Run Long, But Maybe Not This Long...

I ran 16 miles today, which is kind of an exciting milestone for me. 16 miles is officially the farthest I have ever travelled on foot in one day. The Grige and I did a few 15 mile days when we were backpacking in Yosemite. They were killer, because they ended up coinciding with our biggest elevation changes. Unlike running, backpacking downhill is about the most painful thing a person can do. Our first 15 mile day ended with 8+ miles of rocky, miserable downhill. The views were amazing, but I've never seen the Grige so miserable, and I wasn't much better.

Trust me, you don't want to have that much mountain still in front of you at sunset. Ever. 

I've never forgotten that day, and my last two long runs have proved that 15 miles is indeed a formidable distance for the human feet/legs to travel in one day. last week, I really fought through the last two miles. This week, I had to fight through the last 4 miles. I may have cried a little bit around mile 14, and only visualizing finishing the marathon kept me moving forward (right around granny speed-walking pace).

So here is the deal: It's scary to have the long runs be this hard. I have been unbelievable lucky to have had amazing 50 degree sunny days for both runs. I've also not had a single gastro issue in two weeks (YES!!!). But I still end up collapsing on my porch at the end of the runs before I can attempt our front stairs. Also, I am SLOW. My last 2 miles today had close to 14:00 min splits. That is DEPRESSING. 26.2 miles feels impossible after today.

I'm really hopeful that this is just a tough barrier that my body will push through in the coming weeks. It's been 3 weeks since my last step back, and I think it's time for another. I'm planning to do a slow swim tomorrow for recovery, which brings me to a new gear addition! THE STICK.

Recovery has taken on a whole new meaning for me lately - I'm almost ready to give in on those stupid compression socks. But for now, this thing, in addition to my foam roller, is WHERE IT'S AT. It feels so good. In concert with some backwards running, this has really ironed out my quad issues. My recovery strategy has also expanded to include recovery foods, like pineapple and bananas. For example: I'm drinking a delicious pineapple mojito tonight! It's the ultimate recovery tool.

Here's hoping my 18 miler in two weeks is easier. I need to get a long run winner in before we head to Greece!

Adulthood

The following is the conversation that a 26 year-old woman (who has been living away from home for over 8 years and has traveled much of the globe alone) had with her mother this week.

Mom: "Are you getting excited for your honeymoon? Have you started packing yet?!"

Me: "Yes! I'm so excited, and I can't wait! I actually bought two new dresses for the trip, but I can wear them to work too, so it's a total win!"

Normal so far...

Mom: "Oh, honey. Just don't forget to pack a sweater or something to keep you warm!"

Me: "um... okay. Thanks, Mom...."

Because our mamas, they are always our mamas.

And yes, Mom. I will be sure to pack a sweater or SOMETHING. Today, tomorrow, always.

Happy almost Mother's day. I love mine so much!

Photo: Summer Jean Photography

Oh, Hey!

This morning featured some alarm mal-functioning (likely human error), which I did not handle gracefully. I revoked the Grige's alarm privleges ("No more snoozing for you!!") and generally acted like a total Hulk. And he has an interview today. ugh. Happy Monday to us, more coffee please!

In what can only be described as a karmic oxy-moron, I've had some writing published over at APW today. If you've found your way here via that post - WELCOME! I'm so happy you're here! Here are some posts you might enjoy:

Weddings

Marriage

Feminism

I have to go un-jam a printer for the umpteenth time this morning, proving that the universe didn't totally ignore my alarm-yelling meltdown. I'd be thrilled to hear from you in the comments, and if you live in St. Louis - send me an email and let's totally hang out sometime! (please).

Race Recap Part II - Go! St. Louis Half Marathon - The FEELINGS

Running a half marathon has been on my life list for a while (try 5 years). I’ve failed in the attempt a number of times before this, so it’s not surprising that I have a lot of FEELINGS about my finish. I’m sure I’ve mentioned this before, but my biggest struggle with running is definitely mental. As the Grige tells me constantly (and yelled at me during the race – highlighting the reason we no longer run together), “You can go FASTER than that! TRY HARDER!”. I finished my race strong, but I haven’t learned how to push myself to the limit yet. However, finishing was a huge confidence boost, and I believe that conquering a marathon will give me the push I need to start working on speed. So, the FEELINGS:

What Surprised me:

I was totally unprepared for the emotional rollercoaster that goes with preparing for a race. I was SO NERVOUS on Saturday that I could barely sleep. Watching UMich basketball (barely) beat Syracuse in the Final Four did not sooth my nerves (Longest 2 minutes of my life, seriously). But they won! So I went to bed happy. My nerves continued Sunday morning as we sat in traffic at the race exit.

During the race, I felt amazing – elated. I can’t believe how much I actually enjoyed running. There were tons of people, and even though I was hurting, I felt happy. I did not expect that AT ALL. The finish, especially, was really emotional for me. I sprinted my last mile, and plowing through that finish line was just overwhelming. I felt like I was going to cry (luckily, I didn’t). Honestly, the last time I felt that emotional was walking down the aisle at our wedding.

Finally, I was really worried that the fact that I wasn’t used to getting up early/running in the morning would hurt me. I don’t think it actually had any impact at all. I was so nervous that getting up was no problem and I felt fine while I was running. I’m glad to push that worry out of the way for marathon training, because running in the evenings has been working out really well for me schedule-wise.

What didn’t Surprise me:

The logistics of getting to big events on time are always a bit stressor for me, and I planned accordingly. The Grige drove me in so that I didn’t have much to worry about. But I’m one of those people who is always at the airport an hour before I need to be “just in case” and I’m still nauseous the whole time. Race morning was no exception, and I was a ball of nerves. As a result, I’ll be extra cautious about which races I sign up for moving forward. I think that travelling to a race will be nice, because I’ll be able to stay in a hotel close to the start, eliminating a lot of travel stress.

My pace was also no big surprise. I ran at the pace of my best training runs (not 1 minute/mile faster, as some training plans suggested I would be able to). In retrospect, I probably could have pushed it harder. However, I kept thinking about the fact that I’m running 15 miles this Saturday and how I didn’t want to be dead for that. Truthfully, this is just the half-way point in marathon training, and I’m happy to have logged a half marathon time that I can compete with in the coming years. However, I would be lying if I told you I thought I couldn’t do any better. I am stronger and faster than I think, and breaking those mental barriers is one of the great challenges of running for me.

What went wrong

My stomach totally went bonkers on me at mile 4, which meant losing 3 minutes (I timed it) to a port-a-potty stop. Annoying. I was also really sick for the rest of the day yesterday and have been on a liquid diet since the finish as a result. I ate my breakfast with lots of extra time and ate the BRAT (Bananas, Rice, Apples and Toast) diet starting 2 days before the race. I don’t think there’s anything else I could have done, but I’ll continue to try tweaking things. I may give immodium a try before my next long run, just to see if it helps.

Sunday was the warmest day we’ve had so far, and I paid the price for doing all of my training outdoors. Since I’m used to running in extremely cold weather, this is the first time I broke out most of my summer running gear (shorts and tank) this year. The result is some pretty nasty underarm chafing (ouch!), a sunburn, and GIANT blisters on my arches from sweat-related rubbing. Luckily, I didn’t notice any of this during the race except for the blisters. I could feel them forming by mile 5, and I could practically hear them squelching by mile 10. Ugh. I could barely walk to the car after the race. However, I’ve now pierced and drained them and I’m hopeful to be back on the road tomorrow. If not, I’ll be swimming my training this week.

What went right

My training plan helped me feel really prepared. There was never a moment where I worried if I would be able to finish or not, andknowing that I could do it really helped me relax and enjoy the race.

I decided at the last minute to run without my handheld water bottle. It was a good decision – I’m really glad I didn’t have to deal with carrying anything.

Training on hills really paid off! Some of my fastest splits were on the hilly portion of the course.

I can honestly say that I really enjoyed this run. It was fun to run with other people, I enjoyed seeing the spectators and I enjoyed being pushed by the challenge of “racing”. I felt happy and good pretty much the whole time!

And Now, For Something Completely Embarrassing

I'm going to share something with you that is really embarrassing. Something that the Grige doesn't even know (I mean, I think he suspects, but he respects me enough not to ask too many questions...). But first - a short product review. It's related, I swear.

A while ago, I wrote a little gear roundup. I shared that I use an iPod shuffle for running. With 1.88 GB of storage and no real selection functionality besides forward, back, on, off, and volume, it's about as basic as they come. Mine, however, is more basic yet. A few weeks after I bought it, I discovered that NOTHING worked on it, except the on and off buttons. I thought about returning it or getting a new one, but since it still played music, I decided to stick with it. Someday, I'd like to upgrade to the waterproof version, so that I can swim laps with it. But for now, I kind of like my broken little guy.

The product review portion of this post is meant to show that you get what you pay for. The iPod shuffle is cheap, and probably not built for the amount of sweat, rain, heat, and cold that I expose it to regularly. However, it's a load off my mind to know that it's only $40 to replace if I break it.

Now, for the embarrassing stuff. Since I can't skip songs, every song I put on my little iPod shuffle REALLY needs to work for me during a run. That's right, I'm going to share my running playlist.

I want to stress that this is mostly a tempo thing, and shouldn't be seen as a comment on my overall musical taste. If you're looking for tunes to keep you moving at about 10 min. mile pace, grew up in the  90's and have really wacked out taste, these jams are for you. You're welcome.

The Good

Girl - Beck
Danger: High Voltage - Electric Six
1901 - Phoenix

Rehab - Amy Winehouse
Down to The River - The Duhks (that's right, bluegrass)

Rich Girls - The Virgins
Here It Goes Again - OK Go

I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) - The Proclaimers
Morning Sun  - Shayna Zaid
Locked Out Of Heaven - Bruno Mars

The Ridiculous

Cowboy - Kid Rock
California - 2 Pac
Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy - Big and Rich
Little Bad Girl - David Guetta
Sugar - Trick Daddy
867-5309/Jenny - Tommy Tutone (yep. TOMMY TUTONE)
A Change Would Do You Good - Sheryl Crow
Where the Party At? - Nelly
Get Low - Flo Rida and T-Pain

Country Grammar - Nelly
Moves Like Jagger - Maroon 5


A few thoughts on this list:

1. There's some good stuff on here, and believe me, it's really hard to find "good" music that is at proper running tempo. I can tell almost immediately if a song is not going to work, or if it is. Like, let's say it's 2011 and I'm watching a Ford Focus commercial. Somehow, I know I can run to that stupidly catchy song, and it ends up on the rotation.

2. If it's not good, chances are it's RIDICULOUS. I don't even know how I own some of this stuff, but I suspect a lot of it is left over from sorority bid day mixes from college. Most of this music, if I heard at a bar, I would turn around and walk right out again. Funny how that works, huh?

3. This is obviously not two hours of music. For long runs, I rotate on the B sides - songs that are fast paced, but not my ideal running speed/flavor. I won't list them here, but it's a lot of The Black Keys, some Rage Against The Machine (a good pick for speed work), and plenty more trashy 90s club music.

4. The only artist who makes it onto the permanent list more than once is Nelly. I don't like to spend too much time thinking about what that "says" about me, but I suspect it's one of two things: A) All of Nelly's songs sound EXACTLY THE SAME and happen to have a good beat for my running pace or B) I really am a St. Louis girl at heart.

Spring Has Sprung (Finally)

Since exactly one week ago, a foot of snow buried my hopes for spring so deeply I thought that it would never come, I want to take a moment and celebrate that it's FINALLY spring here.

Yeah, I like Thug Kitchen A LOT.
thugkitchen.com 

The sun is out, it's 60+ degrees out, and my 11 mile run in the icy rain yesterday afternoon is out of my head. I officially switched out my closet to spring/summer today, so hopefully we don't have any more relapses! Spring colors are poppin' like it's hot in my closet.

The Grige and I took a little trip to the zoo. It was sunny, but the animals were mostly napping. I think I'm about ready for a nap too!

Yoga Birds

This guy is also anxious to lose his winter wardrobe.

So dignified, so ready for a nap

Nice Hair, bro.

Stay tuned for more spring.  I know I will. Which brings me to.... we are officially 7 days away from my half marathon. I'm pretty nervous, and I feel like there just isn't much info out there about the race to help me prepare. I've studied the course map and picked my outfit, but I can't find reliable information on parking near the race course, metro hours, or spectator information. Alas, I guess it will have to wait for the expo on Friday.

As far as other race-prep, I'll be getting up early every morning for a short, easy run every day this week. I'll be following up with yoga after work. I'll start carb loading on Thursday and won't be  drinking any alcohol or consuming any other "empty" calories until after the race. I've been using my foam roller twice to three times a day and will continue doing so in addition to icing my quads. I'm looking forward to putting the half behind me and focusing on the full marathon.

Life List Fail, and Accompanying Silver Lining

It's time to cross another item off the life list, but not in the usual way. This time, it will be because I will never be able to accomplish it.

I got my current (and first!) passport when I was 16. I got it for a trip to Italy with my AP European History class, where I became so enamored with traveling that I have made it out of the country at least once a year every year since then, with the exception of 2012 (we got married, I figured that's enough to let myself off the hook for a year).

Italian festivals

2004 - Germany and Italy
2005 - Virgin Island
2006 - Italy (again)
2007 - Mexico
2008 - Canada
2009 - Costa Rica
2010 - Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia
2011 - Spain and Morocco
2012 -
2013 - Wait for it.....

So my passport and I, with the photograph of my broody 16-year-old self, have seen a lot of places. In fact, we've been to every continent, with the exception of South America. And so I made the not-overly-ambitious-at-the-time life list item to get every continent in that passport.

Costa Rican beaches

And then I got married. And changed my name. Emily Fisk has never traveled anywhere, and after much thought and deliberation, she's not going to start this year.

Now, those of you deeply familiar with foreign travel and able to count are probably already aware that my dear passport is about to expire anyway. So when Chad and I decided to take a honeymoon this year, I decided that it would be Emily Fraker's last ride, and I'd say farewell to my passport in style.

The only thing left to do was convince the Grige that we should go to South America and my goal would be complete! Success! Except no - because an arbitrary goal is not really a good basis for planning your honeymoon. Pesky things like flight costs, where your husband actually wants to go, safety and timing actually play in quite a bit.

So, we are not going to South America, ergo, I will not be able to check this item off my list. However, we ARE going to GREECE! For which I am so unbelievably excited I can hardly stand it. Neither of us have ever been there, and there will be lots of history for me, architecture for the Grige, beaches and adventure aplenty for both of us! In the grand scheme, I'm still getting out of the country and can hardly complain. Silver linings FTW!

Noms in Morocco

For the record, I can't recommend planning a honeymoon after the wedding is over highly enough. It has been so very fun to spend tons of time and energy researching the trip, which is something we never would have been able to do while planning the wedding at the same time. We will also have lots of energy and mental space to enjoy the trip. If we had gone right after the wedding, we would have been so busy processing the enormity of that day it would have been hard to take in a new country. To be clear, you should definitely take some quiet time alone after your wedding, but save the big crazy trip for after you've had some time to process.

New Year: New Goals

Like every other person on the planet, I approach the new year as a fresh start. I review my life list, think about the things in my life that I'm not loving and try to find ways to change them. Since starting a new job and saying goodbye to my childhood home as I helped my parents move was enough to be going on with for the first part of this month, I'm just getting started now.

Our Beautiful Home, I miss it already.
Photo: Summer Jean Photography

For those who care, the new job is going great, I definitely made the right decision. I'm being challenged enough to stay motivated, I like the company and the nature of my work and am genuinely excited about my career for the first time in a long while. I will continue to leave my professional life outside the scope of this blog, but I think that our work sets the tone for a lot of other things in our lives. So it's worth addressing that mine is keeping me very busy, but also very happy right now.

2012 was a pretty darn big year for me, so I'm looking forward to 2013 as a chance to focus on all the little stuff that slowly got away from me last year. More specifically: my health. Which isn't to say that I did a bad job last year, I started training for a marathon, I discovered (and promptly fell in love with) yoga, and tried the Clean diet. Unfortunately, somewhere in the mess of moving, marrying, living apart for 2 months, unemployment, and the strain of the Grige's extremely intense first semester, all of that fell apart... without me really noticing.

So healthy goals are taking the lead for 2013. Especially with work being busy, it's important to be realistic. I've divided my approach into three categories: Diet, Exercise and Mental Wellness.

Diet
With realism in mind, I'm not going to try any crazy juice diets this time. I'll be practicing BPP or Balance, Preparation and Portion control. I'll achieve Balance by using a phone application that calculates calories to balance my diet with my exercise. I'll also be aiming for meals that hit all my major food groups. Preparation will likely be the most important part of my plan. I've set my weekly shopping day for very early on Sunday mornings. I'll then dedicate the rest of the morning to preparing meals for the week, so all I have to do is grab them out of the fridge. I'm also spending the extra $ to keep a stash of clif bars and smoothies on hand for quick energy. Keeping our fridge stocked with easy meals will help me stay on track. Portion Control is the tough part, especially after exercising. I've bought smaller tupperware containers for lunches, but I've also bought some small bowls and plates to keep me in the right mind frame when I eat at home too.

Exercise
My exercise goals for this year are all about figuring out what works in real life. Rather than bogging myself down in one big goal (like a marathon) I'm sprinkling things around a little bit. I'm still looking for a yoga home, but I'm hoping to add to my home practice by finding a studio I'd like to attend 2-3 times a week. In addition, I'm planning to fit in cardio 4-5 times a week. I'd like to combine running and swimming to keep things interesting. Finally, I purchased Jillian Michaels 30 day shred for a high impact start to my routine. I know it will keep me motivated to see great results early on, and from what I've heard, this will give me the boost I need to feel strong in my training. Accountability and planning will be the most important parts of my plan. To hit both of these elements, I'm signing up for the Go! St. Louis half marathon in April. I was running 1/2 marathon mileage when I dropped my marathon training last year, so I know it's within my reach.

Mental Health
The whole point of all of my health goals is to feel good about myself. So I'm not going to ignore the mental part. Having a job that I like and health goals to fill my time is a good start, but I think I need to reach a little farther than that. I'd like to make some friends here in STL, which is not something I usually do well. To narrow the scope, I'm hoping to find a running buddy as a start. I also hope to visit my friends a lot this year, I don't want to lose touch just because we've moved.

So those are my big goals for 2013. Certainly, I have metrics to back them all up, but those aren't really important out of context. I'm hoping to review my video series with results in both weight and inches lost, a'la www.healthytippingpoint.com, but we'll see if I have time or not.

Walter the Turkey

You can brine if you want to
You can leave your friends behind
Because your friends don't brine and if they don't brine
Well they're no friends of mine.

I say, we can brine where we want to
a place where they will never find
and we can act like we come from a pre-grocery store world
leave the real one far behind
and we can brine...

Happy two days before Thanksgiving! I'm filled with joy and excitement, because I picked up Walter, our fresh, organic, free range turkey earlier today. I strapped him lovingly into the backseat of the car and we sang along to Men Without Hats the whole way home. He's now resting peacefully in his brine, with visions of my roasting pan and all the joy he will bring dancing in his head.

Walter. Obscured by brine and intoxicated by instagram filters.

I freaking love Thanksgiving, but I won't expand on our menu because I have too much cooking to get back to. Suffice it to say that at our house, the November issue of Bon Appetit is met with more squeals than a Justin Beiber concert. My table-scape is set, Walter is brining, anything that can be pre-made has been, and I have a two page schedule taped to my cupboards to make sure everything runs smoothly on Thursday. I can't freaking wait.

As an aside, I want to say a few words about Walter, since he's already met his maker, and will be meeting our tummies in a few days. Walter is from Whole Foods, where, until today, I felt confident that I could buy a reasonably local turkey, pre-ordered for convenience and never frozen. While the convenience and un-frozen requirements were certainly met, I discovered that Walter is from Grand Rapids, Michigan.

I am also from that area of Michigan, and four of the people who will soon be noshing on Walter are coming from there too, increasing Walter's carbon footprint to a size I'm uncomfortable with. I live in Missouri! This is about as farm-y as it gets, and I really can't understand why I couldn't get a turkey from a farm around here. Instead, my family and Walter travelled separately from the same place to get to my table, and that upsets me. If I had known this was the best option, I would have had my family pick him up and drive him down themselves. Or, I would have just gone to the farmers market and braved the crowds to get a local Tom. Ugh. Frustrating.

Anyhow, Walter is a special bird, and I'm glad he's with us. I just with he could have travelled with family instead of in a truck.

Off to add my stinky hippie tears to the brine....

1 Wedding, 1 Funeral, and The Office Space Conundrum

Sorry for the brief pause, I was out of town all last week running the gamut of human experience. I attended the wedding of my childhood best friend to a wonderful man, organized and attended a memorial service for my Grandfather and got hit in the head with a lot of black walnuts tossed by a vengeful tree in West Michigan that is trying to ruin my Dad's life.

Imagine these bastards flying at your face while you are trying to rake! EEK!

The Grige is working his little behind off on a project right now, so I came home to an apartment in what can only be described as total and utter chaos. We brought home some more wedding stuff, so there were boxes everywhere, unpacked suitcases overflowing with dirty clothes blocking my side of the bed, dishes in the sink, and a week.5's worth of trash in the trash closet. Ick. Also, nothing but rotted casserole in the fridge. I've just about dealt with the mess, but it took me all. damn. day. It doesn't help that our trash deposit is in siberia (read: about 0.15 miles from our door, up a big hill).

While I was cleaning and organizing and discovering evidence of termites in our window seat I realized a few important things:

1. Keeping house by yourself is a lot of mother flipping work.

Honestly, I could stay unemployed and still be busy every second of my day making dinners, cleaning, buying groceries and doing laundry. I really could. And if we were to add kids to that equation some day? Holy Hell Raisers. I wouldn't even be able to break for lunch. I'm kind of missing our tiny apartment in new and different ways.

2. I like being busy.

There is a scene in Office Space where Lawrence asks Peter what he would do if he had a million dollars. Peter says he would do nothing. I didn't say it to my guidance counselor, but I always sort of felt like I was in the same boat. I like to read, I enjoy sporadically writing this blog, and I like to be outside, but I can't really tell how all of that fits into a career (hint: it doesn't). I can tell you this for sure: doing nothing is not equal to not being busy. I'm a very busy unemployed person. When work doesn't give me projects, I make them for myself. Sometimes that includes applying for jobs, and sometimes it doesn't. So I think I get the point now, and I wish I could apply for construction jobs.

3. Dear Mario Batali: Your recipes cannot be considered "simple" if half the ingredients are not available in a midwestern grocery store.

I had to look up pretty much everything for one recipe on the cook's thesaurus before I could complete my grocery list. I'm all for authenticity, but don't tell me it's "simple" when it's going to take me 2 hours to find acceptable ingredients.

I'll be back with more on last week once my black walnut induced concussion heals.

That's Not Very Zen...

We have a little bit of a spider problem in our new home. The Grige insists that it's not really a problem so much as a really aggressive "other bug" solution. So far, I've only seen one or two on the floor of our bedroom, which is okay, but the rest of the house is a freaking spider free-for-all. They're not too nasty - just mid-size, bug-eating, brown guys - and I'm learning to deal with them.

I do wish that Toby Maguire could come hang out with us instead.
Photo: http://www.meltingpotinternational.com/news6.html 

Earlier this week, I was in the bathroom doing my business (like you do) and one came flying out from under the tub like a bat out of hell and kept coming straight at me despite screeching, bath mat kicking, and what can only be described as "leg flailing". I ended up killing it with my bare foot, and thus began the "always wear shoes" rule. I hope you're laughing, because I'm banking on the comedic value of this story being greater than my humiliation at sharing it. The Grige thinks this was the funniest thing that has ever happened.

After that, I have been (understandably) a little bit jumpy. I was taking the trash out (filled with the dripping remains of soaked hops and wort - homebrewing is not really winning my heart this week), and a bottle cap rolled out from under it. I screamed bloody murder, jumped a mile and spilled a combination of coffee grounds, nectarine pits and beer soaked brewing remains all over the kitchen floor. So, you know, improvement! At least it wasn't bodily fluids this time, though I did still have to change my pants afterwards - there are few things more disgusting than running shorts drenched in sweat and beer. Luckily, I had just returned from a run and needed to shower anyway.

The front sun room, my yoga mats are in the corner, the Grige's crap is everywhere else

The worst infestation of spiders thus far has been in the front sun-room. This is mostly because it has been neglected, filled with boxes and random musical equipment since we moved in. We are planning to use it as a guest bedroom/reading room once our new couch arrives and we can move the evil futon of decoration death in there. However, that won't be until early November. Filled with the determination-that only unemployment and spending a year in a 500 square foot apartment- could inspire to use every square foot in our apartment, I decided to turn the front sun room into a yoga room.

One of the things the Grige and I agreed not to compromise on as we planned for our new, depleted financial condition was fitness expenses. We're both much happier people when we get our exercise, so a yoga membership for me and gym membership for him were non-negotiable. However, I've been reluctant to actually get started at a studio before I've figured out some income, so I've been writing my own practice in addition to running. Using a kitchen timer and a notebook, I have to say it's going pretty well.

Another sunroom shot, so you can understand the extent of spider dwelling area

So back to the spiders. It's not that it didn't occur to me that I was trying to set up a zen space in a place that was filled with spiders and messy things for them to hide behind. I brought a few pairs of shoes and a roll of paper towels in with me and hoped the scent of my incense would deter them. What I didn't expect is that one with a rotund body the size of my thumb nail would crawl torpidly, like Shelob out of her lair, across my mat while I was in headstand. No shoe or paper towel could save me, frankly, I think that even a sledgehammer would have been unequal to the task.

Luckily, the beast's worst was to stroll across my mat like she owned it while I lost my shit, grabbed a shoe and waited, heart pounding, for her to vacate my mat and meet her doom. Which she did, with much squelching on her part and screaming on mine. Not very zen.

So instead of Shavasana, I killed a box of wine and tried to recover for the rest of the evening. I don't yet know what the lesson here is, only that St. Louis is finding new ways to challenge my sanity every day, and I'm probably going to just go ahead and get that yoga studio membership. 

It's Fall! And Architects are Crazy.

It's fall! Guess how I know: It's not because the weather is cooler. It's not because all of my favorite stores keep sending me updates about sweater sales. It's not even because the main feature of my days is being reminded that school is in session.

I know, because in the last week, I have made 2 batches of pumpkin muffins and a batch of the most complicated (but also the most delicious) chicken pot pie recipe in the world (bon appetit, October 2011 issue - THANK YOU).

So. Much. Pumpkin.

I am also very excited for pumpkin beer, which is apparently going to happen in my kitchen this weekend. I couldn't really wait.. so I might have maybe, perhaps purchased some already...

Also, I would like to start a stereotype. After working in a law firm for 2 years, and in international disaster relief for 2 years, I can comfortably say that the stereotypes about those types of jobs are mostly true. Perhaps not in the greatest extremes that they are sometimes portrayed in, but lawyers do work extremely hard, almost always wear suits and are generally enslaved to the billable hour in some fashion or another. And international disaster relief attracts the rag-tag bunch of mostly cynical, insanely dedicated booze swilling nutcases that you might imagine.

However, the sterotypes about architects are not getting the story right. And as someone who has been deeply let down in the preparedness department by that missing cultural narrative, I would like to set the record straight. Architects are crazy. They. Work. So. Ridiculously. Hard. Do you remember those people were on campus who walked around like zombies who subsisted on panda express instead of human flesh and didn't sleep all semester? I always assumed they were law students or engineers or med students or homeless people who were trying to stay warm in the library. But no, they were future architects. 

They possess crazy of an artist with the attention to detail of an engineer and the work ethic of a junior lawyer at a Biglaw firm. I always imagined them walking around their buildings, wearing all black with a colorful scarf and saying things like "the columns are so very ethereal, don't you think, hmmmmm?". Instead it's more like my husband just slammed the door and face-planted in to bed with his clothes on a mere 20 minutes before my chicken pot pie that I spent six hours cooking him for dinner was done because he hasn't slept in 2 days. And then asks me if I'd like to attend an optional guest lecture with him the next day. 

And that's the last time we were ever awake in the same room  until the Grige graduated from school.
Photo: Summer Jean Photography

I'm sure I don't have to tell you other liberal arts flunkies the laundry list of things I would be doing instead of attending an optional guest lecture if I hadn't slept in 2 days, had barely seen my new wife in 8 weeks and could smell that amazing pie wafting from the kitchen. Duh.

But no, I married an architect. So here it is ladies - these dudes deserve the same warning stickers that lawyers, doctors and future presidents receive: Do not date unless you love spending time alone and being supportive in the face of the sheer madness that is expected of them at work.* 

*note - I aimed this at the ladies, or gentlemen, considering dating an architect instead of aspiring architects themselves, because I'm sure they already know how hard it will be. The rest of us need to catch up.  

Never mess with a feminist with a power drill

That means you, exterior brick wall. Watch your mother flipping back.

Yesterday was not great. I started the day with a little run and then directed myself firmly to drive to the bank, because if I don't make myself drive the car, I will continue to be terrified of driving the car. Well, I had to parallel park, and I don't do well under pressure and there were tears, and honking. I did better with the rest of my errands, driving without GPS and enjoying the blessed joy of parking lots as opposed to street parking.

I came home and made my first ever attempt at hanging pictures that required more than a finishing nail.  And then I learned something very valuable about exterior walls: Don't hang anything on them. Ever. Especially if the screw hole you are trying to make is slightly above eye level when you are standing on the nightstand. I am so sore, all the yoga in the world cannot fix the muscles that ache right now.

Evil exterior walls

I went to be a little upset, not least because the Grige was in studio until 3:00 am and I am oh, so very lonely. So I finished reading How to be a Woman by Caitlin Moran, went to sleep, and got up this morning ready for another try. A successful try, if you will...

It's odd, when the Grige and I first moved in together, I was a little sad that I never really had the chance to live on my own. I had lived with roommates, housemates, in dorms, on pull-out couches, but never truly by myself. It's not really a feasible option in a city like DC, and only ever regretted that opportunity a little bit.  But now, in my first year of marriage, I get my chance. No Grige to hang things, or hang out with me, and I am 100% in charge of dealing with the apartment.

So I fired up the old computer, and downloaded sketchup, took the first few tutorials and drew a mock-up of our kitchen wall. Three hours later I turned four crumbling nail holes into actual hanging pictures in our bedroom and our kitchen wall in to a montage of art that doesn't really work anywhere else. I'll share a better picture once I get one more frame delivered.

Fun Wall!

The thing is, I never expected to be dancing around to The Boss alone in my apartment with a bandana on my head, a beer in my hand and a hammer and a drill hanging off my belt. I thought my chance for this experience had passed my by when the Grige popped a ring on my finger. So yes, things aren't ideal right now. But so far, our marriage is the gift that keeps on giving, just so long as you can sort through the frustration to find them. 

A New Wedding Theme...

I have been obsessed with wedding themes lately, perhaps as a way to pass off the stress of our impending wedding. We didn't spend much time thinking about a theme, it just sort of seemed obvious. We both love green, and the outdoors, and the ceremony would be taking place under a willow: Boom! "A Walk in the Woods".

I like to think that if the Grige wasn't a designer, and totally into our wedding not being one giant joke, I would have had a more creative theme. My favorite until yesterday was "Finding Nemo". I imagine decorations sort of like the dance scene in Back to the Future, fish as centerpieces, seafood on the menu, a whale sounds dinner soundtrack, a first dance to "Under the Sea" from The Little Mermaid, bridesmaids in orange dresses with white stripes, seaweed bouquets, guys in orange ties... The list goes on and on. It would have been awesome, just saying. Also, decor and details would have been easy, because kid's movies make it their business to make sure there is more movie paraphenalia out there then a bride could possibly know what to do with.

Just Keep Swimming!
Source: Dinsney Pixar, www.disney.co.uk

Then, yesterday, I found the most amazing website on the planet and decided that I really should have thrown a "Cow" wedding. Moo Moo to you too! http://www.cowdepot.com/. I'm not even going to embed that link because I want you to go to the website that badly. Check out the "cow party" section (which is a grillion pages long) and let your imagination run wild. Country music would fit well with this, as would a "cow pie" wedding cake (aka: giant brownie) and bottled beer (in cow coozies, no less).

Mooooo

So there. I have planned two weddings for you. Have fun.

The theme fixation doesn't stop there. I'm starting to feel like our theme is evolving to something like "it's the thought that counts". I know, you're thinking that is a weird theme, but let me tell you why. About a week ago, I was planning to get ahead of the game and send all of the Grige's and my important documentation up to Michigan so that we wouldn't lose it in the move before applying for our marriage license. Luckily, before I sent, I opened the envelope with "THE GRIGE'S BIRTH CERTIFICATE" written on it in giant print. And guess what. It was empty. So now, the Grige will spend his last two days on the East Coast running around Maryland trying to get a new birth certificate. Fun times. Something tells me that it's not going to happen.

If that were all, it might just be funny. We'd get officially married at city hall in St. Louis in October or November, which would be kind of fun, and everything would be fine. Except that it's not all. I noticed yesterday that my wedding band (which I ordered 2 weeks ago) hadn't shipped yet. I called the jeweler, and guess what? They never placed the order. Gahhhhhhhh. In the best case scenario, the ring will arive the day before the wedding. Something tells me that is not going to happen either. Womp Womp.

Good thing I have a solution!
Photo: Chad Fisk

So now, we are most likely going to be missing two of the most fundamental and legally significant aspects of the wedding, which makes me very sad. But hey, "it's the thought that counts", right guys? ha. ha. ha.

 

Remember When I Said We Could Handle Moving and Marrying in the same Month?

Actually, I don't think I ever wrote that. I knew this would be stressful, but then stuff like the last 48 hours comes flying out of nowhere and knocks us both on our asses.

I talk a lot about how different the Grige and I are. Different personalities, different coping styles, different talents, strengths, communication styles and backgrounds. It makes for a lot of good variety in our life, and generally, I love it. But sometimes I worried that we didn't have enough in common to make for a strong marriage. Because everyone has fears like that, and it's hard to be in love with someone who is oh, so very different from you.

There is one major way that we are exactly the same, and I didn't even realize it until earlier this very summer. We are both kind-hearted, generous people who generally (and somewhat naively) assume that everyone else is nice and sharing and gives people the benefit of the doubt too. You may be surprised to hear that this is not always the case, and sometimes we get yelled at, scolded, bullied - whatever you want to call it - by people who are not quite so nice and innocent as we are. But that's not even the thing we have in common!

Packing... and Cooking Creatively.

The thing we really have in common is the fact that these interactions with people who treat us rudely and accuse us of generally being "up to no good" really de-rail both of us in very physical and personal ways. We are genuinely hurt, to the point of feeling ill, having trouble eating and sleeping, and even breaking out in a rash (that's just me, not the Grige), when people assume we're looking for a fight or trying to undermine their authority and treat us disrespectfully as a result. I know people who can just let things like that roll right off their backs, but the Grige and I are just not those people. Instead, we lie in bed next to each other all night, staring at the ceiling with our minds racing over what we could have done wrong/what we can do to fix it.

To sum up, we don't have a problem with authority or rules, and when we find ourselves in the wrong, we're willing to accept responsibility and correct our actions. We desperately want to follow the rules and we actually, physically need to be validated for doing so. How do we want to be validated? you might ask... Well, we want to be given the benefit of the doubt that we don't go around trying to make life hard for people and that any wrong-doing on our part is an honest mistake that we want to fix.

Photo: Jeanine Finch

So right now, we're not sleeping much and are generally very distressed about a problem with the condo board in our building (which, by the way, refuses to speak with us directly, even though we are NEIGHBORS, making it very hard for concerns to be addressed for either party) and our moving plans. The passive-aggressive nasty-ness and dictatorial manner have beaten both of us into sniveling, sleepless little heaps of pity while we try to deal with an ever-growing pile of wedding stuff.

Montello Condo Board! If you guys are reading this - we really want to follow your (stupid and kind of crazy) rules! Just stop yelling at us already! We are only asking questions!

Some people might say that we should just hunker down, get through the move, pay whatever psycho fines we're assessed and NEVER EVER RENT IN A CONDO BUILDING EVER EVER EVER. Generally, I agree with them. Don't do it. I know the unit is beautiful, and competitively priced, but just don't, okay? No one likes being a second class citizen, especially in their own home. And, you can live there when you are ready to buy.

However, that's not the moral of the story here. The moral of the story is that even though things are very very dark and sucky and stressful right now, I'm kind of glad this is all happening. Because it is infinitely comforting to me to know that the man I'm going to marry shares my deep, ingrained, desire to do the right thing, and to treat people (and be treated) fairly and honestly. And to know that those things are so important to him that he's up all night with knots in his stomach and eyes on the ceiling right next to me? It's priceless.

May your wedding planning be filled with slightly less stressful and upsetting reminders of why you are marrying your partner.

Terrific Ten

WHOOOOO! My first foray into the double digits was a success! I took advantage of the blessedly cool 85 degree weather in DC on Saturday morning to tackle my new personal distance record. I started rather later than I had planned on since our varied states of packing make food preparation an exercise in McGuyver skills. I had a slice of peanut butter toast (after using my finger as a knife), packed up my water bottle and shotblocks, and headed for the door.

Bikers rule!

Not for the first (or last) time, I didn’t really research my mileage before -hand very thoroughly. I had a vague idea of where I wanted to go, but trusted mostly to the signage in the Rock Creek Park and my strong knowledge of the mileage around my apartment to triangulate my distance. I kind of like this strategy, because it keeps me mentally engaged through the whole run. I’m constantly thinking of how far I’ve gone, and adding up the various tidbits of distance information I pick up along the way, like trail signs, timing, and known distances. I ran:

2 miles from my apartment to the zoo – the first two thirds of my regular morning run

1.7 miles from the zoo to Beach Drive – via information on a trail sign at the intersection right after Pierce Mill

1.5 miles to the ranger station out Beach Drive (which is closed down for bikers and runners on Saturdays, yay!)

Turn around

1.5 miles back down Beach Drive

1.7 miles back to the zoo

2 miles from the zoo to my apartment

= 10.4 miles in 1:58:26

I’m discovering that I like to keep my long runs a little on the long side. I already know that the marathon I picked is a Boston Qualifier, which almost certainly means it will be long. I also don’t really trust trail markers or Map My Run to get my mileage right, and I’d rather be safe than sorry. Not necessarily knowing where I’ll go beforehand is really freeing for a control freak like me, and I’m really proud of myself for being able to let go like this. It’s a welcome break from all of the other over-planned aspects of my life right now. I’m sure I’ll have to do more planning when I’m running in strange cities, or when my mileage starts getting long enough that I can’t count on trail signs and familiar territory to sustain my full distance. For now, I’m really enjoying it.

A map of the Zoo, via the National Zoo website. I run by th petting zoo with the cows and donkeys.

I was also proud of myself for staying on pace and finishing in under 2 hours. This included 2 water breaks and a bathroom break, since I’m learning to just let my watch run. Anyway, I’m still going to need those “breaks” during the marathon, so why set my pacing up for failure? I want to just feel great about finishing, so I’m trying to keep my expectations as reasonable as possible. I don’t think there’s much sense in running my first marathon for a goal time, though under 5 hours would be great.

As for the run itself, I thought the first 3 miles really sucked. It was hot, and I was instantly sick of running and just felt stiff and icky. Luckily, there were lots of people out running as well, and I got lots of encouraging smiles and waves from them. This is probably a sure sign that I looked miserable, but it succeeded in making me feel better. My first water break was just over 3 miles in, and that’s when the run started to turn around. I had a very fast  and fun mile 4, 5, 6 and 7. I took shotblocks at mile 4.5 and mile 6.5. They tasted great, but it was really hard to get the package open with how sweaty I was. I will definitely remember to rip open the package before I leave home next time! Overall, I think I just need to remind myself that it’s okay to start slower for long runs and remember that the fun almost never starts until after mile 4. I remember someone telling this to me once a few years ago and thinking that I would never be able to run more than 4 consecutive miles. Ahhhhhhh, perspective. If only I had listened.

Just like usual, the last 2 miles were brutal, mostly due to hills. I think it also means that my pace is good though – I don’t like finishing these longer runs with lots of fuel in the tank. I always find myself wondering how I will possibly handle the next week’s long run while I’m tackling that last hill. 12 miles next week seems insurmountable from the middle of that stupid hill. I guess we’ll just have to see!

So now, an uncomfortable confession: I get pretty sick right after I run more than a few miles if I’m not extremely careful of what I eat. And sometimes, even then… It would appear that my gut just really protests being bounced and shaken around for two hours. Since part of the deal with this marathon training is getting to know and fuel my body better, I’ve been experimenting with how best to prevent the violent rebellion after each long run. I had a glass of Tang right when I got home, and danced around the boxes in our living room to cool down, and stretched in the shower, so far so good. I had another glass of water while I got dressed, but knew I was going to need more calories before we left to hang out at a friend’s house. About an hour post-run, I had a small salad with almonds, dried cherries and feta. And immediately regretted the decision. In the grand scheme, the whole episode only made us about an hour late, but it still pisses me off that my body should be so upset with me about doing things that are good for it. I like running, but the long runs take a large enough chunk out of my day without adding an additional two hours of being chained to the bathroom. I’ve toyed with my diet, and the only thing that seems to keep it under control is just not eating for a few hours after a long run, which makes me cranky, because I’m HUNGRY after those things. Smoothies do seem to be better than real food, so I’m sticking with them for now and hoping that my body just adjusts as time goes on. Grrrrrrrr.

And then I ate this, and lived happily ever after.

A (Good) Step Back

So last week was a “step-back” week in marathon training, and not very exciting. But I don’t want anyone think I am giving up so soon, so I will write about it anyway.

It was kind of disappointing to me to run such a light week, but it was probably a good thing with the holiday tucked into the middle of the week there. Sneaky, sneaky holiday. I need to remind myself that these step-back weeks are packed in for a reason: my body needs to recover. I’m glad I took full advantage and look forward to crushing 10 miles this Saturday.

Also, my Tuesday maintenance run last week was AWFUL. My legs hurt so much, I probably walked over 1/3 of my 3 miles, which made me sad after how triumphant my 9 mile longrun was. I took Wednesday off and drank too many G&T’s instead. Thinking rest had cured me, I hit the dreadmill on Thursday to try to address any stride problems that might be causing my ankle/calf/shin pain. It was a total bust and I gave up after a slow and gimpy mile to hit the stationary bike. I did almost 20 miles and felt pretty good afterwards. Cross training rocks.

After having such a rough training week and knowing that it was going to be another hot hot hot weekend, I opted to do my “long” (only 5 miles) run on the dreadmill on Friday evening. I actually executed a fantastic 5 miles at 11 min/mile pace and only took one short walking break to drink. My legs bothered me a bit at the beginning of the run, but I pushed through and they loosened up by mile 2. I think the difference was that I dragged my Boston 3’s into work in place of my minimal New Balances. The moral of the story may be that my crazy pronating feet just aren’t able to handle this amount of mileage without more support.

Boston 3's

So far, I’ve been running all of my long runs in the bulkier Adidas Boston 3’s, but still breaking out the NB Minimus trail shoes for my 3 milers. Those days are over. The NB’s will still be great for biking, hiking and lifting, and maybe even as race shoes for 10ks and shorter, but their days of regular running are over for me.

Beautiful NB 10 Trail's

Sadly, even the Adidas are probably a little on the “light and fluffy” side for the kind of mileage I’m about to start taking on, since they’re more of a marathon racing shoe. I’m thinking of retiring them until race day after I successfully break into the double digits this weekend. I figure that then I can invest in some hefty training oriented shoes and save the beautifully broken-in Adidas for shorter runs and race day. Yay!

So that’s where we are after a step-back week. I jump up to 5 mile maintenance runs and a 10 mile long run this weekend, so wish me luck!

Warp Speed!

So the end of May and beginning of June has been a WHILRWIND! I'll take you for a quick run through.

First, we had a great long weekend with my parents. They haven't been to visit in DC too many times since I moved here, so it was great to have them. They stayed in a lovely little B&B about a block and a half from our apartment. *Pro-tip: When visiting a big city, B&B's can be a great way to not only stay in a BEAUTIFUL home in a convenient location, but are also often a great deal cheaper than conventional hotels. Not by a ton, but this place was about half the cost of the Hilton that sits 2 blocks away from it. And I doubt the Hilton had a claw-footed bath tub or private veranda with french doors (I kind of wanted to move into this place...) If you're planning a visit to the DC area, we can't recommend the Taft Bridge Inn highly enough.

We had a great weekend including kayaking on the Potomac from Jack's Boathouse, checking out the new outdoor installation film at the Hirshorn museum and, of course, meeting the Grige's parents. The highlight of the weekend was our Couple's Shower, thrown by my amazing Aunts and hosted by my cousin Abbie.

Jeanine, the Grige, me and Jennifer
Jeanine and Jennifer are my beloved cousins and wedding "day-of coordinators"
Jeanine also took our amazing engagement photos, check her out at www.jfinchphoto.wordpress.com

I thought that the whole "opening presents in front of people" part of showers would be really awkward. I don't really lik events that are focused on me. The Grige, however, loves to be the center of attention, so we balanced this event really well. I had a great time seeing our families mingle for the first time.

Memorial weekend was the Grige's big chance to memorialize his bachelor-hood. He headed off to a secluded cabin in the Shenandoah Valley with 10 smelly dudes for 3 long, hot, humid nights.

A Very Manly Grige

It sounded like a pretty awful weekend from the perspective of any normal person, but I'm pretty sure it was the bachelor party of my little mountain nerd's dreams. They dropped him on a trail with 4 hours to finish 6 miles with a mind task or feat of strength at every mile marker. He came back with an ankle the size of a grapefruit and the color of a plum and a grin as wide as the grand canyon. I guess if he couldn't complete a task, he had to drink some 4 loco... and 4 loco plus running in the woods = broken grige. It didn't stop him though. not for a minute.

I, on the other hand, used my long weekend freedom to bike all over DC in a bathing suit (it was HOT), check out the community pool in Potomac Park (I hesitate to publish this, because it was so refreshing and un-crowded....), and give stand-up paddle-boarding a try with my friend Dawn. The Grige had also captured her manfriend Tom for the weekend, so we were flying solo.

I have to say, paddle boarding is fun, and easy and about five minutes after I got on the board, I got inspired to try this:



Photo: Yogaqua
http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/health/Paddleboard-Yoga-128036608.html

Not sure if it's safe, but I couldn't stop thinking about trying some yoga moves while we were out on the water. I was even more surprised to see that it's becoming a bit of a fad! I hope the trend moves east quickly and that I can take a class this summer. It seems like the ultimate balance and strength training.

Dawn, our California beach babe

We followed our strenuous workout with some sun and secret champagne on the dock. The view was also killer:

The View from Jack's Boathouse

I suppose DC summers can be okay after all. You just have to beat the heat. This was definitely more fun than draping myself over an air conditioner for whole weekend.

We took June by storm by opening with a busy week at work and a the Northface Endurance Challenge 10k. The course was a little wimpy to be called an endurance challenge, but there was enough mud to keep us busy and the course was fun, fast and flat. I ran with my friend Marissa.

Post Race. Wooooooot!

We finished in just over 1 hour, which blew my goal of finishing in under 1:30 min out of the water. I've never run more than 3 miles without a walking break before, but running with Marissa really encouraged me to keep moving and stay on pace. I've previously been against running with a buddy, but this race proved me all kinds of wrong. I suppose I will start finding some friends to train with. Just not the Grige. We all know how that ends.....

Strong Finish, Muddy shoes.

On the wedding front, we sent out our invitations! I'm working on turning the extra's into a little art surprise for the Grige, so I'll do a big reveal of that later on. For now, let me say that they are gorgeous and definitely my current favorite part of the wedding. I just love the way they came out, and they proved that it was definitely worth the extra $$ to get letterpressing done. It also means so much that the design is all the Grige's! I keep badgering him to open an Etsy shop. Someday....

So things are showing no sign of slowing down. I'll hopefully be back soon with some more introspection on wedding planning since we are (GASP!) 2 months away now!!!! I can definitely feel the "f*ck it" train rolling into the station. I hope I can finish my lone craft project before it arrives.