Thanksgiving: In Pictures

Ice and snow

I woke up to this traffic report. Needless to say, I went in to work fairly late. On purpose, to avoid the traffic. There was a wicked ice storm Saturday night. I think the one last night was nowhere near as fierce but packed a punch nonetheless.

Pictures of my weekend

I haven't been feeling so hot. Friday started like this:

I wasn't feeling much better so Saturday morning was more of the same:

I did start to feel a little better on Saturday so I played with the Photobooth effects, had some coffee and went for a run with friends.

After the run, on the advice of one of my friends, I had some beer. It'll help you relax she says. I don't know if it worked or not.

Sunday was still not feeling super well, and took some more time to recover:

Marathon training - week 1

Why?  Why?  Why?

I have no idea what I was thinking.  Yes I do.  I was thinking, "training for a marathon will make me not gain back all the weight I lost, it will keep me from getting migraines, and generally keeps me from getting sinus infections.  Still, why?

This week was an easy week because I feel like crap.  Not sick though, this was an expected 'feel like crap' week.  Whoopee!

Thursday night I went to bed at 8:00pm and couldn't figure out why I was so tired.  Oh, that's why!  Friday I worked a sort of shorter day, came home and took serious pain pills.

This morning I had to leave the house because there's not really food in it.  I couldn't find my ibuprofen (how does one loose that?) so I was in a ton of pain.  I needed to eat to avoid other issues so I went to the co-op and loaded up on bacon, eggs, coffee and cheese.  The only things that looked good to me.  Side note - why does Mississippi Market have so many things I want that Seward Co Op does not?  I'm not driving to St Paul for this crap today.  A little light from heaven shown down for just a moment on the fresh Passion Fruit SWEET! that Seward had in stock.  Likely for today only.  I bought a couple.  I knew heaven wanted something to go right for me today.

After breakfast and sleeping for a while, I was starting to feel better.  Some friends were planning on running this afternoon and I was feeling well enough to join them.  Oh look, it's 21* outside.  What the hell am I going to wear?  I conferenced with Chris for a while on clothing (sorry, wool is waaay too hot for this) before deciding.  Ultimately I chose polypro long johns (need another pain, these things rock), Nike Cold Weather running pants, REI Polypro top and a jacket.  When I went outside I opted for an additional shirt on top. Socks were wool with sock liners.  This is more for me than any of you.  Dressing to run in the winter is an art form.

I headed over to St Paul to see the girls.  I hadn't seen Heather in quite a while, not since the Sunday before last so it was good to remember what she looked like.  I think I actually hadn't seen Robin for a run in even longer, although she was at Margarita night last Monday.  The best part of the run was when it was finished yeah, I hurt that bad and I was doubled over in pain.  I could see all three of them coming over to help me and I was all, "you stay over there".  So sweet.  (I would've hurt just as bad lying on the couch so isn't it better that I went for a run?) 

On Heather's advice I stopped at a liquor store for some beer on the way home, "well, that'll relax you and you won't hurt as bad".  I'll let you know.

The running gear, btw, was the perfect outfit for that weather.  I wish I had a second top with a zipper that could go under my jacket.  Christmas present perhaps?

Saturday LINKFEST

• I'm not a parent, but this helps me understand what it might be like.  I'm still undecided on the whole "does Liz want kids" question.  Although, when does anyone ever feel like they're ready for that?
• Almost 15% of Medicare patients suffered preventable errors during hospitalizations.  Seriously!?  It will be interesting to see what comes of the further investigations about specific hospitals and health systems that CMS ordered.  In the Twin Cities almost all of the hospitals have some kind of weird status (which Amanda could explain to you) that means they only employ RNs (nurses with a 4-year, not 2-year degree).  Bottom line - don't let granny go to the hospital if you can avoid it.
• What if all the countries had the same population density?  Here's how the world would look if every country had the same amount of room for each person.  United States and Brazil stay the same.  Everyone else: Move.  Look at Bangladesh (moved to where India is now, India gets Canada, I lost track of what the Canadians get).  Malawi moves to where Vietnam is now for those who are curious.
• From the same source, how truly developed is the United States?  Launch the infographic.  You can look at things by state or congressional district and compare overall development, economic factors, risk factors, health factors (Go Minnesota for being number 2 in the overall health index), and a ton of other stuff.  I can also divide things by race or gender or both.  It's notable how many things the District of Columbia leads the country, health index for white women for example, and it's close neighbor, West Virginia is last in the country in the same measure.  And why does DC have the best health index in the country for white women but the lowest (of the states that measure) for black men?  (Yes, I looked.)
• In closing, I really enjoy this blog and this is the best explanation of "Meh" I've ever read.  Tears were rolling down my face.  Too funny.

the definition of crazy

No, it's not work that's making me crazy right now, I mean, it's not helping, but it's not the main thing.  Here's what's been going on:

Sunday - went bowling with my Pooky Bear and her hubby, Amanda and Amanda's new guy.  My Pooky Bear, awesome friend that she is, told me I looked really good (assuming that's a reference to my weight).  I decided I needed to continue loosing weight.
Simultaneously, my iPod battery is about FRIED which means the calorie tracking app that I've been using forever is harder to use.
Sunday also marks the day I realized my stylist missed a spot when she cut my hair.  It's just big enough (enough to pinch between my thumb and two fingers) that I wasn't going to let Amanda near me with scissors.

Monday  I have absolutely no recollection... oh wait, now I remember.  On this day, work ended with a two hour home visit.  Then I went out with some friends to a local mexican place and had awesome food and a fantastic margarita.  Why has it been so long since I've had one of those?  Monday ended well.

Tuesday was the day work tried to kill me.  I survived.  Tuesday night I ran with Team:Work yes, in that ice-rain thing we had and one of my teammates who is in her 50's and never run before she started training with us ran 3 miles.  She had to stop and take a couple little walks but she did fantastic, and she wasn't deterred by the weather at all.  I was really proud.
I tried a new calorie counter app on my phone.  It's just not the same.
I also decided I needed to pick a new marathon to train for and draw up a schedule, partly so I keep running this winter but also so I don't get fat again.  I picked The Minneapolis Marathon which is a late spring/early summer marathon right after Memorial Day.  (No, it's not the same as Twin Cities, thanks for asking.)  Minneapolis Marathon also has a half marathon course which is where I ran my first half-marathon.  I picked Minneapolis because it's an out and back course and in a location that's easy for many people I know to come out and cheer.  The out and back is nice because it actually makes parking and logistics much easier than Twin Cities.
My training schedule can be easily adjusted in case I loose my mind and want to run the Flying Pig full instead of the half, or if I want to try Stillwater or Gramma's Marathon instead of Minneapolis.  For now, I just need to get moving.
New on this schedule are speed workouts once a week (hill runs, tempo runs, and intervals) and a schedule of the type of cross training I should be doing each week (rowing, weights or cycling).  Staying the same is continuing to weigh myself weekly after long runs.  It was good to keep track of that last year.  It's part of what helped me drop 15 pounds.

Wednesday: I am too strong for work to kill, try as it may.  Work was actually fine today, I was in the office all day and was quite productive.  At the end of the night I ran with Team:Work again and we did a full 3 miles. We had to stop and take a couple brief walks and there were a couple of places we had to plod carefully along the snow.
After that I went to a concert at the Highland Park Rec Center to hear Ticket to Brasil (this site opens with sound but the music is safe for work).  My friend Jenna (yes, the one who thought racing in a snow storm would be a good idea) invited me.  I'm glad she did; I had a really good time.  The guitar player was really good and fun to watch.  And their drummer (who was brand new) was nice eye candy as well.

Now I need to go to sleep so I can wake up and run tomorrow morning.  Here's my new shirt:

5 Mile Snow Run

This morning, to continue my increased relaxation.  I went for a run.  In the snow.  With my friend Jenna.  And had a freaking blast!

I got up early, had my power breakfast (yogurt plus banana plus chocolate chips) and went to scrape of my car.  Only Minnesotans would run in this.  I was a little worried on the way to Jenna's house because the streets in Minneapolis weren't that clear and I was worried St Paul would be way worse.  Although they may deny it later, anyone from the Twin Cities will tell  you that Minneapolis usually does the best job of clearing the roads quickly.  (I work in St. Paul.  I know from the comparison.)

I got safely to Jenna's and we got in her car (which I notice she'd already had scrapped off) for the ride to Centerville.  We giggled the entire trip.  Because seriously, there was already two inches of snow on the ground, what else were we going to do?

Jenna ran the 5k and I ran the 5-mile race.  (I could've been done twenty minutes ago!)  Our courses were together for almost a mile.  Here's how it went:
Start line: Oh my gosh, stop talking and start the race.  Some other girl at the start said "in any other state they would've canceled the race, but in Minnesota..."  So true.  They originally billed this as a chip time race.  I think because of the weather they changed slightly to a gun start and a chip finish because I sure didn't cross a mat at the start of the race.

Mile 1: I ran it with Jenna.  She kept telling me to slow down.  (I have no idea how fast I'm going.)  I wore my YakTrax and it was one of the best decisions I made today.  The wind is blowing straight at me.  I cannot feel my face.

Mile 2: Oh good, the wind is coming from the side now.  I cannot feel only half of my face.  I wanted to hug the volunteer who was out there with a water stop.  No one stopped.

Mile 3: More wind.  More snow.  Why am I passing people?  This never happens.

Mile 4: More wind.  More snow.  Can't feel my face.  Why am I passing people?  This never happens.  By this time we were on what I soon learned was a cross country ski path. Ask me how I know that. Will this mile ever end?

Mile 5: I am running on quick sand.  Seriously, it must be like running on a treadmill.  Try as hard I was wanted, I swear I didn't move.  I was also starting to feel like I was going to puke. If you haven't puked yet, you can probably go faster. I was running back into the wind again. Now my face is frozen and so are my contacts.  The last quarter mile of the course, where I'd usually gun it in a race, was absolutely the slushiest.  Try as I might, I went nowhere fast.

FINISH! My clock time was about 52:34.  My "I don't know if I can really do this but it'll give me something to aim for" goal was 52:30 so I was shocked.  Jenna got my picture at the finish line (she was dry, in her coat and boots by this point).  In her defense, her fingers were still frozen.

After the race we looked around the concessions tent and couldn't even get in the "warming tent".  My contacts started to fog up.  No.  Seriously.  My contacts started to fog up.  So we went back to the car so I could change into my dry and warm clothes and headed back home.  Giggling all the way.

A few of our friends couldn't make it for various reasons (we missed you) and one of them asked how it was.  I told her the only other thing she could do that was as much fun as we had today is to  go jump in a lake on New Year's day.  Jenna completely agreed with my explanation.

Saturday LINKFEST

You'd think after sitting around doing nothing most of the day, I'd have more to report.  Most of the time I was here, I was asleep.  It was well earned.

• Most of us have heard about the disasters in Haiti (and the follow-up Cholera epidemic there) and Pakistan.  Here's how the world responded.  After reading this it made me recall eight grade history and the Monroe Doctrine.  (Pooky Bear - are you impressed that I could bring that? What a difference my history teachers made!)
• I live at the corner of "Jesus and Meth", "Drunks and nothing" and "freaks". It's an interesting intersection and I love it here.
• After today, I totally see the need for these gloves.
• Are you shopping on Black Friday?  It may surprise you to learn that I do, in fact, plan to shop on Black Friday.  I stay at my aunt's house and a whole bunch of the family goes.  It's like an adventure.  I go more to hang out with the family and watch the chaos than for the deals.  Is it odd that I'm entertained by this?

• Given what's going on at work, this sentiment seemed appropriate.

The beatings will continue

Things have been rough at work.  Just really rough.  Wednesday felt like anything someone could find to make my job harder, or take time away from my regular duties got dropped on me.  I'm sure alcohol was involved in the evening.

Thursday got better.  I knew I was going to need a good run.  Beth woke up at the crack of dawn so we could run up and down Summit Ave for a little while.  Thank you so much.  I felt like myself the rest of the day.

I came home and, because of an odd scheduling thing, had extra time to have breakfast.  I ran out of cream for my coffee (Amanda, you have no business judging my cream intake anymore 'cause that was all you) but had two full cups before that so I was in good shape.  I went to work for a couple of hours (literally) and then was done for the day.

Amanda was trying to convince me that we needed Turkey Burgers but I was able to persuade her that Chinese was the way to go.  Mmmm, sesame chicken. Plus they had fried bananas for dessert.  Mmmm.

After lunch, Amanda showed me this new walking path she'd found.  We ignored the "road closed due to flooding" sign and hiked along the south/west bank of the Mississippi River (and I think part of what we walked along was actually the Minnesota river too).  It was a very relaxing day.

Today for relaxation, I woke up without an alarm of any kind. I'm having a full pot of coffee and then going to get my hair cut. Yeah, when it's this short I have to take care of it more.

I have one work thing to do and will have to write case notes; I'll probably do that from home though. Then it's off for more relaxation today. Tomorrow, I'm apparently running a 5-mile race in the snow.

Marathoners - a train of thought piece

This morning I was thinking I should pick my next marathon. I need to start training again so I don't gain all the weigh I lost.


Then I started thinking about this shirt Beth told me about (and possibly owns?) that says something along the lines of 'every year I swear I'm never going to run another marathon'.


Which got me started at looking at marathon shirts (funny shirts, not race shirts) as well as shopping for marathons. (Seriously, wouldn't Port Angeles be fun? It'd be nice to have a better memory there.)


For those of you who may need to buy me a Christmas gift, here are some funny ideas for you. These images are all of shirts from CafePress' Marathon Site but there are some other good sites too.

No disrespect to my many friends (and multiple cousins) who play any of the above sports.  I've tried them all.  You're all invited to run with me any time you want.

I'm unlikely to ever wear this shirt.  I've spent so much time at the back of the pack I don't think I'd want to discourage anyone.  I'm just glad you're out there too.  If I was fast enough to school some guys, I'd totally buy this though.

This is only funny because I do have an entire mp3 player only for running.  (Thanks to my Pooky Bear, Amanda and Eric who got the system for me.)

Who hasn't been there?  Actually, I've only had minor struggles with this and it was corrected quite easily with the correct shoes.  (How my toenails look is another discussion entirely.)

This is me!!

This is me too!

This is kind of mean.  I was just amused enough to tell you about it.

Best. Shirt. Ever.  To my friends and family who play other sports, I renew the invitation to come for a run.

Been there.

Passive aggressive much?  Although I am alarmed at how often I have to answer this question.

Sunday mornings - Linkfest

Sunday mornings are just the best.  I woke up early (sort of, because of the time change) and ran with Heather and Jenna.  I actually hadn't seen Jenna all summer and fall excepting one sweaty hug at mile 6 of the marathon.  We had a nice run around Lake Nokomis and then stocked up on goodies.

I had the option of running two more with Beth who is leading her own version of Team:Work.  I opted not to because, frankly, I was freezing cold after the first run.  I thought running slower in clothing already drenched with sweat was not my best option.

I came home and made an awesome breakfast.  Now I am sipping on my very good french press coffee and listening to acoustic sunrise, one of the best parts of all of Sunday.

Here's a little of what I've been looking at on the internet so far this week:

• In honor of the elections we just had, a look at issues over time in the US.  Look at 2001 before "terrorism" was on anybody's mind.
• Cakewrecks: RIP means rest in poo.  Too funny.
• Cincinnati is one of the most Electric car ready cities.  Shock!

Criminal oversight

I just realized I never put up pictures of my trip to Amsterdam and FIRST ever marathon. Sorry, don't know what I was thinking.

"I am superman" was my personal soundtrack for this trip, so to get in the mood, here's some music.

Our Hotel - In a great part of town

We were almost always at the bar on this trip

Only beer I had in the whole week before the race - don't worry, I had plenty afterwards

At the race expo - getting close

Race day - we still have energy because we just woke up

What the hell was I thinking?!?

Leaving Olympic Stadium 26.1 miles to go...

At about mile 6 the cheer crew waited for me.  Sweet.

All done!

Retail therapy and music therapy

Today was, well, let's back up.

Last night was Tom's birthday and I went out with the Amsterdam and Ragnar Relay crew.  (Side note - how are there not pictures from Amsterdam up on my blog?)  We went to Keiran's.  I was delighted to learn said establishment keeps Crispin on tap.  In the midst of my drinking, a good friend (and sometimes drinking buddy) called and we made breakfast plans.

This morning I got to sleep in because I only owed work five more hours and then head out to breakfast at the Uptowner.

The first Friday of each month is our all-staff meeting.  I generally try my best to avoid said meetings but I couldn't schedule a home visit for today so I had to go.  It was a rough, rough staff meeting.  There's a bad situation and a lot of people are really frustrated, or, in my case, feel like our voices aren't heard or acknowledged.  For myself, outside of work, I feel like no matter what happens on some higher level I will be fine so I don't have to worry as much.  (Faith is a beautiful thing.)  I still had a hard time being around everyone who was so upset.

I left work early.  I was actually fairly calm and reasoned in the meeting but that was about as long as I could hold it together. 

I came home and engaged in some retail therapy.  (Thanks Amazon!)  I also played a lot of guitar (it's a wonder my neighbors haven't complained yet) and am thinking about more, um, beer therapy although that's undecided.

I also listened to a lot of music which usually calms me down.  Here are some of today's favorites:
This Night Won't Last Forever - Sawyer Brown
I shall be released - The Band
True Colors - Phil Collins (although I'm not opposed to the Cyndi Lauper version)
Pride (In the name of love) - Soweto Gospel Choir.  If you haven't heard of this group, it's time for an introduction.
U Want Me 2 - Sara McLachlan
Labels or Love - Fergie Judge not.