Who Would Run Eighteen Miles for Fun?

When thinking about fun things to do on the weekend I’m sure all of us think about running eighteen miles.  Nothing is more delightful than going to bed early Friday night, getting up early Saturday morning, bundling yourself in running clothes and running eighteen miles in below freezing weather. That’s what I was thinking last Friday when I was getting ready for my eighteen-mile, training run on Saturday.  I was so excited about this run that I didn’t get much sleep the night before. Excitement is my middle name (not really but it should be).  I’ve never run that distance, all at once, in my life. Sure, I’ve logged eighteen miles over the course of a week, but never all at once, straight through, in the same day.  

Yes, I’m training for a marathon. I’m still not sure why I thought that I should even try to run a marathon, but I think it had something to do with oxygen deprivation of the brain (all the oxygen going to my legs) and an overdose of endorphins during my last half-marathon race.  Oh, and don’t forget that cute, little, oval sticker that says“26.2” that I would be able to stick on my mini-van.  And it even comes in pink!  I can just see myself running through the finish line saying, “I did it all for the sticker.”  Seriously, though, I’m really running the race for the Team in Training program (TNT) to help raise funds for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (and for the STICKER!).

Thinking about running eighteen miles is one thing; looking at the route on a map is another.  When you’re thinking about running eighteen miles, the distance is just a number, like in math.  I’m so glad I learned math because it certainly was useful to know that eighteen was simply 16+2.  And, I had already gone on a sixteen mile run two weeks ago, so it was comforting to know that I was only going two miles farther than I had gone before—that was until I looked at the route on a map.  Then reality hit me really hard. “I’m doing what?”  I told myself.  Only a crazy person would think that running that route was a reasonable thing to do.  I didn’t come up with the route, some TNT coach did, so I knew that I wasn’t the crazy person.

Although it was bitterly cold and there was a wind, it was sunny and I found the weather to be perfect for running (that’s code for I tried not to think about it).  I had my MP3 player with a new playlist.  I was wearing three pairs of running pants, two pairs of gloves, a long sleeve shirt, a fleece vest, a jacket, a hat, wool socks and a pair of shoes.  Believe me, if it would’ve been possible to wear two pairs of shoes, I would’ve done it.  You see, I’m always cold, even when running, which is why for runners' standards, I was slightly overdressed.  But I was very comfortable (Ha! I was still cold). We weren’t even a mile into the run when another team member ran up to me to give me a pack of tissues that had fallen out of my jacket pocket—I didn’t even realize it had fallen out. It was the pack of tissues I was carrying because when I run, my nose runs with me.  

The run actually went pretty well.  I was able to run most of the way with another person from the team, and I kept meeting up with the coaches and some of the other team members at the water stops.  Even with two pairs of gloves, my hands were so cold and numb that I wasn’t able to open my gel pack at one of the water stops.  Fortunately, someone was there to help me open it.  Other than the pack of tissues falling out of my pocket, and not being able to open my gel package, the run actually went pretty well.  That is unless you count that I missed a turn on the route and ended up running an extra mile. It wouldn’t be a long run without me going the wrong way.

And now, time for the stats.  My eighteen mile run ended up being a nineteen mile run.  It took me half a day to finish (4:01 hours) and I burned 2,102 calories. See?  That’s why someone would run eighteen miles for fun. It’s all about the calories.

Math lesson #2: calories=fun.

Living in a Spiral Galaxy

This astronomy fixation that Goggie is having right now has taken over our lives.  He's lugging around astronomy books like security blankets.  He takes them to tae kwon do, to the store, to music lessons, to bed, he even hides the smaller books in his coat and sneaks them into church.  Any spare time he has, he spends reading these books or drawing pictures of constellations and galaxies. For example, this is the diagram of a spiral galaxy that I mentioned in the previous post about how he couldn't find any socks.

Mom, I Can't Find Any Socks

If I want to find him, all I have to do is follow the trail of astronomy books and the space pictures he has drawn.  If that isn't enough, he has filled up our Netflix instant queue with documentaries about space. Just this evening, for fun, he was watching a special about the Moon.

In addition, for the past few months he's been begging me to add astronomy to his science curriculum, and since we're homeschooling it's actually a pretty easy thing to do.  For months, I kept resisting because he already knows enough about astronomy to teach a course on it.  Then, he found one of my homeschool catalogs and saw the following description of an astronomy course called: Exploring Creation with Astronomy:

Exploring Creation With Astronomy

Yes, you know you're a homeschooler when your children enjoy reading homeschool catalogs.  Anyway, I went ahead and ordered the course to take advantage of his interest in astronomy.  If only I could find a way for him to be as excited about math as he is about science.  Do any of you have any suggestions on how to do that?  How can I get him to beg me to add extra math to his curriculum?

Mom, I Can't Find Any Socks

 

I still don’t understand how it can take a child so long to get ready to leave the house.  It’s a fairly simple process.  Usually, he just needs to put on his socks and shoes, find his coat, and that’s it.  My guess is that it should take about ten minutes.  Obviously, I’m an optimistic person, either that or a very naïve one.

“Googie, did you put your shoes on yet?” I yell from the other room.

“Almost,” he replies.

“Hurry up.  We have to leave in ten minutes.”

“Mom, I can’t find my shirt,” he adds five minutes later.

“What? You just had a shirt on.” I continue to yell from the other room.

“Mom, I can’t find my shirt.” He whines. Then he adds, “Do you know where my shoes are?”

“They’re in the hall closet, right in front of you”

“No they’re not.  Mom , where did you put my shoes?”

“Put your shirt on,” I say as I start to walk over to him.  On the way, I find his shirt.  When I get there, he's in the hallway sitting in front of the closet, reading a book about astronomy, and drawing a diagram of a spiral galaxy.  Thank goodness he's still wearing his pants!  I reach into the hall closet, retrieve his shoes, and hand the shirt and shoes to him “Here are your shirt and shoes.  Where are your socks?”

“Mom,” he whines, “I can’t find any socks.”

“Did you look in your drawer?”

“Yes, there are no socks there.  There never are!”  he yells.  

Even though I remember having put socks in his drawer the day before, I want to give him the benefit of the doubt. This child is known for wearing a new pair of socks each time he puts on his shoes, and he has a habit of putting clean clothes in the dirty clothes hamper. He's also known for losing socks and leaving them in unexpected places, so he might be right.  There might not be any socks in his room.  Not to be outdone, once, I conveniently left a big laundry basket full of unmatched socks in the laundry room.  That's right, I only did that once (Wait a second while I adjust my halo.  It's a bit crooked).  By now, I'm beginning to think that he might be right. 

“Did you look?  Let’s go over there right now and see if we can find any.”  We walk into his room and look in his sock drawer.

Obviously, it's been more than ten minutes by now, and we still have to wait for him to put on his socks, his shoes, and find his coat.  Oh, yes, we still have to find his coat, and we all know that his coat won't be in the hall closet like it was a few minutes ago.

Time to Vacuum the Dog

I love my dog.  Like my children he follows me around everywhere. Unlike my children, he’s very calm and obedient. However, this time of the year he starts to shed his winter undercoat.  I can vacuum, I can use my Swiffer, but his fur will still be everywhere. I have this strange idea that if I brush my dog every few days, he won’t shed all over the house but it seems that the more I brush him, the more he sheds.  I brush the dog, I vacuum the floor. I brush the dog, I vacuum the floor. It just goes on and on.  In one day I have found more dog fur around the house than dog fur still attached to the dog. Once, I even filled up a trash bag with his fur and the bag ended up being larger than the dog.  

Then I had a great idea, "I’ll just vacuum the dog.  That should save time.”  I thought I was on to something big.  I've invented the next big As Seen on T.V. gadget.

Tired of endless hours of brushing your dog only to have to spend even more time vacuuming your dog's fur from your house? Wish you could save time and effort?  What if you could just vacuum the fur directly from your dog?  Do I have the thing for you.  It's the Petfuruvac.

Of course after chasing the dog all over the house with the vacuum cleaner for what seemed like 26.2 miles, it turned out that vacuuming the dog does not save time.  After a few rest days I’m thankful that I don’t have to vacuum my dog.  I think that I’ll try to brush the dog and vacuum the floor.  How’s that for a great idea?

One Mile Down, Just Fifteen More to Go

Training for the marathon is going pretty well. This past Saturday we ran sixteen miles. This is the longest distance that I’ve ever run at once. The day was glorious. It was sunny and cool but not cold. There was no rain or snow (it's about time). There was nothing but a light wind, at least that’s what I like to call a wind that pushes me back in the opposite direction. In any case, the weather was much better than it was during the long run the week before so I was willing to overlook the slight breeze.

We started out strong. After one mile we had to stop at a corner to wait for traffic and I realized that we only had fifteen miles to go, yay! Well, I had to tell myself that it was only fifteen miles and what better time to do that than at the beginning of the run.

Fortunately, I was feeling strong and was running without any problems until I got to around mile thirteen. That’s when my feet started to hurt and I needed to take my mind away from the pain. It was also when I realized that my great idea of not listening to music while running might not work for a distance longer than 13.1 miles. I needed something to distract me, because chanting, “My feet don’t hurt. My feet don’t hurt…” one word per step did not turn out to be such a good idea. I always thought that listening to music while running took away from the experience of running. It made it harder to appreciate your surroundings, to talk to people as you run, to be aware of your form, and to pay attention to your pace. However, when my feet are hurting and I’m trying really hard not to quit, something to take my mind off the fact that I’m running starts to sound like a better idea (so much for the experience).

In all, I’d say it was a great run. I had my Forerunner GPS watch with me and the final distance ended up being 16.64 miles which meant that I burned 1825 calories in a single run. That just blows my mind. This weekend we’re only running ten miles. Call me crazy but after running sixteen miles running ten miles sounds like an easy run. I just hope it does turn out to be an easy run.

My Children, the Space Cadets

I am the proud mother of two bona fide space cadets.  This past weekend Googie’s Cub Scout pack had an astronomy presentation for the astronomy belt loop, a type of award that Cub Scouts can earn. The program was going to start with a presentation and would conclude with some field work to give everyone a chance to use their telescopes. 

When we arrived, the scouts were already sitting on the floor in the front of the room while the adults were sitting behind them. The room was packed.  You could feel the excitement in the air.  Everyone that had a telescope had brought it.  Astronomy is one of Bubba’s hobbies so he brought some of his astronomy books and his six-inch Dobsonian telescope.  As soon as we walked in, Googie decided that he would be sitting in the very front of the room and since Bubba is a Den Chief, he was standing to the side with the leaders.  Normally I like to sit next to my children so I can remind them to keep quiet but all the adult seats close to the front of the room were taken.  This meant that I was as far in the back of the room as possible while still being in the same room.  

The man giving the lecture was very knowledgeable.  His presentation was clear and the scouts were very interested in what he had to say, especially mine as everyone there found out.  Now, for fun, my children are constantly reading books about astronomy and watching documentaries about space.  They don’t know much about popular music, video games or T.V. shows, but they can tell you everything you ever wanted to know (or not know) about astronomy.  Homeschooled children are weird that way, especially hyperactive or autistic ones.  The presentation started and so did my children.  They kept answering the questions and blurting out facts.  The leaders were trying really hard to get them to be quiet and give the other children and the presenter a chance to speak. Each time I heard one of my children’s name being called, I kept wanting to crawl and hide under the table.  Wait, I think I actually did crawl under the table. There was no stifling their enthusiasm.  They were convinced that they knew all about astronomy and they were going to let everyone there know it. 

Finally, we got a chance to go outside and look through the telescopes.  Although it was very windy that night, it was clear and cool and we were able to see quite a bit.  We were able to see Jupiter on the horizon with three of its four viewable moons.  We also saw the Orion nebula, the Pleiades cluster, and the craters on our moon.  (Yikes, it sure sounds like I know what I'm talking about!  Actually, Bubba filled me in on the details.) This wasn’t too bad for a night of stargazing in the city.  By then it was getting late so we had to pack up and leave.  I wanted to duck out ASAP when the presentation was over, but my space cadets didn’t let me.  They wanted to stick around and keep bombarding the man giving the presentation with questions and facts about space. I could see the poor man’s pleading eyes searching for mercy.  I literally had to drag each of my space cadets, one at a time, out of there by the elbow.  After that night I couldn't wait to go home to get some space.  Yes, beam me up Scotty…and hurry!

Give Me This Day My Daily Tortilla Chips

Of all the crazy things I’ve done in my life, giving up tortilla chips for Lent has been the craziest thing I’ve done.  Running a marathon, homeschooling my children these are nothing compared to giving up tortilla chips for Lent.  I thought I would stretch myself, force myself to focus on sacrifice, be a good Catholic and give something meaningful up for Lent.  For me, that would be tortilla chips.  The bargaining has already begun and it’s only Day Three.

“Fritos are not tortilla chips, right?”

“Crunchy crackers are not tortilla chips.”

“I know! I can eat Pringles, pretzels or Sun Chips.”

“What if I put cheese on top of the tortilla chips? They would then be nachos.  Nachos are not tortilla chips.”

This is not going very well at all.  I’m hungry all the time. Exactly how many tortilla chips was I eating?  Seriously, I’m eating the same amount of food.  How could I be so hungry? I also realized that giving up tortilla chips means that I can’t walk into a Mexican restaurant with their endless baskets of tortilla chips.  It will probably take me some time to figure out something else to fill the void created by the tortilla chips, something healthy, such as, celery sticks, but all I can think about is tortilla chips.  Obviously, this is a serious addiction.  Right now I’m wondering, if I should continue with the idea of giving up tortilla chips or think of something else.  How is constantly thinking about tortilla chips helping me to focus on my relationship with Jesus?  I’m working on this. Never would I have thought that something this simple could be so hard.

This Lent I will give up Liver and Onions and Chewing Tobacco

You need to give something up for Lent.  As Catholics, that’s what we're told all our lives.  But exactly why do we do this?  Sure, giving up chocolate, sweets, soft drinks and other guilty pleasures can teach us about sacrifice, but won’t most of us take these back up at the end of Lent?  I can’t even begin to guess how many times I’ve given up things.  As a wife and mother I’m always giving up my time and making sacrifices for my family.  During my pregnancies, which obviously were longer than Lent, I had to give up alcohol and certain types of foods. Currently I'm training for a marathon so I have to pay extra attention to the types of foods I’m eating and have to cut out activities that keep me from getting enough sleep.  Therefore, to me, giving things up for Lent seems to be the easy way out.   

Lent should be about conversion, about turning my life closer to Jesus. I think that I would be missing a great opportunity to grow in Christ if I gave something up for Lent just to be grumpy and miserable the entire time. Yes, I’ll be giving something up for Lent.  I’ll be giving up liver and onions, chewing tobacco and tortilla chips. Okay, I’m kidding about the liver and onions (I’ve never eaten that) and the chewing tobacco (I’ll be grumpy, just kidding, I don’t use tobacco in any form) but I am serious about the tortilla chips.  Anyone that knows me well knows that I can’t go one day without eating tortilla chips.  

“Yikes! We’re all out of food!”

Now, I will qualify that one by saying that if I find that this makes me uncommonly grumpy, I will abort this endeavor.  Of course, since Sundays are not officially considered part of Lent, I could always choose to eat my fill of tortillas every Sunday (Woo Hoo!).

In all seriousness, this Lent I will make a special effort to more fully focus on the three pillars of Lent: Prayer, Fasting and Almsgiving.  But for me, fasting is the hardest of these three.  Pray for me!

Running in the Rain is Fun

I know this much about racing in the rain.  I know it is about balance.  It is about anticipation and patience…about the mind!— Garth Stein (The Art of Racing in the Rain) 

Running in the rain is lots of fun!  That’s what I told myself for days before my last long run.  The weather forecast was calling for heavy rain that day and I was not looking forward to running fourteen miles in heavy rain.  Those that know me well, know that I’m the biggest inclement weather wimp.  If it’s snowing, raining or below 60 degrees, I don’t like being outside. 

 

“Honey, can you drop me off by the door, please?” I whine, if there is any moisture in the air.  

So when I announced to everyone that I would be running fourteen miles in the rain, they were concerned that maybe I had hit my head and was suffering from amnesia.  Did I forget who I was? Running fourteen miles was crazy enough but running it in the rain was insanity. And by the way, did I forget that I might just melt in the rain?  Like I said, I’m the biggest weather wimp.  

The greatest pleasure in life, is doing the things people say we cannot do.—Walter Bagehot

Why would I even consider running fourteen miles in the rain?  First off, I tried to convince myself that it would be better than running fourteen miles on a treadmill.  Then there’s also the fact that I’m training for a marathon.  Yes, I’m insane, I know.  I also need to train in various conditions so I can be ready to deal with whatever conditions I might come across on race day, and since the race takes place in the beginning of May, it may be really hot or raining or snowing or bitterly cold or pleasant and sunny. I’m betting on pleasant and sunny.  Let’s hope I’m right.

By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.—Benjamin Franklin

Back to the fourteen mile run in the rain.  I told myself it would be fun.  I told myself it would be fun.  I told myself it would be fun.  Then I started to think that maybe I should make it fun.  I did some research on the Internet and found out that running in the rain is common runner behavior. Yup, if you call yourself a runner, you run in the rain.  I call myself a runner, so I should run in the rain. I also found out that people from Seattle didn’t realize that there was any other kind of running.  That puts things in perspective.

I kept looking for practical tips for running in the rain, for example, should I wear a rain coat, galoshes, and carry an umbrella?   How does one run with an umbrella?  Do I still have to drink water in the rain?  How do you drink water in the rain?  I kept picturing Sponge Bob Square Pants drinking a glass of water underwater. But, everywhere I looked I found out that runners just run in their regular running attire, they don’t carry umbrellas, they don’t wear rain boots, they drink water, and they just get wet.  GASP!  I would get wet? 

This will be fun, this will be fun, this will be fun…How will I make running in the rain fun?

“I’m singing in the rain, just singing in the rain.  What a wonderful feeling, I’m happy again.”

I thought about that.  Singing in the rain would be fun, but it just wouldn’t be the same without an umbrella.  But, how about running with my camera?  I could try to take pictures while running in the rain.  Now, I truly was looking forward to running in the rain. 

This will be fun, this will be fun, this will be fun…Now I knew how I would make running in the rain fun.

The day of the run came and I was psyched.  I was actually looking forward to this.  I was going to run in the rain!  I wore a long sleeved running shirt made from a wicking material, a pair of compression running tights, a water repellent jacket with a breathable fabric, waterproof pants on top of the tights, Smart Wool socks, my old pair of running shoes, a cap with a brim to keep the water off my face, a running belt with water bottles and Gu gels, a reflective vest, and my camera in my hand.  Maybe I was a bit over dressed but it was the only way I could talk myself into going through with the run.

That morning I met my Team in Training group for our run.  We all warmed up and set out.  Then I went the wrong way, got lost in the rain, the end.

Actually, I didn’t technically get lost during the run.  What happened was that since it was raining I wasn’t able to keep checking the piece of paper that had my directions for the route.  I just followed the person that was ahead of me thinking that they were running the same route I was.  That was a mistake.  Not everyone on the Team was running the same route.  Some of us were running fourteen miles while others were running a shorter route.

What this meant was that, in order to get to fourteen miles, I had to backtrack to make up for the missed miles.  It also meant that I ended up running by myself.  That’s okay, I had my camera to keep me company and I actually finished my fourteen miles in the rain.  That definitely counts for something.

And I DID get wet!

At the end, I was soaked all the way through; even though, I was wearing a water resistant jacket and (supposedly) waterproof pants.  My shoes were not just wet, they were waterlogged.  I had read somewhere that stuffing newspapers in wet running shoes would help them dry out; therefore, I stuffed my shoes with newspapers when I got home.  Two days later the shoes were completely dry. Tip of the day: newspapers.

Running in the rain is fun.  By the way, I didn’t melt.  I found out that I was actually waterproof. Who would’ve thunk?

 

Chicken Piccata

I've had a few people ask me for this recipe. It is one of my favorite weekday recipes because it's easy, it's fast to make and always tastes good.  It serves about 3-4 persons.

Ingredients:

3-4 pieces skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1 cup flour
3 Tablespoons butter (or more for flavor)
3 Tablespoons olive oil (you might need more depending on the type of pan you use)
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (you could use bottled lemon juice but it won't taste as good)
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup capers, drained and rinsed
salt and pepper to taste

This is very important: Before you start, get all the ingredients ready.  This is what the French call mise en place or everything in place.

• Measure out the flour and put in a flat dish or pie plate.  
• Get the butter, olive oil, salt and pepper ready.  
• Squeeze the lemon juice and have it ready in a measuring cup or small container. 
• Open the bottle of wine (I like to pour myself a small glass of wine to drink while I cook). 
• Measure out the capers, put them in a colander and rinse them well.  

Now you're ready to start.

First, pound the chicken breasts until they are an even thickness.  This helps the chicken to cook quickly and evenly.  I like to wrap the chicken breasts with plastic wrap and use the flat side of a meat tenderizer like the one pictured here.

Second, salt and pepper the chicken breasts

Next, put the flour in a plate or shallow pie plate (if you haven't already) and dip the chicken breasts in the flour to lightly coat with flour on both sides.

In a large 12-inch skillet set to medium or medium-high heat, pour half the olive oil (about 1 1/2 Tablespoons) and melt half the butter ( about 1 1/2 Tablespoons).  You can add more if needed.

Once the butter is bubbly, you can add the lightly floured chicken breast pieces to the skillet.

Cook the chicken for about 3-5 minutes or until brown on that side and then turn to brown the other side.  Cook until both sides are browned.

Remove the chicken pieces to a plate. Add the rest of the butter and olive oil to the pan and cook the other pieces of chicken the same way as the first two pieces. Remove them from the pan and put them in the plate with the other two pieces.

Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the lemon juice and white wine. Scrape up the brown bits from the pan.

Add the capers to the pan.

Check the flavor of the sauce and add butter, salt or pepper if needed. You might also need to add a bit more wine. Put the chicken back in the pan, cover the pan and cook over medium-low heat for about 5 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce thickens a bit.

Now you're ready to eat! I like to serve this with brown rice or noodles and steamed broccoli or a salad.

The Most Exciting Time of the Year

 

As a gardener, I find late winter and early spring to be the most exciting time of the year.  The days are getting longer.  The sun is starting to shine more.  The snow has melted and the birds are starting to sing and migrate back.  And, finally, after months of reading gardening magazines, visualizing how the garden will look, convincing myself that this year the garden will be better than any previous years’ gardens, and deciding what plants I will grow, it’s time to order the seeds.

In the past, I tried starting my herbs, tomato, and pepper plants from seed but the plants did not do as well as the store bought plants; even though,  I had grow lights and researched the best techniques for starting plants from seed.  Therefore, this year I will be buying those plants from the local garden center instead of trying to start them from seed.  I’ll probably attempt to start them from seed again next year.

I like to use the Square Foot Gardening method outlined in Mel Bartholomew’s All New Square Foot Gardening: Grow More in Less Space. This method involves using groups of 4’x4’ raised boxes that are separated by square feet.  I also try to use organic techniques in my garden and grow as many heirloom varieties as possible

I have a total of 128 square feet of garden space available but will only be able to start off using half that amount of space this spring because the other half of the square foot boxes are in a shady area of the yard. I plan to move those boxes in the middle of the summer, so I am not counting on this space until the fall.

This year, I will be growing:

• Carrots—(Danvers Half Long)
• Eggplant—(Orlando)
• Flowers—mostly marigolds in the vegetable garden but will grow geraniums, petunias and other plants on the patio
• Green beans—4 square feet of pole beans (Kentucky Wonder) and 8 square feet of bush beans (Tenderpod)
• Herbs— whatever varieties are available at the local garden center of: basil, lavender , marjoram, oregano, parsley (curly leaf), parsley (flat leaf), rosemary, sage, and thyme
• Lettuce—3 varieties (Green Star, Simpson, and Red Sails)
• Onions—(Copra Plants)
• 8 pepper plants— whatever varieties are available at the local garden center of: bell, banana and jalapeno
• Potatoes—(Russian Banana)
• Radishes—(Crimson Giant)
• 4 tomato plants—2 big beefsteak type and 2 cherry type
• Winter squash—(Honey Bear)

I just placed my seed order today and this month I will start getting the beds ready for planting the early crops; such as, the onions, potatoes, radishes and lettuces. Of course, right now it seems like there is plenty of time to get ready for the last frost day, but I always find that the day has a way of sneaking up on me, and then I’m running around trying to do everything in a couple of days. This year will be different, I think!