8.3.13
International Women's Day 2013
March 8 is International Women's Day. In honor of that, here's some women whom I'm glad to have in my life!
7.3.13
Track workouts
It's March. The gym is supposed to be empty people. Empty. Sadly, tonight, not so much. I had about the longest day in the world and wound up having to run after work and after a board meeting so I was kind of grumpy about all the walkers being in all of the lanes on the track. Go away. I did my downward ladder workout, although for a while I wasn't convinced I was going to do too much more than just running my mile. The down ladder is run 6 laps, walk 1, run 5 laps, walk 1, etc. It makes for a total of 5 miles. Only 19 more to go this week. Oy.
During the run I listened to what is accidentally becoming my favorite playlist for workouts. I made a CD for my Circuit teacher because she's awesome and plays whatever music people in the class bring in. I tried to find songs with no bad words in them (couple of fails on the list but at least the Cee Lo Green song is the clean version) and different kinds of music so everyone in class would have at least something they liked. And now I listen to it even when I'm not in class.
During the run I listened to what is accidentally becoming my favorite playlist for workouts. I made a CD for my Circuit teacher because she's awesome and plays whatever music people in the class bring in. I tried to find songs with no bad words in them (couple of fails on the list but at least the Cee Lo Green song is the clean version) and different kinds of music so everyone in class would have at least something they liked. And now I listen to it even when I'm not in class.
5.3.13
Ikea Hacking Update - Expedit and Drona make my closet happy!
As previously noted my Pooky Bear and I did a lot of work a while ago in adding furniture and accessories to my room and making it look pretty. I didn't really have time to fix my closet then, because I knew how much work it would really be, so I waited until this weekend to dive in.
This wound up being a great project. It was nice to have Pooky Bear's guidance in the inital steps of the craft project (as well as her manual labor in assembling Ikea furniture) but I got to do enough of it myself that I gained a lot of confidence. I now have faith in my ability to touch fabric without catastrophe. Reorganizing the closet, and most of the rest of my house was also a confidence booster. It was nice to feel like I have power over my surroundings, environment, life. I spent so much of the end of last year feeling out of control on so many different levels that it was a move in the right direction to be thinking and acting like, "I have enough money to do this; I have enough time to do this; I have enough space for the things I want; I have enough to be generous as well".
How did I do it and what did it look like? First up, some before photos of the empty bins waiting for new clothes and the closet just waiting to oblige. (Yes, you've seen these before.)
I started by emptying the bins out of those stupid hanging shelves, them emptying the top shelves of the close and the stuff off the floor of the closet as well. Lots and lots and lots went to good will. See that plastic box on the top shelf? That was filled with clothes, plus two or three more bags of clothes, plus some household goods that needed to go too.
I had fourteen boxes to fill, two are staying empty for reasons best left to another post entirely. In the course of everything, I realized the drawers from the abonimable hanging things could be used on the lower of the two shelves, which gave me some extra storage to play with as well. It's not that I filled up all of the boxes, it's that I didn't want more than one category of "stuff" in any one box. Running pants do not go with running shorts. Running tanks do not go with long sleeve gear. Etc.
As predicted one closet reorganization led to another. I actually took one of the god awful hanging shelf things and moved it to the front hall closet. I got a bunch of cardboard to reinforce the 'shelves' which tend to sag, and then used duct tape to hold each 'shelf' in place. I used some of the little Ikea draw organizers on each shelf and used duct tape to hold them in place. See, this is okay in the closet with the coats and boots. It's only stupid in the part of the house where civilized people live. I thought I took pictures of that closet but didn't. That reorganization was followed by addressing some serious deficiencies in my filing organization system, as well as culling out several pounds of paperwork for shredding. (Probably not needing bank statements from 2004 for an account that's closed anyways.) I didn't take pictures of that because what can you tell from the outside of a file box.
For those of you curious, my next project is figuring out where the hell I put everything. It only took me 30 minutes to get dressed and locate my keys and shoes today so I guess that's a good start.
This wound up being a great project. It was nice to have Pooky Bear's guidance in the inital steps of the craft project (as well as her manual labor in assembling Ikea furniture) but I got to do enough of it myself that I gained a lot of confidence. I now have faith in my ability to touch fabric without catastrophe. Reorganizing the closet, and most of the rest of my house was also a confidence booster. It was nice to feel like I have power over my surroundings, environment, life. I spent so much of the end of last year feeling out of control on so many different levels that it was a move in the right direction to be thinking and acting like, "I have enough money to do this; I have enough time to do this; I have enough space for the things I want; I have enough to be generous as well".
How did I do it and what did it look like? First up, some before photos of the empty bins waiting for new clothes and the closet just waiting to oblige. (Yes, you've seen these before.)
I started by emptying the bins out of those stupid hanging shelves, them emptying the top shelves of the close and the stuff off the floor of the closet as well. Lots and lots and lots went to good will. See that plastic box on the top shelf? That was filled with clothes, plus two or three more bags of clothes, plus some household goods that needed to go too.
 |
| Filling up the Good Will bin. There's tons of race shirts in there. |
I had fourteen boxes to fill, two are staying empty for reasons best left to another post entirely. In the course of everything, I realized the drawers from the abonimable hanging things could be used on the lower of the two shelves, which gave me some extra storage to play with as well. It's not that I filled up all of the boxes, it's that I didn't want more than one category of "stuff" in any one box. Running pants do not go with running shorts. Running tanks do not go with long sleeve gear. Etc.
As predicted one closet reorganization led to another. I actually took one of the god awful hanging shelf things and moved it to the front hall closet. I got a bunch of cardboard to reinforce the 'shelves' which tend to sag, and then used duct tape to hold each 'shelf' in place. I used some of the little Ikea draw organizers on each shelf and used duct tape to hold them in place. See, this is okay in the closet with the coats and boots. It's only stupid in the part of the house where civilized people live. I thought I took pictures of that closet but didn't. That reorganization was followed by addressing some serious deficiencies in my filing organization system, as well as culling out several pounds of paperwork for shredding. (Probably not needing bank statements from 2004 for an account that's closed anyways.) I didn't take pictures of that because what can you tell from the outside of a file box.
For those of you curious, my next project is figuring out where the hell I put everything. It only took me 30 minutes to get dressed and locate my keys and shoes today so I guess that's a good start.
4.3.13
Worldess Weekends - Snow and Ice
Saturday - Ford Bridge over the Mississippi River (no ice; not yet ready for barge traffic)
Saturday - Lake Calhoun (iced over and safe for walking)
Sunday - after a neighborhood run
In Minnesota - How we do
 |
| Snow sculptures - because sand sculptures are for the weak! |
 |
| It's Minnesota. You're by the lake. Put your feet up and relax. |
2.3.13
Why Runners are Different
This picture has been around the internet a lot, and it's got a great back story to it. All I notice is both the runner and her fiance are wearing Asics Gel Speedstars which are the same as my pink shoes and not in production any more. Maybe if I congratulated them, they'll tell me where I can still get a pair. I mean, seriously, it's a pretty wonderful story for normal people who aren't distracted by picking out their next pair of running shoes.
 |
| Here's the Imgur page I grabbed the pic from although I highly doubt this is the real original source from the entire internet. |
Long Run Friday - Seven Miles on Ice
It didn't feel like seven miles. It was a fun, lazy, taking pictures kind of run today. I woke up and had my new running rocket fuel or Chia Seed Pudding. Worked great with my stomach, by the way. Then I got on my cold weather gear and headed out.
I'd planned to do my regular seven miles around Lake Nokomis. Around mile 1.5 I decided running along a frozen creek would be more fun. I was all "my phone will tell me when I've run 3.5 miles so I can turn around". Bonus. 3.5 miles was further than I would have thought, so it's good I consulted technology instead of guessing.
Minneapolis does keep trails clear all winter. Yes, it's March and I'm still saying Winter. Instead of plowing the bike and pedestrian trails, the city only plows the bike trails and asks winter athletes to share. There's so few of us it's usually no problem. I saw two bikers today by the creek, runners and walkers at Minnehaha Falls park, and one other runner by the golf course and he was flying. He was also wearing Brooks Running Shoes. Yes, that is what I was looking at. Sigh.
Despite the general awesomeness of the paths there were a few spots where it was touch and go, literally. In some places ice had formed from snow melting onto the walks and in others people just hadn't cleaned off their sidewalks. (City of Minneapolis at Bancroft Meadows - I'm looking at you.) I'm happy to report that I did not fall. What a difference from last March when all the snow had melted and I was running in shorts.
I'd planned to do my regular seven miles around Lake Nokomis. Around mile 1.5 I decided running along a frozen creek would be more fun. I was all "my phone will tell me when I've run 3.5 miles so I can turn around". Bonus. 3.5 miles was further than I would have thought, so it's good I consulted technology instead of guessing.
Minneapolis does keep trails clear all winter. Yes, it's March and I'm still saying Winter. Instead of plowing the bike and pedestrian trails, the city only plows the bike trails and asks winter athletes to share. There's so few of us it's usually no problem. I saw two bikers today by the creek, runners and walkers at Minnehaha Falls park, and one other runner by the golf course and he was flying. He was also wearing Brooks Running Shoes. Yes, that is what I was looking at. Sigh.
Despite the general awesomeness of the paths there were a few spots where it was touch and go, literally. In some places ice had formed from snow melting onto the walks and in others people just hadn't cleaned off their sidewalks. (City of Minneapolis at Bancroft Meadows - I'm looking at you.) I'm happy to report that I did not fall. What a difference from last March when all the snow had melted and I was running in shorts.
1.3.13
Chia seeds and diet pepsi - a review
From time to time I look at Bloggers' little metrics about my blog. It tells me things like which posts are popular and where traffic is coming from. It also tells me what people are searching for that leads them to my blog. Historically things like "running songs" "running music" and "jogging music" have been popular searches and are the reason I continue to do posts about what I'm listening to while I work out.
Today I was playing around on the Blogger stats page and one of the searches that lead to my blog was "Chia Seeds" and "Diet Pepsi". Turns out when you put it in Google like that, with the quotes, this is the second hit. Awesome. I'm totally curious why someone would search about chia seeds and diet pepsi together, but every scenario I come up with involves upset stomachs or worse so I'm trying to stop imagining. Instead, here's my review.
Chia seeds - yes I totally read Born to Run but I'd seen stuff about Chia seeds in other places as well and eventually decided to try them out. I get them in bulk from my Co op at about $10/lb. At home I store them in tupperware or glass jars. I add a tablespoon of seeds to a few of my favorite dishes including fruit and yogurt, oatmeal, and smoothies. I can eat these over yogurt right before a run. My stomach stays calm and I usually feel like I've taken rocket fuel on the run. I don't make a point of eating them every day or before every long workout.
I just tried this Pudding recipe for the first time. Mine came out more 'set up' than the one in the website photo. Also I didn't have coco powder so I ground up chocolate chips and left out the sugar. This is the most filling thing I've ever eaten in life. We'll see how well it fuels a run.
For the rest of the world, a quick internet search will reveal about ten billion other things that can be done with Chia seeds including Pancakes, salads, energy gel for runners, and anything else you want. How good does that energy gel look?
Diet pepsi - just stay away from it. I am somewhat problematically addicted to Diet Pepsi because it is a preferred source of caffeine. I cannot drink diet pepsi before a run. If it doesn't upset my stomach, the caffeine will do bad things to my blood sugar levels. (Caffeine in energy gels doesn't bother me because it's accompanied by an awesome sugar jolt.) I just love the fizz of the diet pepsi, especially when I'm eating eggs and bacon. Or potato chips. Or french fries. Or Pasta Alfredo. Or any food with a fat or an oil basically. It's like the greatest taste combination in the entire world which is why I cannot stop myself.
Today I was playing around on the Blogger stats page and one of the searches that lead to my blog was "Chia Seeds" and "Diet Pepsi". Turns out when you put it in Google like that, with the quotes, this is the second hit. Awesome. I'm totally curious why someone would search about chia seeds and diet pepsi together, but every scenario I come up with involves upset stomachs or worse so I'm trying to stop imagining. Instead, here's my review.
Chia seeds - yes I totally read Born to Run but I'd seen stuff about Chia seeds in other places as well and eventually decided to try them out. I get them in bulk from my Co op at about $10/lb. At home I store them in tupperware or glass jars. I add a tablespoon of seeds to a few of my favorite dishes including fruit and yogurt, oatmeal, and smoothies. I can eat these over yogurt right before a run. My stomach stays calm and I usually feel like I've taken rocket fuel on the run. I don't make a point of eating them every day or before every long workout.
I just tried this Pudding recipe for the first time. Mine came out more 'set up' than the one in the website photo. Also I didn't have coco powder so I ground up chocolate chips and left out the sugar. This is the most filling thing I've ever eaten in life. We'll see how well it fuels a run.
 |
| The finished product - it's really set and holds a shape well. |
For the rest of the world, a quick internet search will reveal about ten billion other things that can be done with Chia seeds including Pancakes, salads, energy gel for runners, and anything else you want. How good does that energy gel look?
Diet pepsi - just stay away from it. I am somewhat problematically addicted to Diet Pepsi because it is a preferred source of caffeine. I cannot drink diet pepsi before a run. If it doesn't upset my stomach, the caffeine will do bad things to my blood sugar levels. (Caffeine in energy gels doesn't bother me because it's accompanied by an awesome sugar jolt.) I just love the fizz of the diet pepsi, especially when I'm eating eggs and bacon. Or potato chips. Or french fries. Or Pasta Alfredo. Or any food with a fat or an oil basically. It's like the greatest taste combination in the entire world which is why I cannot stop myself.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Instagram