American food industry and all it's evils, pretty interesting. I do agree with the fact that it is wrong that it's cheaper to buy crap food than healthy food, leaving many people with little choice when it comes to feeding their families. Take home messsage: government and a few top companies control the vast majority of our foods, mass production of meat is disgusting and unsafe, buy local and/or organic whenever you can, you vote with every bite. I think this is a must-see for anyone who cares about what they put into their bodies, and the bodies of their loved ones. I still will choose to eat fast food, or out of season berries from time to time and that's ok. But I am not disillusioned--I know the beef in my Big Mac came from a nasty feed lot, had no quality of life (because I'm one of those people that actually cares about the QOL of the food I eat. I'll eat you, but I want you to be happy while you're alive) and was likely slaughtered in an unsafe and unsanitary place. If you know the facts, then you're making informed choices. The wrongness to me is if people don't know the facts, so I encourage you to see this film as a way to learn more about it!
We also had some delish Italian food, some good cocktails and lots of great girl talk. I hope you all had a great weekend!
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Napa to Sonoma Half Marathon Training Update...for real this time
Bottom line, summer is kicking my butt and I have not been training as hard as I had hoped. But I'm not really all that upset about it. I've been using the 90+ degree humid days as an excuse to skip runs, also Rich's ITB is bothering him again so he's been taking it pretty easy also. I have been running, just a lot more haphazardly than my training plan would like. Honestly, we are going to run this one as more of a fun run with friends instead of racing for PRs.
I've found that after training consistently for almost a year, I'm ready for something a little different. My cross training has totally fallen by the wayside because with all my "exercise time" spent running, I just honestly didn't have enough time in my week to fit in all the spinning/yoga/weights that I would like. After next month I think I'm going to take a few months off from formal training plans and just enjoy working out doing a variety of things. Then I'll get bored with that and be ready to jump back into a training plan again.
After work today I ran 5 over the Cooper River Bridge to get some hillwork in, and it was hot but felt great. Now I'm relaxing with a tasty Caprese salad, and some blackberries and cantaloupe for dessert, catching up on blogs. Our powers that be at work have restricted our internet use (rumor has it they are checking our histories for non-work related sites) so now I can only blog after work..bummer!
I've found that after training consistently for almost a year, I'm ready for something a little different. My cross training has totally fallen by the wayside because with all my "exercise time" spent running, I just honestly didn't have enough time in my week to fit in all the spinning/yoga/weights that I would like. After next month I think I'm going to take a few months off from formal training plans and just enjoy working out doing a variety of things. Then I'll get bored with that and be ready to jump back into a training plan again.
After work today I ran 5 over the Cooper River Bridge to get some hillwork in, and it was hot but felt great. Now I'm relaxing with a tasty Caprese salad, and some blackberries and cantaloupe for dessert, catching up on blogs. Our powers that be at work have restricted our internet use (rumor has it they are checking our histories for non-work related sites) so now I can only blog after work..bummer!
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Book Reviews
I've recently read 4 books: 2 chic-books with some depth, a sci-fi-ish thriller, and a great novel from a dog's perspective. I'll rate them from my least to most favorite. The titles link to the amazon.com pages for each book.
4.
Lightning by Dean Koontz was written back in 1988, and was not one of my favorites. I typically really like Dean Koontz. He writes weird, scary books that I really dig, sort of similar to Stephen King, but this one was a little boring to me. It basically involves time traveling assassins and one good time traveler who tries to intervene and make life better for a woman he fell in love with in an alternate reality, and to impact the future by some dealings with Winston Churchill and Hitler in the past...far out...not really my thing but it was for sale in the hospital gift shop one night I was working and it was really dead so I bought something to read.
3.
Souvenir is Therese Fowler's debut novel telling the story of childhood friends (a boy and a girl, not sure why there are 2 girls on the cover) who become teenage lovers, that wind up torn apart and find each other again 15 years later during a very tragic time. This one actually has a good moral of living each day to the fullest, the only guarantee we have is right now, not the future. It's a girly book, but I really enjoyed it in all it's melodrama.
2.
Just Breathe by Susan Wiggs is a sweet, funny, yet ultimately predictable novel about a woman who finds out she is pregnant with twins the same time she finds out her husband is having an affair. She comes home to live in the small town where she grew up and finds love with the IT boy from high school, of course there's much more to him than the football hunk he was years ago. Nice easy beach read.
1.
My favorite of the bunch! The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein is one I love and will keep on the bookshelf (unlike the others, which will get sold/traded at a used bookstore). Of course I was initially drawn to it because it had a dog on the front, then I read the first chapter and I was hooked. Like all good novels in my opinion, it is both funny and poignant, making the reader laugh and cry and feel a genuine interest in what happens to the characters. It is told from the viewpoint of a dog, and tells the story his owner's often difficult but ultimately wonderful life. The owner is a race car driver, so there is lots of Formula One/Racing talk that definitely makes it a unisex book. I admit I skimmed some of the car-talk, but still loved it. Like Souvenir it deals heavily with the theme of making the most of your situation and living in the moment. I highly recommend this one!
4.
Lightning by Dean Koontz was written back in 1988, and was not one of my favorites. I typically really like Dean Koontz. He writes weird, scary books that I really dig, sort of similar to Stephen King, but this one was a little boring to me. It basically involves time traveling assassins and one good time traveler who tries to intervene and make life better for a woman he fell in love with in an alternate reality, and to impact the future by some dealings with Winston Churchill and Hitler in the past...far out...not really my thing but it was for sale in the hospital gift shop one night I was working and it was really dead so I bought something to read.3.
Souvenir is Therese Fowler's debut novel telling the story of childhood friends (a boy and a girl, not sure why there are 2 girls on the cover) who become teenage lovers, that wind up torn apart and find each other again 15 years later during a very tragic time. This one actually has a good moral of living each day to the fullest, the only guarantee we have is right now, not the future. It's a girly book, but I really enjoyed it in all it's melodrama.2.
Just Breathe by Susan Wiggs is a sweet, funny, yet ultimately predictable novel about a woman who finds out she is pregnant with twins the same time she finds out her husband is having an affair. She comes home to live in the small town where she grew up and finds love with the IT boy from high school, of course there's much more to him than the football hunk he was years ago. Nice easy beach read.1.
My favorite of the bunch! The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein is one I love and will keep on the bookshelf (unlike the others, which will get sold/traded at a used bookstore). Of course I was initially drawn to it because it had a dog on the front, then I read the first chapter and I was hooked. Like all good novels in my opinion, it is both funny and poignant, making the reader laugh and cry and feel a genuine interest in what happens to the characters. It is told from the viewpoint of a dog, and tells the story his owner's often difficult but ultimately wonderful life. The owner is a race car driver, so there is lots of Formula One/Racing talk that definitely makes it a unisex book. I admit I skimmed some of the car-talk, but still loved it. Like Souvenir it deals heavily with the theme of making the most of your situation and living in the moment. I highly recommend this one!
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Napa to Sonoma Half Marathon Quick Training Update
We are super pumped to be heading to wine country in CA next month for the Napa-Sonoma HM. We have been really training hard for this one, typically about 4 days a week. 2 of those are nice easy sessions, just tossing back a few beers or glasses of wine at an easy pace. 1 session is speedwork typically consisting of 2-4 x margarita repeats with short H20 breaks in between. Then we try to get at least one long training session in per week, usually on Saturdays beginning around brunch-time and often lasting into the evening. We really like to do these on the beach so the ocean breeze can help us keep cool, and have been working on pacing so we don't start too fast. You have to reign in your excitement at the beginning so you conserve enough energy to kick it to the finish. After training long like that, you need to make sure to rehydrate and refuel so you're not feeling like death afterwards. We have a couple more weeks of training, then a short taper. I think we are definitely going to be ready to rock it!!
Friday, June 12, 2009
My Blogging Disappearance
I have been very MIA lately, and actually was thinking of not returning to blogging but I think I have changed my mind. Let me explain my thougths a bit (sorry male readers, it is all way over- analyzed in the typical female fashion).
I got overwhelmed and so I totally backed off. I have the blogs that I read and love, and you guys read mine and we comment on each other and just in general have a good bloglationship (made that one up). But for some reason I felt compelled to keep adding more and more blogs to my reader, everytime someone would reference or link to another blogger I would add them. I was reading way too many, leaving lots of unreciprocated comments and got burned out on it all. When logging onto the reader became more of a chore than a joy, I realized something wasn't working...the last think anyone needs is another thing to check of the To Do list. I was reading some fav blogs yesterday and ran across a post by my fellow blogging Charlestonian Kristin that really got me thinking about why my blogthusiasm was waning. Even though for the most part i haven't been commenting, I HAVE been reading you guys and I realized that I missed commenting and posting. So a big general Congrats, Woo Hoo, Way to Go, You Guys Rock to everyone who has raced, tri'd, vacationed, etc. in the last several weeks.
I was also having a blogdentity crisis: is this a running blog or a Morris family life blog? I worried my non-running readers would be bored out of their gourds by all the running posts, and I worried that my running readers would not want to read about my new shoes and lipstick or how many margaritas we had last night (2 if you were curious).
Here are my realizations: this blog is MY blog so it can be whatever the heck I want it to be, if you don't feel like reading, don't read (but of course I hope you do!). I have significantly pared down the Google Reader to the blogs that I actually look forward to and enjoy reading, to the people that I miss when I don't read for a few days.
See, I warned you....waaaaay overthinking something that should not be over-thought. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!
I got overwhelmed and so I totally backed off. I have the blogs that I read and love, and you guys read mine and we comment on each other and just in general have a good bloglationship (made that one up). But for some reason I felt compelled to keep adding more and more blogs to my reader, everytime someone would reference or link to another blogger I would add them. I was reading way too many, leaving lots of unreciprocated comments and got burned out on it all. When logging onto the reader became more of a chore than a joy, I realized something wasn't working...the last think anyone needs is another thing to check of the To Do list. I was reading some fav blogs yesterday and ran across a post by my fellow blogging Charlestonian Kristin that really got me thinking about why my blogthusiasm was waning. Even though for the most part i haven't been commenting, I HAVE been reading you guys and I realized that I missed commenting and posting. So a big general Congrats, Woo Hoo, Way to Go, You Guys Rock to everyone who has raced, tri'd, vacationed, etc. in the last several weeks.
I was also having a blogdentity crisis: is this a running blog or a Morris family life blog? I worried my non-running readers would be bored out of their gourds by all the running posts, and I worried that my running readers would not want to read about my new shoes and lipstick or how many margaritas we had last night (2 if you were curious).
Here are my realizations: this blog is MY blog so it can be whatever the heck I want it to be, if you don't feel like reading, don't read (but of course I hope you do!). I have significantly pared down the Google Reader to the blogs that I actually look forward to and enjoy reading, to the people that I miss when I don't read for a few days.
See, I warned you....waaaaay overthinking something that should not be over-thought. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!
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