Aquatics

Today was a big day. That's right. BIG.

I arrived at the Harris YMCA pool at 5:45 am, towel and goggles in tow. My swimming partner invariably beats me to the pool so I was a little thrown off when I realized none of the swim-capped heads were hers. So I sat down on the bench and waited. I watched lanes open and close. I watched people effortlessly moving through the water. My stomach started to knot as I watched the clock and worried about all the unknowns.

How flipping cold is that water going to be?

Do I even remember how to do anything other than breast stroke?

(Do I even know how to do breast stroke, really?)

Are my goggles going to leak and get water in my last pair of contacts rendering me nearly blind for the better part of a week until my new ones arrive?

Am I going to look like a complete ass?

I waited and pondered and squirmed for about 15 minutes. I resigned myself to the fact that my partner was not showing and went for it - into the pool with goggles smooshed into the soft circles under my eyes (this would be pretty later). First few laps I caved and did breast stroke. Finally, finally, finally - I just did it. I put my face in the water.

Let me repeat.

I put my face in the water!!! (worthy of exclamation points)

I swam for four laps breathing every four strokes and my lungs burned. I kinda liked it but I kinda felt like I might drown so I kinda decided to take a brief moment and observe the other swimmers. They were breathing every two strokes. Well sheesh. What was I thinking? So I went back and forth between two strokes and four strokes and got comfortable. Every 4-6 laps or so I stopped and did a little kickboard since I was barely kicking while swimming. By the end of the 45 minutes I was swimming without counting laps... I had learned a few very important things:

I am not going to drown

and

I can pace myself

and

No one's looking at me

so

who cares if I look like an ass?

F(r)un Times

Freedom Park.

Quick turns.

And an IT band on fire.

Yesterday I ran with the boy and two gentleman from my Blue Ridge Relay team. We met somewhere near East Boulevard and did some crazy loopage all over the area. This was the first time I had run after work in a long time and it was gor-geous. The sweat was just pouring off me but I wasn't in the mood for taking my shirt off so it was a rather sticky run with little ventilation. But I am not at all complaining because I like running in the warmth.

Ran 8 miles which was about 1.5 more than I technically should have but I felt good. Had STEM done on my leg earlier in the day and so my hamstring was not even a factor during the run. Iced the ITB and hammy even thought it wasn't really killing me but watching a movie is perfect time to ice.

Got a tasty bit of leftovers combined... tagine sauce a la chicken and rice with some black bean cakes from monday's dinner. 9:15 is officially too late to eat dinner. The only issue with running at night is your belly stays empty way too long. Well that's not the only issue, there is the whole problem of getting too tired or too stressed or too busy by the end of the day. That always sucks.

So I guess the lesson on that is: I am so thankful for my morning running partners. Where would I be without them?

Craving

Steak Quesadilla, Tortilla Soup, originally uploaded by draw4yrlif.

It is a cold, rainy Monday morning and I'm thinking this little blitz from my brother's blog looks beyond satisfying.

Highs 'n Lows

This hamstring injury has been a rocky road and it hasn't been a damn thing like ice cream.

Recap Revisited

To motivate myself a wee bit (and because I was messing with my Garmin) I went back through and updated my Athleticore log with splits from Thunder Road. As I write this I feel like that 30 something who is still trying to play beer pong with the boys and remain in his college football days. Except I'm a 20 something and this was relatively recent and I am still in it. Right?

Thought the running side of this blog could use it:

Running Competition
Date: 12/12/2009 7:50:00 AM
Competition: Charlotte Thunder Road Marathon(Road Race)
Event: Marathon @ 3:04:23.00 (7:02 / mi) Place: 1
Warmup/Cooldown: 0 mi
Shoes: Mizuno Precision 10 (10/31/2009)
Temperature: 31°F to 40°F
Conditions: Cloudy & Dry
Intensity: Hard
Overall Feeling: Excellent
Comments: Here goes!

_______________________

This race was so much fun! I was so thankful to Logan and Joe and everyone else who ran some of this with me!

Start was pretty pathetic - couldn't get to the line until more than a minute after the gun went off. This helped me run under control for the first mile, about 7:24. Next few miles were a little quicker and then I slowed myself down purposefully so I could save myself for later. Hung out with Alice for a few miles and talked some strategy for the race and about our goals, etc. Ran with the CRC guy who was running 52 that day for a while... definitely good conversation pace! Beautiful area at this point... I absolutely love the first half of this race. Saw Joe and Jinnie around 10 right before Logan joined me. From 12 on, Logan and Joe and I just rolled along laughing and having a good time. Felt good and gradually started picking it up but I was proud of myself for biding my time even though I knew there were women ahead of me. Took the lead around mile 20 after running with Amelia for about 3/4 mile when I got to hear that she kicked butt and PRed in the half. Running through NoDa was great with the "wall" that Logan and I slapped as we went through and Plaza Midwood was awesome with the drunken corner cheering me around the curve and downhill. It was at that point, around mile 24, that I really felt like I was racing this thing and it was time to finish up. Mile 25 came and went and then it was go time! Kent hopped in out of nowhere and it felt like old times as we kicked down the hill to Try Sports or flew over the boardwalks at McMullen. Last mile ended up being about 6:08 pace up that tough hill to the finish so I was proud of that! Overall, I had the most wonderful experience ever and cannot wait to do it again! But of course, I need to wait a while :)

splits:
7:24
6:58
6:52
7:19
7:31
7:14
7:13
7:17
7:05
7:07
7:04
7:12
7:14
7:06
6:57
7:07
7:05
6:55
6:46
6:48
6:49
6:40
6:35
6:30
6:20
6:08
6:07 pace - 2:58 for last .49

Total: 3:04:29
6:58 avg
2116 cal burned

Talk about all over the place!

Morning, Miles, and Norah Jones

Kinda interesting when "to failure" occurs on the first rep. Ouch. Did a little workout on my lunch break with our trainer here at the office and ended up in the fetal position of failure once or twice. I think I dropped a few four letter words as well but that's not a big surprise. (This is something I'm working on).

Got my run on this morning with my Thursday am running partner - starting things back up again. I was pretty pumped as we made our way down the sidewalk chattin' it up. Passed along the highlights of Norah Jones, discussed the Wilco CD he borrowed from me (and returned insulated in paper towel and little plastic baggie when he met me running this morning), and recapped his Twilight race and recent workouts. Felt pretty smooth during this run but was a little more tired than I'd like to be on a 5.5 mile run. Good news... I mapped my run when I got home and it turned out to be 6 - so there. Longest run since I've come back. No, I'm not going to stop counting those.

Speaking of Norah Jones. I have to make a comment. She sang a pretty wonderfully rockin' song about her dog being her only man of the hour and so on. Two things:

1) What kind of dog would the likes of Norah Jones have?
2) What man in his right mind would lie, cheat, or argue with the likes of Norah Jones?

Just thinkin'.

I've always wondered these things when listening to Ben Gibbard, Connor Oberst, and Chris Carrabba - who breaks hearts like these? But you know what? I'm kinda glad they did... because the music that evolves out of heartbreak and heartache and gut-wrenching tears on the pavement is the kind of music I get into. I let it float around in between my ears and I soak it up in my skin and I let it light my memories afire. This is the kind of music I get into. A few eggs cracked to make some omelets of musical genius. Keep 'em crackin loves. Keep 'em crackin.

Injury Schminjury

So I been doin' a little running lately. If all goes right I'm a gonna have a 25 mile week this week. This is much more palatable than the 10 mile week I had a couple weeks ago. Oh and infinitely more acceptable than the 0 mile week I had the week before that. I no longer feel so discouraged as my hamstring is still very tight but causes me much less pain than before and I am nearly pain free when sitting in vehicles, on my office ball, on couches, on wrought-iron patio furniture, on wicker chairs... well anywhere really that used to drive me crazy.

McMullen Creek Greenway was its usual pseudo-zoo on Monday morning. As my running partners and I briskly made our way down the boardwalk we encountered some interesting sounding wildlife. I say 'sounding' of course because we didn't get to lay eyes on the creature making our skin crawl. Not to mention the bullfrogs sounding off... you have to love little wilderness encounters at 5:30 am. Thomas and I started pushing ourselves a little bit on the way back. I think the nudge to pick up the pace stemmed from our chitchat of frustration at coming back from time off. We commiserated about how much more difficult pace X feels now when it used to just roll for miles.

I'm feeling about 85% better... one step at a time. I woke up today and felt like crap so I decided to cancel my run for the day. By lunchtime I was feeling equal parts better and lazy so I got 4 quick miles in on the lunch break. This was only a half mile less than I had planned for the day but hey - I'm in the business of takin' what I'm gettin'.

And that's all for now, miles and smiles folks.

Out of My Way Cow...

Venison burgers, originally uploaded by mo mckinley.

Pecan encrusted venison burger on sourdough.

Yeah, I know. Kind of ridiculous.

So, I had one of those busy days at work that are pretty fun but go go go all day long. On my lunch break I took some alone time and did something productive with it. Worked on making my upper body and core strong in order to come back from all this more prepared for hard training and less likely to suffer injury. That is the idea at least. After my workout my boss took me outside for a gait analysis. Lessons were learned: 1) shorten your stride and 2) stop squeezing your ass. Apparently I have an issue with relaxing... who knew?!

I would have loved to practice this but today was a day off so I rushed home to get in the pool. This was the first day I tried swimming in the pool in the backyard. It was hot hot hot on top and pretty chilly underneath but once I got used to it... I was in heaven. So much more interesting surroundings than an indoor pool! I did a little aqua jogging while checking out the rose bushes and smelling the smell of the fake green grass. The mind tends to wander when its idle and I wondered if they ever felt like making it more authentic by adding fake doggie poo. I'm going to go with a 'no, never' on that, but it was worth a wonder. I finished up with more breaststroke and called it a day after I did as much as I possibly could in 20 minutes. I figured 20 minutes of cardio for the day was better than 0 even though it was crazy. I left work at 6:00 with plans to get home, swim, shower, and get to dinner at the boy's by 7:00 so we could see a movie by 7:40. I pulled up to his house at 7:03 and we only missed a few previews. Not bad work.

Dinner was incredible and I wanted to eat it slowly, enjoying every mouthful. Butternut squash was diced and I'm going to go out on a limb and guess they were pan fried in a dusting of curry. Maybe they were baked because there was absolutely no hint of grease. Maybe I should ask next time so I don't have to come back through here and edit. *Update: They were roasted in the over. Or maybe he meant roasted in the oven and his big thumb hit the wrong button.* Anywho - those little cubes of orange perfection did it for me. Then there was the pecan encrusted venison burger on top of sourdough bread... topped with bacon and pickle. Mmmmyumm. The dish was rounded out with a coleslaw incorporating grapes and mangoes... a little sweetness. Even though we were in a hurry, I still took my time with my food. This was far too good to be rushed.

Penne Pasta and the Big Bed

I believe I ended my last post with how much I love Mondays. But let me just say... I love Tuesdays as well. Tuesdays are the nights I can bet on a wonderful meal and conversation with two people who mean more to me than I could ever put into words. My mom is always cooking and my dad is always looking to see what he can help with. He and I are both learning the balancing act of being helpful and being Captain Underfoot, though he has a good bit more experience than me. Guiltily watching my mom rushing around the kitchen, we ate fresh veggies with Raita Dip from Trader Joes that was surprisingly perfect with the cucumbers, grape tomatoes, broccoli, celery, and carrots. Mom made a whole wheat penne pasta dish with a tuscan twist - some white beans were baked in. Homemade lemon-pepper salad dressing over a very simple salad of romaine and heirloom tomatoes was a perfect light compliment to the heavier pasta.

We sat around and talked outside on the porch (amidst the wisteria) and I fought the conflicting urges to go get seconds and to stay put lazily in my chair. My stomach eventually won out and I helped myself to some more carbohydrates for all the runs I'm not running. (Shhhhhhh....)

We came inside to a mountain - and I mean a mountain - of dishes. We're talking K2 or Everest style, not Mt. McKinley. So Dad got going rinsing and I got going drying and our mouths got going chatting. So much of who I am and what I believe is based on the conversations I have had around or beside the dinner table. The kitchen holds the secret formula of what makes me Me. The mountain of dishes melted away as we addressed big and small issues alike. We talked about everything: from overcoming trauma; to forgiveness and family dinners; to the honor system and unspoken rules of decency and tradition at UVA.

Finally we got everything back in its place and then shared a silly moment. My parents just bought a brand new bed to replace the brass bed frame they have had for over 25 years. We all ooohed and aaahed over the size and sophistication of the new King of the house. Then we all sat around on it - sprawled out and everything, playing with the cats and chatting. We were quite comfortable and then I got ready to leave/roll out/peace/bounce.

I kissed my mom goodnight on the cheek as she tucked herself into bed and I laughed. When I was younger and lived at home, I would kiss her goodnight every single night. I don't know when I stopped doing it. It might have been sophomore or junior year in high school. But I did stop. And then I moved away to college and when I was home I was usually out late and the opportunity and thought to kiss her goodnight had faded away. Over the past two years I have been home more regularly (sometimes even routinely) and have started saying goodnight again. The closeness we have always shared is there in that last moment before she calls it a day. She is my mother - but she is my friend. And I laughed because it was so easy and pure. It was so natural - it was like muscle memory on an emotional scale.

Trio of Yum

2010-05-03 18.43.13.jpg, originally uploaded by mo mckinley.

I was treated to a trio of yum last night. After a very little cooking weekend due to traveling, I think the boy was in a mood: eggplant parmesan, lamb ragout, and scallops. Funny thing is... this is not an unusual thing for me to find on my plate. I'm beginning to worry that I'm being spoiled by the fabulous food I encounter nearly every day. The first bite of scallop took me off guard with the richness of the mingling apple and bacon flavors. The eggplant parmesan had a layer of butternut squash puree in the middle which made for tasty texture and the lamb ragout was served with homemade fettucini. The dish was a combination of things that needed to be used up in the refrigerator... talk about a ridiculously good use of leftovers.

I was so hungry on the way home after missing my afternoon snack that I was shaking. When I walked in the kitchen I found the boy hard at work. Whenever he's in the zone there is a purposeful quickness and rigidity in his movements. Tongs in/tongs out. The snap of tongs on the edge of the pan. These are good, good sounds. The oven opens and another surprise arrives. These are good, good nights when the mundane task of eating for nourishment is turned upside down to make it an event all in its own right. And then there was book club... I do so love my Mondays.

Muggy and Buggy

5:10 am: Alarm off.

5:11 am: Mo off.

I was so excited to get going this morning that I hopped right up and put on my running clothes (dutifully laid out on the bureau beside the bed). Took a while actually getting out of the house because my eyes were all groggy and my body is not used to the 5 am business anymore so I struggled a bit... think I might've run into a doorway but that would not be at all unusual behavior for me.

Met up with my running partners at the Greenway. I haven't run with them very often lately (thanks hammy!) but we used to have a really great routine going in the mornings even when it was in the teens and we were wearing huge, baggy hoodies over Mizuno Breath Thermo shirts. Yuck. Anywho. Husband and wife duo who drive separately because one leaves to go straight to work. She was there about 5 minutes late which was no worry since we weren't going very far. No sign of her hubby.

"He has a million pairs of running shorts and I just did laundry on Monday but apparently he couldn't find any. So he said he would come if he found any shorts."

We stood there and stretched a little bit waiting for him. He showed up within a few minutes and we ran down to meet him at the beginning of the trail... he was wearing bright yellow shorts with a much longer inseam than I am accustomed to seeing him in. I would venture a guess they were swimming shorts but... I could be wrong.

It was a pretty funny start to the morning. I didn't mind a little laughter as they chided each other back and forth before finally settling into, "Ahhhh but I love yous" and we got in our rhythm of running into the darkness. They had just returned from a 13 mile fun run at the Turkey Pen (no joke) with some crazy folks with WNC Trail Runners. I looked it up and was a little jealous... they all got in a local swimming hole afterwards and everything - SHOOT - watering holes? That's what I'm talking about after a 13 mile hot n' sweaty run in the sun!

No hamstring pain for the 4 miles we ran together this morning... grabbed an iced chai afterwards. This was probably a bad choice of post-run nourishment. An hour later I was still jacked. Whoo-eee.

Can't wait for Wednesday when I can do this all over again!! Might get to hit the trails at Reedy Creek Park this weekend... getting pumped.