Thursday, February 24, 2011

I see Spring things. Thursday 13.

Dear Diary,

13.  WELL.  I was vastly disappointed to find that the Bighorn Trail 50K was full.  FULL.  I hadn't planned on doing another 50 mile run this year...so, shit.  I signed up. But you know, the 50 mile run is only 10 dollars more than the 50K - that's a bargain.  For only $90 they'll bus me 50 miles out, where someone will say, 'alright, get the hell out.  See you in 15 hours.'  so there it is: my June run.

12. CORD.  I lost my computer cord.  How does this happen?  I have a special knack for losing things that are in constant use.   It's just annoying.  The third day, I finally just said, to hell with this, and ordered a new one.

11. MOUNTAIN GOAT.  I got a new pair of trail shoes! the Wave (Mazuno) 5.  Men's, of course, size 8.  It has been suggested to me that one of the reasons I had so many hotspots in my other trail shoes is that the midfoot is too narrow - I've had good luck switching to men's road shoes, so I'm giving this a shot.
I took them for a short hike up/run down a trail near home that had 1000 feet of elevation gain in 1 mile.  They took me up those trails like I had steel spiked on, and up and over boulders like they were nothing.

10. OOF.  I did a 10-mile road run on Saturday.  It seemed unusually slow, and by the time I began the return trip, which is completely uphill, and then turned into a stiff headwind at mile 7, it was downright punishing.  I was feeling pretty discouraged until I realized - oh yeah, I did that 50-mile run two weeks ago.  Last time I did that distance it took nearly a month to feel like I was back on top of my legs again.

9.  YOWSA!  I mentioned before that Sweet Baboo had joined the National Guard.  He's a Captain, owing to his education and prior military experience.  I haven't seen him in a dress uniform yet but I have seen him in his ACUs.  We went to the base for the first time as an officer and his wife, and when we went through the gate, the guard ran Baboo's card and then snapped a salute.
Now, I can't for any reason fathom why this would be such a turn on for me, but there it is.  I'm increasingly attracted to the external.  I'm all, yessir, Mr. Baboo sir.  May I have another? Is that crazy?  AM I crazy?  I don't care. Yowsa.  


8.  SO ANYWAY.  The BX on base is kinda cool.  It has little sections that are kind of like Macy's, and a section that is kinda like Bed, Bath and Beyond, and others.  They have an online place.  They tend to be pretty nicely discounted, and tax-free.  The commissary is a good store, and has just about everything we might need.  Best of all, few crowds and NO PANHANDLERS.


7.  TSK, TSK.  You're taking things way too seriously if you feel the need to scold me about a blog post. Is all I'm sayin'.

6.  SUNDAY, SUNDAY, SUNDAY.  I had an incredibly fun and productive day.  I have purchased The Indian Slow Cooker Cookbook and made a huge batch of wet curry, used my Zojirishi rice cooker to make large batches of brown rice and white basmati rice, and slow-cooked a bunch of chick-peas, and chicken barbecue.  All of these are cooled and then frozen in zip-lock bags for easy meals.  I try to make 3 days worth of meals on Sunday, so that when I'm at school Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday evenings, Sweet Baboo has dinner waiting for him.
Also, my whole house smells divine, like curry.

5.  ONE DAY TO THE DAUGHTER PROJECT.  My daughter, who I blogged about a few weeks ago, arrives tomorrow . Ulp.  Don't get me wrong, I love my kids. Just not 100% that I'm completely ready to share my space again so soon.  I mean, I just got the last kid out of the house in 2009.

4.  SPRING!!!!  The days are getting longer.  And slightly less frigid.  And, midterms are in two weeks.  Again I will mention that this is my final semester of coursework.  Did I mention that this is my final semester of coursework?  OH BY THE WAY, THIS IS MY FINAL SEMESTER OF COURSEWORK.

3.  PARANOID.  I am a bit paranoid about possible overuse injuries. I get whispers from time to time from my IT band.

2. FEARLESS.  I find, as I complete each crazy thing (50 mile, 100k, whatever) that I am increasingly fearless.  I used to hold back when describing myself to prospective employers - thinking that one doesn't brag, it's unseemly.  No more.  I updated my resume, and I just decided, to hell with it, I'm going to make sure my resume shows prospective employers how good an employee I am.  I've worked hard to be a good addition to anyone's clinical staff.  I won't downplay that any more.

I wonder if I"m the only one who has this experience.  I realize that running, triathlon, multisport, are all very personal in the experiences that they bring to people, and the feelings that people have in accomplishing them.  So i'm wondering, what's changed for you as a result of accomplishing your goals?

1. RE-RUN.  I did not know that "control freak" was a clinical term, but it must be, because it was in a report I read this week.  Among the many other gems that were reports I read this week:
  • He suffers from hygiene.
  • He was in a fatal accident when he was four.
  • He could not use the service.  Because it was too painful.
  • The client struggles with laziness. 
Yes, these are writtem by people with master's degrees.  Sad, but true.

...

13 comments:

  1. ..."a fatal accident when he was four"....Bahahaha!

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  2. OMG. The last one really gets to me.

    "He struggled mightily with Laziness, alas, losing the fearsome battle to kill the accursed creature...Because, um. He's lazy"

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  3. Is this your final semester of coursework, then? I bet you're excited. :)

    As for your #2, I haven't accomplished anything like what you have, but each progressive distance I've set out to run so far, I've run. And every single one of them, from a mile on up to the half marathon I did, are more than I ever expected or wanted to run. So I kind of come out of it with this feeling that I could do pretty much anything I set my mind to...not the best or the fastest, but I could complete it.

    #1...with the explosion in the past few years of facebook, I've both (happily) gotten back in touch with a lot of people I probably would never have seen again and been surprised by widespread poor grammar/spelling I regularly see. (Lucky I'm perfect, you know)

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  4. We really need to do something about Mordoc, I had to wait allll day to get my Thursday Thirteen fix. (I do happen to know someone who knows someone who is "connected" if you know what I mean)

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  5. 1. Indian Slow Cooker Cookbook. You temptress! A man in brown shorts will be delivering this to my door soon.

    2. National Guard. Do they still give you a sticker for your car? If so, you'll get a salute whenever you go on base whether SB is with you or not. My college boyfriend was an army brat and said that the guards have orders to salute the car, not the person, because you never know.

    3. Endurance Sports. Now that I'm getting into meditation, I'm finding a lot of similarities to distance running and long-course cycling and triathlon. The mental discipline is the same for both.

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  6. Yay for the final semester of coursework!

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  7. Last semester YESSS!

    Cookbook sounds yummy.

    Great handle bunnygirl - I am finding crossover conceptually w/ buddhism, yoga and distance running.

    Re the shoes #11 - very interested in the concept of men's road shoes or trail shoes. Any tips, warnings, good brands? (obviously you like Mizuno) I currently run in 10EE Brooks Ariels - and they're the only shoes I could find that are wide enough for my wide flat foot, pronation controlling enough, plus handling my orthotics. I tried a pair of Mizunos once (different orthotics then) and they were wicked light, I felt "fast" just putting them on - but my knees weren't happy. Willing to try again though!

    I'd thought of getting men's casual shoes because it's hard to find women's shoes wide enough that accommodate orthotic but I hadn't considered running shoes, really. I think someone told me I'd be 8.5 in men's. Is there a translation table somewhere?

    Welcome to your daughter!

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  8. Yay for the power and fearlessness that women get from participating in endurance races and sport!! I love to see the transformation in women as they progress, it is inspiring. I hope that your daughter can gain some of this self esteem and confidence.

    Unfortunately, when I was a trauma nurse I took care of children who had been in fatal accidents, they just weren't the fatality, usually it was a parent, and it was heart wrenching so I do understand that statement but it could have been better clarified.

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  9. 1. Seriously, someone scolds you on your posts? Pathetic!

    2. Now that it's spring, my night runs are turning into day runs, YAY! Just wanted to see if you have tried Mission Skincare Sunscreen? I have SUPER sensitive skin (I have no business being outside, ever, much less for 6 hours running at a time in the sun). Not only do I burn easily, I now have melasma that gets darker if I'm in the sun for 30 seconds even with some sunscreens, but Mission seems to be working GREAT!!!! No burns and no darkening on a 3 hour run. Will be testing a 5 hour run this weekend. Just FYI.

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  10. I just wear plain ole' Coppertone Sport. I sometimes forget and get some spots, so then I have to buy lightening cream.

    As for shoes, I like NB 759s, and I also have another pair that I can't remember the name of and am, right at this moment, far too lazy to get up and look at. I'll write them when I do. I need a neutral shoe.

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  11. I would be interested in suggestions on any lightening creams that seem effective. I've never been much of a sunscreen person, but the last two years of triathlon and running have done somethings to my skin that have made it necessary for me to begin modifying my behavior. Woulda, coulda, shoulda......

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  12. If it weren't for people like that with master's degrees, copy editors like me would be out of a job. Hey, thanks for the tip on men's shoes. D'oh! I never thought of that as a solution to my wide ass feet before.

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  13. For people looking for lightening creams, I always research products on www.beautypedia.com

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 I'm no longer involved in multisport or endurance sports. I've started my own business, a psychotherapist specializing in anxiety d...