Currently: July

Current Book - Cutting For Stone -- Abraham Verghese (so far, so good!) 

Current Celebrity Crush - Tom Colicchio (when I googled to find a photo, I found this! Haha. I have never seen him with hair!) There is just something about a guy that can cook. He is sometimes a bit sarcastic, but then he will say something so nice 2 minutes later.

source

Current Drink -  Creamsicle -- 8 oz Orange Juice, 2 tbsp plain yogurt, ice. Blend up and enjoy!

Current Excitement -  This weekend K and A and the babe are coming to have a beach day with us! I can't wait to take them to my favorite burrito place! Or maybe that pupusa place I have been wanting to try.

Current fashion trend - I bought a couple of brightly colored tops, which I wear with jeans when I am feeling frisky. I wear it with these shoes.

Current Favorite Blog/Website - You've probably already heard of it, but I really love Read it Later, which is now called Pocket. It allows you to "bookmark" a page to read later offline or transfer to your eReader to read at a later date. It is also very easily searchable. I use it a ton! 
 

Current Favorite Film - I went to the movies and saw To Rome With Love. It was okay but not great. Other than that, I haven't seen a movie in AGES. 

Curent Food - Steel cut oats. I have them almost every day for breakfast. With whatever fresh fruit I have on hand, plus craisins, chia and sesame seeds, it's so good!

Current Guilty Pleasure - Booze. I normally don't drink very much, but lately I have had a few nights where there have been one too many glasses of wine. It's been great but it's making me a lot less motivated to run the next day!

Current Indulgence - Dunkin Donuts Iced Coffee. I am still trying to figure out how to order though. Since when does "light on the cream" mean EXTRA cream?

Current Mood - Good!

Current New Find - The store down the street from me has the best bulk aisle. They have pretty much anything you could ask for -- spices, baking products, herbs, nuts, seeds, grains...you name it. It's so great when I need a bit of cinnamon for a recipe to be able to just get $0.13 worth!

Current Outfit -  Right now? I am in my pajamas. Pants are overrated.

Current Peeve -  People who are untidy/unorganized. I had a dream last night about it. I started a new job as a manager and the place I took over was a mess! 

Current Song - I have that Payphone song stuck in my head. I don't LOVE it, but there it is.

Current Triumph - I ran every day this week so far. I know it's only Wednesday, but I will take my triumphs where I can get them! 

Current TV Show - Top Chef Season I

Current Wish-List - I want a new iPhone. Little by little, things on mine are slowing down/stopping.

Currently Delaying - Buying a new iPhone. I figure I will use the old one until it's gone completely.

What's currently going on in your life? Do you like Top Chef? Do you ever shop in the bulk aisle?

Monday Misc

- The other day I met up with Jill and B for a couple of drinks and some chatter. We had a bunch of great conversations, one of which was the fact that Jill did not put on pants and I was wearing a sports bra. B was of the mind that we should have both tried harder to look presentable, but I was happy that Jill and I were of the same mind set. I guess what I am trying to say is that most bloggers I have met have been exactly how they seemed like they would be from their blogs. Thank goodness. I hope that I am the same!

- Speaking of other bloggers, I don't think I mentioned S & R. I have probably talked about them before, since they were the ones who gave us the tent. We met this couple while traveling in Malawi a couple of years ago. They were nice and fun and we ended up hanging out together for a few days before parting ways. We have kept in touch and VOILA, last week they had a wedding to go to in Santa Cruz and they came and stayed with us and we had a great time! This is why I love travel. You meet people that are kindred spirits. You invite them to come and stay with you and you MEAN IT! It's great.

- I don't have TV at home. No TV. No cable. No satellite. I like it this way. This is not strange to me. I grew up without TV and never really got into the habit of watching TV as a way to wind down. Don't talk to me about Gilligan's Island. I know there is a hot girl and a sailor, but I am not sure about the rest of the show. A lot of people find this weird. I find it weird that we have gotten so used to having TV that it seems strange NOT to have one. I am not saying that if you do have one and/or watch it that there is anything wrong with that. I am not saying that I don't watch Top Chef from time to time. I am just saying that there is a lot of crap on TV these days and I don't want to get sucked into it. And I would, because I DO have an addictive personality. So I just avoid it all together.

- I have not felt like running lately. I still want to run, but I don't really want to do the work. I want the effect I get from running, because afterward I always feel great, but I am feeling super, SUPER lazy and unmotivated these days. I think I hit a tiny training wall. Luckily last week was a step back week, so hopefully I will start this week off on the right foot!

- Right now for book club, we are reading Cutting for Stone. I am about half way through. So far, so good! Have you read it? What do you think? No spoilers!

How was your weekend? Do you ever meet up again with people from  your travels? What about blog friends? Do they seem the way they portray on their blogs?

Just Call Me Baby

I have a confession to make. I eat baby food. It makes me run fast.

I was volunteering for a 50k a couple of months ago and in the process met some great guys who put up with my incessant questions about Ultra Racing. What do you eat? How often do you train? How many miles do you go for your long runs? Do you walk up all the hills? What is a good time for a __k? How much water do you carry? What shoes do you use? They were very patient with me. We ran 20 miles together; they had no choice.

I learned...they run runs by the hour, not the mile. For instance, on the weekend, they may go for a 4 hour run, regardless of the number of miles. I learned that they mostly use hydration VESTS, rather than belts. I learned that they use Montrail and Asics and Some Weird Shoe with a bigger heel. And, as far as fueling, I learned that some of them eat baby food.

So I tried it. I tried a few different kinds. Each were apple based and were in those squeezable packages. I know, it's landfill, but I am only using one a week at the most. Here are a few I tried.

Target Up and Up Brand Baby Food -- 1 x 3.5 oz $0.79 each  -- $0.23/oz
Trader Joes Crushers -- 4 x 3.17 oz packs for $2.99 ($0.75 each -- $0.24/oz)
Safeway Brand Squeeze Applesauce -- 4 x 3.17 oz packs for $2.50 ($0.63 each -- $0.20/oz)**

The results? I love it. It goes down MUCH easier than Gu (which I am not a huge fan of but will use if I need to). It's about 50 calories per pouch, so you may need to carry several, which could be a drawback. I used them in tangent with my other favorite fuel, honey stinger chews. I take a shot of applesauce around the 1 hour mark and a few chews about an hour afterward (2 hr mark) and probably about a half an hour after that (2.5 hr mark). I've never been big on fuel, and so far, this seems to work for me. I may start to carry two of them (hey, that's why I wear a bra, right?) and take them on the hours and the chews on the half hour. Who knows. I still have three 20+ mile runs ahead of me to test it out.

What kind is the best? Seriously, just go with **the cheapest one. They all taste the same to me. Just make sure there is no added sugar. They should be made from fruit, which is already naturally sweet!

Now that I mentioned this, you may wonder why I need to worry about all this stuff. It's because I got a wild hair and finally signed up for my first ultra (after hemming and hawing and watching the price rise and the number of available spots drop!) Which one!? It's the Skyline 50k which is right near my place in Oakland! Click the icon to go to the site!

The race is on August 12. That means I have about one month to complain, ask more questions, be nervous, get over my fear train! I have decided NOT to buy new shoes. I will probably wear my regular old Asics that I have been wearing on the street and trails for the last few months. I am still not sure about a hydration vest. I am not sure I need the water, but the added storage pockets may be nice. Also, for my marathon training, I still have 2 more 20 milers. I can decide whether to do one of them on trails in preparation for the 50k. Does anyone have any advice for these issues? 

Don't forget to stop by Jill's for more Fitness Friday posts!  Also, happy FRIDAY the 13th!


Have you ever eaten baby food? If people ask you lots of questions about something you are knowledgeable about, is it annoying or flattering?

A Weird One

Yesterday was a weird day. First thing in the morning, I got into a stupid argument (when are they not stupid!) with Mr. L. We made up quickly but it's still not the best way to start your morning. After that I was low on patience. I decided to go for a run to shake it off. Instead of it getting better, at first I just got more annoyed. WHY are these families taking up the entire sidewalk with their dogs and their coolers and their pool noodles and their 17 kids? WHY do they have so many kids anyway!? Why can't people have a low number of well behaved kids who stay off the middle of the sidewalk?!

Why is this car parked on the shoulder? Don't they know the shoulder is for bikes and runners, NOT for your convenience so you can be 20 feet closer to the beach so you don't have to walk your dog and your cooler and your 17 kids and your pool noodle that much farther!? Why should I have to suffer because you decided to come to my neighborhood today? You probably need the extra 20 feet of exercise because I bet your cooler is stuffed with hot dogs and Cheetos and sugary sodas anyway!

It was not my day. I was being totally negative. In my head of course.

I am passive aggressive. I would probably never actually say anything to anyone. Actually the other day I really and truly ACCIDENTALLY bumped into one of the bathing suit clad ladies carrying a pool noodle. The reason I bumped into her is because the pool noodle is kind of long and I was trying to devise a strategy for getting around her as I was coming up behind her. I mean, do you go to the right around the shorter end of the noodle, or to the left around the bigger end? I decided to go left, as you normally would when passing a slower moving vehicle. Just as I was about to go around her, she swung herself, and the noodle, around and I kind of rammed into her elbow/the noodle. On accident. Then of course I felt bad, as if she wasn't taking up the entire sidewalk with her noodle AND making moves without giving any warning.

But yesterday was not that day. I swerved around the kids by going into the bushes on the side. I jumped over the dog leashes, did the crip walk (<------ if you don't know what this is, you have to click here and imagine me in my running shorts doing this on the sidewalk) around the coolers and did the limbo under the pool noodles.

I got halfway through my run and my calf was hurting. It had been hurting for several days. In fact, I cut my run short on Sunday and skipped my run on Monday and Tuesday because of it. It was probably karma. When  I reached the turn around point, I was in Capitola, which is a little beach town near Santa Cruz. I decided to take a break and "ice" my calf...in the ocean. So I did. I took off my shoes and waded in. I stood there for about 15 minutes, just enjoying the COLD water, the sun, the waves, and yes, even the families and their pool noodles. Afterward, I sat in the sun and dried off a bit. And saw this.

Just so you know, there were tons of people in the water -- "swimming, surfing and doing other water sports". Tons of kids actually. Not so many parents. Maybe the parents are as sick of their kids this summer as I am. Oh my gosh, I am just kidding! Wow. Don't get all riled up.

How embarrassing; you can see my sock tan line.

Anyway...sitting there, watching the waves, listening to the sound of people enjoying themselves and thinking about things restored my inner peace. I know it sounds kind of hippie-dippy, but really, after a bit of a run and some sun and sand and water (and thinking about all the pool noodles getting eaten by sharks), I was in a much better mood. The second half of my run was much better. EVEN THOUGH I still had to do the crip walk from time to time!

Who needs mood altering drugs? I have exercise and fresh air. Sometimes they just takes a little longer to take effect. 

What do you do when you are in a funk? Why do you think we let certain things get to us? If you don't let things get to you, what's your secret?

Cabbage

I am on a cabbage kick lately. I used to only think of it as:

(a) something very soft and mushy that comes with corned beef (ps I actually like it this way too!)
(b) something that gets thrown at you at the St. Patty's Day parade in New Orleans (yes, you pick it up off the ground and then cook it according to situation a)
(c) something that was in nasty, mayonnaise filled, sweet, gross coleslaw. I always hated coleslaw.

BUT.

During my travels I have seen it in many a dish, so I thought I would try to experiment a bit. I have to admit, Mr. Lovely also spurned this, as we went to a Vietnamese place and got their cabbage salad and he asked me if I could make it for him. So I did.

Mr. Lovely's Vietnamese Salad

1/2 head of cabbage, shredded
2 medium carrots, grated
Several Basil Leaves, chopped
Peanuts, ground

Sauce:
1/4 cup rice vinegar
Squirt of Sriracha (hot!) 
1 heaping tsp minced ginger (I'm lazy. I use this)
salt to taste
1 tsp sugar/honey (or more to taste)

Optional: 1 tbsp peanut butter / 1 tsp finely minced garlic / chopped broccoli

Mix everything together. Eat. Enjoy. Simple and tangy and crunchy! This will even last for a few days in the fridge without losing it's crunch. This is also really good on a fish taco instead of lettuce!

Trying to Make Teriyaki Stir Fry

Sometimes I try things and I don't have all the ingredients but it comes out just fine! This was my attempt to do teriyaki chicken, but I didn't have soy sauce, which you may know is the main ingredient in teriyaki sauce, but it ended up turning out pretty good actually.

3 - 5 baby bok choy, quartered
1/4 cabbage head, shredded
1/2 yellow onion, diced
1 carrot, diced
1 celery stalk, diced
4 mushrooms
2 chicken breasts, diced

For not really teriyaki sauce (here is the real recipe in case you would rather make that):
1/4 cup water
2 tbsp flour (recipe calls for cornstarch)
3 tbsp brown sugar
1 minced garlic clove
1 tsp ginger

In small saucepan, put all sauce elements. Heat slowly, stirring frequently. Once sauce reaches desired thickness, take off heat (about 10 minutes). Heat large pan. Once hot, add oil of choice. Add chicken. Once chicken is browned, add veggies. Let cook for about 5 minutes, until veggies are cooked but still crisp. Add "teriyaki" sauce. Eat. Enjoy.

I admit, it may have been better with soy sauce, but it was still really good without it! It just wasn't teriyaki!

So, cabbage is not just for gross coleslaw! In fact, I even have discovered that all coleslaw is not gross! I think my next cabbage attempt will be sauerkraut! I love sauerkraut!

Do you have a favorite cabbage recipe? Do you like coleslaw? Have you ever thrown a cabbage or had one thrown at you?

Tuesday Training (3)

I know some of you get bored with training posts, so, if that is the case, instead of reading the below post, read THIS, about the time I missed the bus in Argentina due to an unknown time change and met a local in the process.  Week 1 - 4 and Week 5 - 8 can be found by clicking the links <----.
 
Santa Rosa Marathon Training -- Week 9 to Week 11

Week 9: Luckily this was a step-back week, because I was really not feeling it. I had to go to the city on Thursday and it threw off my run for that day. Saturday was a stress ball day of broken cars and Sunday was the drive to Oregon, which meant 8 hours in the car. This week was a lot of trail running, which some may consider "junk" miles, but I call them hill workouts!

Monday: 1 hour of P90x Core
Tuesday: 13.1 mile trail run @ 10:20 pace
Wednesday: 8.5 mile trail run @ 10:13 pace
Thursday: Rest
Friday: 8.2 mile trail run @ 10:09 pace
Saturday: 6 miles @ 8:20 pace
Sunday: Rest

Total Miles: Goal 35.6 / Actual 35.5 / Long Run 13.1

Week 10: This week I was in Oregon until Friday, which I thought would cause me to have LESS miles, but in fact, with three ladies trying to get ready plus a baby to get ready, feed and give naps to, there ended up being extra free time, which I used to run. Also, my friend is trying to get back into running, so I also did run/walk intervals with her. I put them in parenthesis.

Monday: 7 miles @ 7:40 pace (+ 3 miles @ 12:53)
Tuesday: 2 miles @ 7:15 pace (+ 3.5 miles @ 13:36)
Wednesday: 9 miles @ 8:03 pace
Thursday: 9.5 miles @ 8:43 pace (on Peterson Ridge Trail -- mostly flat)
Friday: (3.75 miles @ 14:14 pace) Flight home
Saturday: 19 miles @ 8:40 pace (8:20 - 9:20 is the pace suggested by McMillan for my long runs)
Sunday: Rest

Total Miles: Goal 47 / Actual 56 (*my highest ever!) / Long Run 19

Week 11:  This week was a difficult one, physically and mentally. First of all, I went out and had a few drinks on Sunday, so I took Monday off. Then there was 4th of July and more drinks, so I took Thursday off. My schedule calls for 6 days of running, but I often combine the two shorter ones (this week it was 4 and 5) so I can have two rest days. This week I needed them! Wine + little sleep Does Not = happy runner.

Monday: Rest
Tuesday: 10 miles @ 9:05 pace
Wednesday: 9 miles @ 8:22 pace
Thursday: Rest
Friday: 6 miles @ 8:26 pace
Saturday: 20 miles @ 8:58 pace
Sunday: 8 miles @ 9:54 pace (my legs were SO tired from the long run. Remind me to keep Sunday as my rest day if my long run is going to be on Saturday. This was NOT a fun run. McMillan suggests a recovery pace of 9:20 - 9:50, so I missed my mark on this one).

Total Miles: Goal 54.5 / Actual 53 / Long Run 20

Luckily this means next week is another step back week because I will be traveling again and who knows what the conditions will be. I have to admit, I know that I am SUPER lucky to be training in a place where the high usually doesn't reach the 70s. I am a bit worried that the marathon is going to be HOT and I am going to keel over because I am not accustomed to it. So this weekend there may be a few hot training runs just as a test to see how I will do. Wish me luck!

Taken from Running Ahead

Verdict? 20 miles is not that bad anymore. What IS bad is the run the day after. I think I need to have a short run on Friday (or a rest day) and a rest day on Sunday (or a shorter run). I also don't know how some people can run 100 miles a week when training. I am pretty tired. My feet are tender. I have listened to all the This American Life episodes and 3 audio books. What keeps me going? Views like the one in the photo above. If I was running 20 miles on the street or a bike path or in the heat, I would be an emotional wreck.

A quick note on fueling. Jelly beans? Too sweet, but good because I can take one by one when I want them. Gu? Sticks in my belly UNLESS I eat it over the course of several miles which is okay but can get messy (I fold it and tuck it into my wrist band).  Nuun? So far, so good, but I think better to take before or after rather than during, since I just don't like sweet stuff while I am running. I also found that watering it down a bit helps. I have a new favorite fuel, but I think it deserves it's own post, so stay tuned!

Also, congratulations to Amber, a fellow marathoner and blogger who just got married yesterday!

Are you training for anything? When you travel, do you exercise less or more? What is your favorite distance to run?

I scream, you scream...

My iPhone Case Designs

New Popsicle Party Print

SHOP - My Society6 Boutique

we all scream for...iPhone cases!! Well, probably not, but I certainly had a blast putting these designs together for my Society6 Shop.

Oh my darlings, I'm ashamed it has once again taken me a decade to post something new on my beloved blog. But, as I'm sure you know, so much has (and continues) to go on behind the scenes. I don't want to disclose anything just yet, but I will say that after three very lonnnggg years of working my a$$ off in New York, things are finally starting to payoff. I'm having one of the most exciting and rewarding summers yet. There are still a few hoops to jump through to get to my next move but at least I'm having an absolute blast in NYC along the way.

So apart from promoting my new iPhone case designs I also wanted to propose just how important it is to never stop believing in yourself. Having hope and perseverance is 90% of the battle. Odds are, if you don't stop trying, something is eventually going to click ;)!! Wishing you all a beautiful sun-kissed week!!

Much love,
Meag xx