Juice and Joy

Friday, January 18, 2008

Made for Comfort

Aye, I started this post days ago...Elijah's birthday, in fact. Here's what I had:

I just registered for 3M a few minutes ago. For the girl who strongly dislikes road races, it is a gutsy move. Even gutsier, I'm trying to find someone (anyone?) who will pace me to a faster race than I would do alone. I'm optimistic right now and hope that holds for the next 2 weeks.

Saturday long run was a preview of the 3M course. We met a bunch of half-marathoners at Runtex and carpooled to Mario's Deli on Anderson Lane and Shoal Creek (mile 5 of the course).


And that's where I stopped. And honestly, would it really matter if I finished the post or just posted it as is?

Well, for the two people out there who actually read this (me being one of them, I think), I'll go ahead and do a quick finish of our Saturday long run and my week.

Saturday long run was a preview of the 3M course. We met a bunch of half-marathoners at Runtex and carpooled to Mario's Deli on Anderson Lane and Shoal Creek (mile 5 of the course). I rode with EEL, aka Fast Girls, and Gayatri. EEL is my new nickname for Elizabeth, Erin, and Leslie.

The run was fine (10 miles). Weather was awesome. The slants on the streets sucked, and I was trying to avoid getting my IT band all fired-up. Gayatri and I stuck together a ways behind The Fast Girls. We saw Tina as we approached Runtex and chatted for many minutes. It was good to see her (former 5k/10k Gazelle). She's training for AT&T and is running 3M. I'm hooking her up with EEL for our next long run and 3M b/c she's around their speed (a tad faster though). EEL will be good company for Tina, and Tina will be a good pacer for EEL.

I stepped in a dog poop on my way to stretching. So typical. It was all over one of my shoes and even in the little holes on the sole (the holes under the heel for cushion). That sort of spoiled my stretching, so I didn't get the best stretch. I did enjoy talking to Linda about boxing and running. I would so not be a good boxer. She said the funniest thing to me when I commented that a particular stretch felt like work. She said, "You are made for comfort." Oh, Linda. So wise you are. Anyway, if you are curious, the stretch I gritched about it is Warrior's Pose. My quads always complain during that one.

My knee acted up last weekend perhaps from the slants on the roads, the lack of good stretching, or just for grins. I have been icing it and my leg daily, and we'll see how it goes during tomorrow's 7 mile run.

Monday was Elijah's 8th birthday. No running class for me as we were celebrating the birth of the Sweet One.

Tuesday I rode a super fancy stationary bike at Fitness Life for an hour. My friend, Jennifer, freaked out when I put in 60 minutes. She was punching in 30 minutes thinking I'd be doing the same. Alas, I can't drive a car for the MS 150. After 10 minutes of cycling, my right knee was really hurting. I said some prayers and thought good things, and it went away. I need a good leg massage and lots of ice.

Wednesday was Fartlek. I enjoy fartlek though I wish we had done a trail loop instead of around Auditorium Shores. But we do what coach tells us to do, and I wanted to run with a group.

Oh, Wednesday and today I woke up with vertigo again. I took Thursday off to do some much needed stuff around our house. Does anyone else feel like exercising every day (especially for long periods of time) causes you to neglect serious parts of your life? I know that seems unorganized of me, but I work, I have children, I have a husband, I have chores, I have daily life, and if I spend 2 hours going to a workout, doing the workout, and coming home from the workout, it sucks up a huge chunk of time from other areas. So...Thursday I just couldn't do that again.

I hope to get in a 30 minute run tonight before tomorrow's 7 miles. I hope my knee holds out and the vertigo stays in the movies.

Btw, Jane Austen fans will be happy to know that the complete Jane Austen is airing on PBS each Sunday night. Last week was Persuasion. This week is Northanger Abbey. I am nothing short of giddy.

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Monday, October 8, 2007

Good Reads

In this installment, I share what I'm currently reading as well as a poem. If you want to play "Name that Poem" please do. I love seeing if anyone not only reads the poem but makes that extra effort to name the poet and title.


I'm reading The Elegant Universe by Brian Greene. I've had this book for a couple of years, and I've tried on and off again to read it. I generally read before bed, and this book requires much more brain activity than my pre-bedtime brain can muster. I would read and re-read the same sections trying to understand the theories (my degrees are not in Physics or Math, fyi). However, I love this theory, and we've watched the NOVA production a few times.

It was my turn to choose a book for my book club. I've thought about choosing this one in the past, but I finally did it this time around. Others reading it with me and then discussing it with me is a great motivator. I've asked David to read it with me many times. I imagine the wonderful discussions we'd have over string theory and could it work and how it works. He hasn't expressed any interest in reading it, but he did watch the NOVA shows with me.

So, if you are looking for something really great to read, I recommend this book. If you try to read it and just can't, then please do at least watch the NOVA production (which you can watch free online on the NOVA web site).

On to the poetry. Have you ever head of a Found Poem? Look for some today or tomorrow or the next day. It's fun; I promise.

Is this a poem? You decide...

When there's nowhere else to run
Is there room for one more son
If you can hold on
If you can hold on, hold on
I wanna stand up, I wanna let go
You know, you know - no you don't, you don't
I wanna shine on in the hearts of men
I wanna meaning from the back of my broken hand

Another head aches, another heart breaks
I'm so much older than I can take
And my affection, well it comes and goes
I need direction to perfection, no no no no

Help me out
Yeah, you know you got to help me out
Yeah, oh don't you put me on the back burner
You know you got to help me out

And when there's nowhere else to run
Is there room for one more son
These changes ain't changing me
The gold-hearted boy I used to be

Yeah, you know you got to help me out
Yeah, oh don't you put me on the back burner
You know you got to help me out
You're gonna bring yourself down
Yeah, you're gonna bring yourself down

I got soul, but I'm not a soldier

Over and in, last call for sin
While everyone's lost, the battle is won
With all these things that I've done

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