2015 in 2015.

     My running buddy and I met our goal!  And with a month to spare.

How To Walk Off A Thanksgiving Dinner: 63 Miles

I'm sure you've read this, but it is a great reminder at this time of year.

Want to know how to walk off the calories from a Thanksgiving dinner? Keep walking. About 18 hours after you start, you’ll be back to ground zero. According to this calories burned chart, walking burns about 250 calories an hour. And according to thisThanksgiving calorie counter, a Thanksgiving meal delivers 4,575 calories. The math is simple, the journey is not. Here’s some more math: if you walk at a normal pace of 3.5 miles per hour for 18 hours, you’ll cover 63 miles.
           http://sportsgeezer.com/2015/how-to-walk-off-a-thanksgiving-dinner-63-miles/

Lab gluttony, owner stupidity

     I have a labrador/golden mutt.  Charleigh is a heavy chewer and loves rawhides, which have gotten very expensive lately.  The big Christmas ones were on sale this week (the 2 footers), so I got her one.  She just carried it around for a while trying to figure out how to tackle it, but once she did, I couldn't get it away from her.  She would grab it and run away from me all around the house.  It was hers.
     I gave up and hoped she would quit when she was full.  No such luck.  Within an hour it was gone.
     At 3 am I was awakened by retching.  By the time I got the light on and got to her she had puked the entire thing onto my bedroom carpet...a steaming pile of rawhide bits.  She was wagging her tail and I swear she was smiling.
     30 min. later it was all cleaned up, and I couldn't get back to sleep.  I could only be angry at myself.  Labs are gluttons and will eat themselves into a coma if given the opportunity.  She is worse than me at Thanksgiving.  I must remember this for next time.  

Turn up the volume

     We only got 3 inches of snow from yesterday's storm, but it is 12 degrees out this morning and I promised to drive a friend to run group!  I so want to stay in where it is safe and warm.  Darn accountability! It will be icy so I will only be walking anyhow.  I wonder how many layers I can fit under my running jacket?

Quote of the day:

     There is only one way to avoid criticism:  do nothing, say nothing, and be nothing.
                                                  Aristotle





     The sidewalks are finally more or less cleared of ice, and there's another storm blowing in.

Quote seen on FaceBook this morning from Humans of New York:
         "I'm realizing that nobody grows up.  Everyone just grows old."

Wow!

'Some believe it is only great power that can hold evil in check. But that is not what I have found. I've found it is the small things, everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keeps the darkness at bay. Simple acts of kindness and love.' - Gandalf

It hurts everywhere. The world is so sad. I have no words.

                              For so many reasons, the whole world aches.

                        Here is a Charlie Chaplin clip as true and needed now as then.

 

I'm on my way

                                    shared from The Mind Unleashed




     The above meme reminds me of this song, which I love.  I have it on my running playlist.

Today I run for Paris

World Kindness Day, and Friday the 13th.

     Today marks Friday the 13th as well as World Kindness Day.  Of course, every day needs to be World Kindness Day.  If the opportunity arises, I will go out of my way to be kind....it is a serendipitous thing.  I also plan on making the balance of my charitable donations for the year today. That makes me feel kind and warm and good.

Practice random acts of kindness.

A warm smile is the universal language of kindness.---William Arthur Ward

A boring but much needed recovery day.

     Yesterday we had our first significant snowfall of the year--6 inches.  It was a day to stay warm indoors and do winter-like things.  I read a book.  I cooked a couple of pie pumpkins and toasted their seeds, and then made pumpkin pudding.  For some reason I was craving pumpkin foods.
     Today I will make pumpkin soup with roasted corn.  I can't wait.
     I did jog a very slow mile on the treadmill (while reading said book) to keep my streak intact (day 442).
     Today there is sunshine, lots of errands to run, a dog to walk....back to normal.  Some days, though, you just need to take it easy,

Veteran's Day

     This is the most memorable poem I read in high school.

In Flanders Fields

John McCrae, 1872 - 1918

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row, 
That mark our place, and in the sky, 
The larks, still bravely singing, fly, 
Scarce heard amid the guns below. 

We are the dead; short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, 
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields. 

Take up our quarrel with the foe! 
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high! 
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

"Everything was beautiful and nothing hurt."----Kurt Vonnegut, Slaughterhouse Five

     I read this interesting quote today and had to look up its context.  I read the book twenty years ago and don't recall it.   Billy Pilgrim thinks this when his daughter asks him what it was like to be in the war.  The book's narrator says that it would make a good epitaph for Billy.  Irony is in play here. I can see why the quote is so well-known.

     I'm sure you recall the poem, "The road not taken," by Robert Frost.  (Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, and sorry I could not travel both.....").  I recently read a very pretentious article on how everyone interprets Frost's meaning incorrectly.
     It is poetry.  Its beauty is that its meaning is open to interpretation. The meaning to me in my life can be different than the meaning to you in yours, and it is okay.  It is still poignant.
     This is why I disliked literature classes in high school and college.  I loved the reading but disliked that the interpretation was graded on such a narrow basis....view it my way, or the highway, so to speak.


     It is a gorgeous fall day here.  I took Charleigh for a slow three mile scratch/sniff/and explore walk.  There must be wonderful smells hiding under the drifts of damp leaves.  She deserved some excitement as she didn't get much exercise yesterday.  I enjoyed soaking up the sun.  There won't be many more days like this in 2015.  Enjoy.

Nice race this morning...I'd do it again.

     I always ask myself why do I do this?  It was so cold waiting at the start for an hour, with a bitter wind.  But I have to get there early.  Why, you ask?  Because there were 8 portapotties for over 1000 people, is why.  The people getting there late were in a line a couple of blocks long.
     Afterward, I realize every time that I race, I do it because I can....because I can say I did this difficult thing.
     I was wrong about the course.  2 1/4 miles of concrete, 2 miles of pasture dodging badger holes and cow pies, 5+ miles of single track with lots of rocks and roots covered by fallen leaves. the rest was double track all along 13.1 miles of continuous non-stop hills!
     Being a klutz, naturally I tripped and fell, but only once, skinning my elbow and both palms.  The next song on my race playlist....."Human" by Christina Perri, with lyrics:  "But I'm only human, and I bleed when I fall down."  A few songs later, "I feel the earth move" by Carole King; lyrics:  "I feel the earth move under my feet, I feel the sky tumbling down, tumbling down."  I love both songs but you can see how they might be bad luck when dodging rocks and roots on hills.I might have to rethink them both.
     I finished in about 2:58.  My Garmin watch won't sync today so I can't view the results, and official race results won't be posted online for at least 24 hours.  Can't wait to check my Garmin....I'm guessing altitude gain was well over 1000 feet. At least it seemed that way.
     I always learn something during these races.  Today I learned not to leave my sports drink sitting at home on the counter.
     And Siri, my cell phone navigator, got me there and back without problems so I thanked her, feeling guilty over my snarkiness yesterday.  She replied, "I'm just doing my job."
     Food at the end of the race was pancakes and craft beer.  Wonderful, but how very German.

     Great bling----shirt, medal, and mug.  I'd do this race again.

PS  The only wildlife sighting was the Wookie giving high-fives at mile eight.

PS  Garmin Express is functioning today finally.  The total elevation gain at yesterday's race was 1115 feet. I need to work on running more hills and trails before I do this again.  I think this race was the last for me in 2015.

Happy weekend

     I am running?? a trail half marathon this morning.  A few months ago when I signed up, it seemed like a good training idea.  I am not really recovered from my last race.  I have never run a trail race before.  This one has 1000 ft of elevation gain, is 95% trail, but involves no mountains or rocks or roots for me to trip and fall.  Yes, I am a klutz---I freely admit it.
     But it will be 25 degrees at the start.  I don't do well standing around waiting when it is 25 degrees.....freezing fingers, shivering, stiff muscles, etc.
     I spent a couple of hours yesterday driving around Highlands Ranch trying to find the expo to pick up my race bib and shirt.  Siri, the navigator on my cell phone, couldn't navigate herself out of a paper bag!  I advised her to notify "Apple" that she was stupid.  It didn't make her smarter.
     Let's hope she can get us to the race this morning.
     I almost wouldn't go, but I paid money for this and people know I registered, and will be watching on FaceBook for my results.  Dratted accountability.

I need to remind myself of this daily.

IT'S NEVER TOO LATE "Before you decide you're too old to run across mountains, rock-climb in canyons, or take up scuba diving, remember: It's never too late—muscles never lose the ability to improve, no matter how old you are. We are raised with the idea that when you hit fifty, you should relax and take it easy. I think this is a mistake. The more energy you expend, the more you get back. I get more tired sitting all day than when I run fifty miles." Helen Klein, holder of approximately 75 World and American running records. Klein's running career began with no previous experience in 1978 at age 55.

Yesterday's quote

     I read yesterday's quote by Madeleine L'Engle in an article about Alzheimer's Disease.  It really puts the quote in a new perspective, doesn't it.

"The greatest hazard of all, losing one's self, can occur very quietly in the world, as if it were nothing at all.  No other loss can occur so quietly, any other loss--an arm, a leg, five dollars, a wife, etc.--is sure to be noticed."
                                Soren Kierkegard

                                                       This is your life.  Enjoy.

I love Madeleine L'Engle

"We are all strangers in a strange land, longing for home,

but not quite knowing what or where home is.  

We glimpse it sometimes in our dreams, or as we turn a corner,

and suddenly there is a strange, sweet familiarity

that vanishes almost as soon as it comes."

-Madeleine L'Engle

Which kind of reader are you?

"I divide all readers into two classes:  those who read to remember and those who read to forget."---William Lyon Phelps

     I do both, I know.  Some books I read to learn, to formulate knowledgeable opinions; or to remind myself of my past.  Some (as in mysteries) I read for recreation, to empty my mind.  They all have their purpose.

"Proteinaholic, How our Obsession With Meat is Killing Us and What We Can Do About It" by Garth Davis, MD

     This is a well-written book and was exhaustively researched.  Dr. Davis is a general surgeon who specializes in bariatric surgery and the treatment of obesity. He admits he was a proteinaholic and discusses his own transformation and that of his medical practice.  He goes into the history of protein, and death and disease by protein.
      We somehow have minimized diet to macro-nutrients....i.e. where do you get your protein?  Our bodies don't use protein.....we use amino acids, the building blocks that make up protein.  We are very good recyclers of amino acids and recycle them to be available for re-use.
     Do you know of anyone with kwashiorkor (protein deficiency)?  It is virtually unheard of in this country.  If you are getting enough calories, you are getting enough protein. Even fruititarians who eat nothing but fruit get enough.
     Somehow we have assumed, without any medical research to back it up, if the small amounts we need are good, then more must be better.  That could not be further from the truth.  Excess protein, especially that from animals, is extremely harmful.
     We don't eat macronutrients.  We eat food.  As Michael Pollen says, "Eat food, not too much, mostly plants."  This book suggests that eating food, not too much, entirely plants, is better.
     Conclusion: excellent book with pages and pages of well-documented research.  Amazon gives it 5*****s.  I agree.

NYC Marathon

     I am feeling like a slug today.  I ate leftover Halloween candy, more than a little, after shutting off the lights last night. Once a year is okay, right? So this morning I am sitting, drinking coffee, and watching the NYC marathon live on ABC7NY.com/live/
     It will be a beautiful warm day here so I will hold off heading outside with the dog.  Maybe the race or all the caffeine as well as the sunshine will inspire me to move.
     I have a couple of acquaintances running in the race (Boulder Running Co. coach Daniel Glass and his Mom).  I'm sure I'll never see them among the 50,000 televised runners but love watching anyway.  There are always a lot of celebrities running as well as the elites. It is exciting.


(woo hoo, 6 miles in and Danny is averaging 6:26 min. miles)

Kenyans and Ethopians were the top men and women runners.  Meb K came in 7th for America breaking the Masters record.

My race tracker lost track of Danny at mile 10.  I hope he wasn't injured or ill having to drop out.  His Mom is doing great and has passed 20K.

I am such a dork sitting around watching this, but loving it.

BTW....Happy World Vegan Day.

(ps, Danny must have dropped out at mile 10, I hope he is okay.  His Mom finished in 4:52. There is never a guarantee you will finish a marathon)