Hit My Goal!!

Today I accomplished a goal that I’ve been working towards for a few weeks now. I’m very proud to say that I finally ran over 13.1 miles which is a half marathon. I actually ran 13.4 miles in 130 minutes. The first half I ran at an average of 6 miles an hour. The last half I averaged 6.3. My knees are still intact and my back is pain free. I am very aware of all the muscles in my upper thighs and my calves. They say hello (or something like it) every couple of minutes. And I’m tired. The kind of tired where any warm soft surface looks like a great place to stop and rest for a minute or so. I don’t think I have any more food in my refrigerator though. I’ve inhaled several mini-meals throughout the day including a black bean rice bowl, half a tuna sandwich, pickle, several bananas, peanut butter toast, and am eagerly looking forward to dinner.

Lately I’ve been reading a lot of runner blogs. I’ve been focusing on people who have just begun running. Many of these blogs have pictures or charts that show the author’s progress. I think I should start photographing myself a bit more. So here are some photos of me before my run and after my run. I took the last photo after looking at the ‘after my run’ photo. I looked so tired and pathetic, I had to laugh. So I took a photo of myself.

Before run

Now after 13.4 miles:

After running 13.4 miles!

Sometimes I make myself laugh at how sweaty and tired I look:

Gotta keep a sense of humor!

I don’t know what my next little goal is. Probably 16 or 18 miles. It’s going to take me some time to work up to that kind of mileage. I’ve been invited to go run at Forest Park with a few seasoned marathoners for some trail running on Sundays. They leave for the park at 8:30 am. I don’t wake up early on the weekend. Maybe that will be my next little goal.

Shrimp Packets

Normally I don’t advocate tearing pages out of magazines found in doctors offices but while I was waiting for my visit I found a recipe that I just couldn’t help but tear out. It was for shrimp packets. Now I love shrimp and I dearly love the convenience of cooking in foil packets. I cooked up the recipe on a whim Sunday afternoon and it was absolutely delicious.

I like to use recipes as a guide (except in baking where I follow the instructions like they are law). I substitute what I have on hand and add seasonings that are more suited to Andy and my palates. This particular recipe called for cannellini beans. I had a can of white beans. I think they are the same thing as cannellini beans are a type of white bean. The recipe calls for sliced tomatoes, lemon juice, graded lemon rind, and veggie stock. To me that just seems way too much moisture. So I cut out the veggie stock. The recipe also suggested serving the shrimp packets with bread. Sounds good but I didn’t have enough bread to spare for this. I served the shrimp packets over rice. It was excellent.

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Tear off four sheets of aluminum foil
3. Clean up the shrimp (take off shells and tail)
4. Slice one large tomato into thick slices
5. Grade half of a lemon (about 1 tablespoon) and then squeeze all the juice out of it. Save juice
6. Slice some onions (recipe called for green but I used yellow)
7. Grab the Old Bay, pepper, and a little olive oil
8. Place half a cup (or so) of beans on foil
9. Top with some shrimp
10. Sprinkle with a little Old Bay
11. Place tomato slices on top of shrimp
12. Add the onion to your packet
13. Sprinkle a little olive oil, lemon juice, lemon rind, pepper, and so more Old Bay
14. Close up the packets but allow steam to vent out
15. Place all four packets on a baking sheet or other baking apparatus
16. Cook for 20 minutes or so. You want to make sure shrimp is done.
17. Enjoy!

I placed rice in a bowl and dumped contents of shrimp packets on top- juice and all. I added a little pepper and thoroughly enjoyed the heck out of this super easy dish. I’m going to make this again tonight. But I’m going to add yellow pepper to the mix. Next time I might add broccoli. For a Mediterranean feel, add a little Parmesan cheese to the finished dishes. You could serve this over rice, fettuccine, angel hair pasta, or on top of garlic bread. And the best part is that clean up is super easy.

Update on Marathon Training

The first two weeks of marathon training, I was nauseous most of the day. Food didn’t really appeal to me. (I know-what a shock!)  I just felt sick. Every night I had to force myself to eat more than a few bites. Frankly I wondered if that was going to be my life for the next year. But now I’m back to normal! Maybe even have made up for a lack of appetite. My new thing is that I’m sore in places I’ve never been sore before. My Achilles tendon hurts sporadically as does the bottom of my right foot.   I’m not sure why but I’ve been stretching and putting icepacks on both places.

Sunday is my long run day. I’ve been steadily increasing my mileage by no more than a half-mile each week on that day. If I feel horrible, then I just run half a mile but if I’m feeling good then I go the full mile.  The past few days my Achilles tendon had really been hurting. On Sunday I woke up and laid in bed for a good thirty minutes psyching myself up for the run. Hitting the 13 mile mark is really important to me because its half a marathon. It represents a milestone I never thought I ‘d get to.

I got all dressed up to go to the gym to run my 13 and was in a really, really good mood. I had enough water and had even eaten a little something to get me through the run. Both of my feet felt fine-no pain. I planned to run a negative split with the first 6.5 miles at around 5.8 miles an hour. For the last 6.5 miles I wanted to kick it up and run 6-6.2 miles an hour. Totally achievable.

I was 11 minutes into my run, completely on schedule, and then the lights in the gym flickered and then the treadmill stopped. For a moment I thought my side of the gym had blown a fuse. It’s an old gym and the electrical system could use some work. But then I realized the entire gym was dark. No power. At first I was pretty ticked off. I hopped off the treadmill and lifted some free weights for about five minutes. I thought about all my options weighing all the pros and cons. I didn’t want to get up early during the week to run so I had to do my long run on Sunday.  I realized my best bet was to run outside. So I quickly jogged home and put on some warmer clothes.

I ran across the Hawthorne Bridge and down the Waterfront area. It was really cold but pretty dry. When I left the house, I worried that I had put on too many layers of clothing. But as the wind picked up off the Willamette River, I realized I could have put on even more and been very comfy.

I ended up running a lot more hilly inclines than I had anticipated. Hills aren’t my strong point and seem to absorb every bit of energy I have. At the very top I usually find myself shuffling stooped over like an old woman. I don’t want to tell anyone how long it took me to navigate the 9.5 miles I ran. Between the hills and traffic, it took forever. But the marathon has hills so I definitely need to start running a lot more of them.

Yesterday was also the New York Marathon. Celebrities like Alanis Morisette and Edward Norton both ran a good race and finished under 4.5 hours. The big news was that an American won-which is the first time since 1982. Meb Keflezig, the winner of the 2009 New York Marathon, ran the 26.2 miles in 2:09:15. All I have to say to that is Sweet Mary that’s fast.

Birthday Musings

This Friday is my birthday (October 30th). Now that I am over a certain age, I no longer feel its necessary to tell people exactly what birthday it is. But its my birthday. A few years ago, I started an evaluation period of my life. I choose to do it around my birthday rather than around New Years Day. For the week leading up to my birthday, I start making lists of important accomplishments and goals for next year.

I try to evaluate each year taking into account the various events that have taken place* (war, birth, death, etc) to see how I did. This years asterisk is definitely the effect the economy had on my job, financial aid opportunities for Andy, and his continued difficulties finding part-time work.

This year was definitely a ‘mixed blessings’ kind of year. My layoff in allowed me to re-prioritize the things in my life. But it also had a terrible impact on my 401k and our savings. I was able to take classes at the community college that I had been eyeing for the last year or so. I’ve developed great relationships with individuals who saved me during the months I was laid off. Andy and I were able to have a pretty great time this summer camping, splashing around (I refuse to call it swimming!), and traveling to get oysters. And I now have a job that I enjoy!

I don’t want to lose any momentum that I’ve gained. I need to continue taking classes on Adobe Creative Suites4 because it’s definitely a use-it-or-lose-it type of skill. Photoshop will be the next class that I take. I also want to set up a few websites for myself one of which will show case some of the work I have done in the last year. And of course there is the marathon.

I’ve put some of my writing and craft projects on hold for the time being. I recognize that at times I do bite off more than I can chew. I want to be able to devote the time, energy and passion to projects that I take on. I am also electing not to volunteer with the Portland chapter of the American Marketing Association again this year. I do think that I might volunteer with the Oregon Road Runners Association.

I am channeling a lot of time and energy into a side work project that is providing me with a lot of valuable experience. I’m also getting to work with a small company which I absolutely love! The vast majority of the project will be complete at the end of the year (or I will have figured out how to better juggle all the activities I’m involved in) and I will then take some additional classes. At that time, I will probably reevaluate what I’m spending my time, energy and passion on. So stay tuned!

Tillamook Macaroni and Cheese and Cheese Event

Last night Andy and I attended the Tillamook Macaroni and Cheese and Cheese event held at Kell’s. We met up with our friends Irik & Amy. The event is to judge which macaroni and cheese dish is the best. It is free to attend. You get a couple of beers, little buffet, and an opportunity to sample each of the recipes in the contest.

Us at the Event

It was great to hang out with Amy and Irik. The majority of my coworkers also attended. It’s always nice to see such hardworking people take some time to enjoy themselves. But I don’t think this is the event for Andy and myself. First off, you only got 2 small beers. You couldn’t purchase anymore in the tent. 3 hour event with food on a Friday night? You could leave the tent and go into Kell’s to purchase more but couldn’t bring them outside into the tent. Second, the samples were cold. So it was hard to tell how good the macaroni and cheese really was. Third, only one of the six recipes didn’t have meat in it. So Andy was bummed. And fourth, it was really loud in the tent.

Keegan Gerhard, host of Food Network’s Food Network Challenge was the emcee of the grand finale cook-off. He was pretty entertaining but didn’t know anything about beer. He said that Widmer’s Drifter Pale Ale (which was being served at the event) was a “Very German Beer”. No, it wasn’t. Please don’t come to Portland aka Beervana without a fair amount of beer knowledge.

Andy and I ended up bored and thirsty so we headed into Kell’s and had a beer. Next year I think we’ll give it a miss. Cheers!

**Please note: photo of Keegan Gerhard was taken from the Tillamook Macaroni and Cheese and Cheese site.

Portland Marathon

I’ve made the decision to train for the Portland Marathon (10/10/2010) Keep coming back for updates on my progress. I’m sure I will have tons of stories to write for this experience.

Am I crazy? Maybe.

New Mexico

Each time I go back home to New Mexico, I have such mixed feelings. On one hand, I absolutely love the food, my family, the scenery and usually the weather. But then on the other hand, I dislike the fact that the mass transit system is relegated to Greyhound and a few city buses in Albuquerque and Santa Fe. The poverty in New Mexico is not only staggering but sobering. You can’t help but feel privileged when you see the large hungry eyes of small children clad only diapers on a cool day.

Living in Portland, Oregon has changed me in many ways. My views on animals mirrors organizations like PETA (I know my father would cringe if he read this), I eat things like TVP and drink microbrew beer. I haven’t carried an umbrella in over ten years and don’t run inside when it rains anymore. Summertime now is an exhausting couple of months filled with as many outdoor activities as I can fit in. My skin has turned a lighter side and is now prone to peeling sunburns. But I love it! All except I cannot find good spicy New Mexican food.

My recent visit to New Mexico was a mixed bag of sadness and joy. As most of you know, my Nana has been diagnosed with ALS and its marching through her body quickly. My nephew Trenton said that her muscles were broke which is the best description I can think of. I used to think the worst part of getting older was gray hair and wrinkles. Now I know its watching your loved ones suffer from a disease in which there is no cure and virtually no treatment for. All you can do is try to make them comfortable. I tried to be strong the first morning I went to see her but you know me…I felt like I had been punched in the stomach. Gone was the vibrant, out going woman who has had such a huge impact on my life. Instead she was replaced with a little old woman who couldn’t talk. She put her head on my shoulder and allowed me to cry softly into her hair. I was happy to get to tell her that I loved her.

Nana and Trenton

After that my brother Jimmy took me on what I initially thought was a 20-30 mile bike ride. It turned out that it was 50 miles. I’m still very surprised that I was able to finish the ride in one piece. My legs were shaky afterwords and I think I told my sister-in-law that I loved her. She picked me and my brother up rather than having us ride an additional 12 miles uphill!!! You’d love her too! My brother Jimmy took me for a beer and wings while my sister-in-law got her nails done. That Fat Tire and barbecued wings were the best things I had consumed in a long time!!

My dad and I hung out on Friday. He took me to two museums (New Mexico Museum of Natural History and the Maxwell Museum of Anthropology) and to get the worlds best beef jerky. We don’t get to spend a lot of time alone which is unfortunate because we are very similar. We both like striped shirts, BBC, history, and making fun of people. We met my mom for lunch at Blake’s where we all enjoyed green chile burgers. It was a good day!

I had a good time in New Mexico but am happy to be home with Andy and my cats. I must say that I did enjoy having Jimmy’s dog Bodie sleep behind my knees.

New Mexico

In approximately sixteen days, I will be leaving to go visit New Mexico. My Grandmother was diagnosed with ALS (Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease and recently moved from her home in Midland, Texas to a nursing home in Rio Rancho, NM. My little brother Jimmy is the Administrator of the facility which is fantastic because he can keep a close eye on her.

I never imagined how difficult it was going to be watching your loved ones grow old, get sick, and eventually die. I know in my heart and brain that this is the circle of life. The way it’s supposed to be. That knowledge doesn’t make it any easier to watch someone you love suffer. It’s going to be very hard to visit my grandmother and see that she can no longer talk, cannot open up her hands or get around without her walker.

I spent several summers with my grandparents. I worked out to Richard Simmons “Sweaty to the Oldies” with Nana, went camping in Pagosa Springs, CO , climbed around Mesa Verde, baked thousands of cookies, learned how to write a check, and numerous other things that escape me right now. I won’t say that my Nana is the nicest woman in the world. But she was well educated and always gave her opinion whether it was asked for or not. She raised four children, owned a business, obtained a Masters Degree, and taught special needs children. She is an amazing woman.

When I started writing this post, the focus was going to be how I hated leaving Andy at home while I went to visit my family. His schooling always comes first. No matter how much he wants to go with me. Or vice versa. But I’ve found that in writing, sometimes it’s best to let a piece goes where it wants to no matter how painful.

More on New Mexico in the coming weeks!

Movies

Andy and I went to go see District 9 about two weeks ago. I have to recommend it as it was a unique, creative film. Even Andy, who’s very picky about his movies, liked it. This summer we saw a lot of movies including: “Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince”, “Hurt Locker” (which was the best movie of 2009!), “Year One”"The Hangover”,”Star Trek”, and “Night at the Museum 2″.

My favorites were (in order): Hurt Locker, District 9, Star Trek, and The Hangover (both were SO good), Year One, and then Harry Potter, and at the bottom of the list Night at the Museum.

We’ve also rented quite a few movies that Andy has patiently sat through including “Benjamin Button”, “He’s Just Not That Into You”, and “Zack and Miri Make a Porno”. Don’t bother with “He’s Just Not that Into You.” It was absolutely terrible!

New Job

So tomorrow I go in for my first day at the new job. I will post more information as things progress. But here’s some dialogue.

Me-I wanted this job so bad because its doing something I think that’s really interesting and will help me in my future career plans.
You-So what are you doing?
Me-Email marketing.
You-Wow. That’s pretty cool.
Me-I know!
You-Where will you be working?
Me-At a company downtown.
You-What’s the name?
Me-I’ll tell everyone when I am ready.
You-You need to check their social media policy, huh?
Me-YES
You-So are you really ready to go back to work? It looks like you had a lot of fun this summer.
Me-I did have some fun but am SO ready to get back to ‘normal life’.
You-Well have a great first day and keep us up to date!
Me-Oh I will!

Cheers.