The Beauty of a Teenager

My daughter is in her first year of college. So far she's gone through 4 different decisions of what she wants to be when she grows up. A surgeon, a pediatrician, a lawyer and now, a psychologist. Recently she told me she's reconsidering this decision.....she feels she will be too confined in any of these fields and asked me where can she best feel free to express her depth of emotion out in the real world.

Oh I remember this stage well enough. I went through five different majors before I settled on nursing. And my last year at school had a considerable amount of "staying with it" talks to myself as I was ready to quit over and over again.

Yes, my job confines me. I have more passion in me than I'm able to express during my day. I want to curse at some of my coworkers, I want to make a face at some of them, ask them "Did you skip the line where they were giving out common sense??? Do you really need to waste my time with THAT??

But I control myself. And, I must admit, I don't have trouble with it. Know why??? Because I run.

It's when I run that I can really allow myself to fully let out all that I need to. I can focus on a strong thought and work myself through conversations, speeches and lashing outs until I'm all used up. I had a run like that today. I lost 3 miles being so focused on my thoughts. It was quite the workout of mind and body. I havent had such a great one like that in a long time. I'm happy to have it back.

And so, I tell my daughter.....Run, baby girl, just run!!

Four Days Til Spring!!!

Yeah...I know...not a running related pic, but I'm just sooo excited that jean skirts are back IN...cuz you all know I'm all about being with the IN crowd (blah). Tell the designers to stay out of the special hippy closet....we need to be different!

Now for running.....but first...let me get this off of my chest...my daughter got another tattoo! On her neck! Damn....why can't these teens just grow their hair long, smoke weed, and have sex with lots of partners like we did!!????

So my running....I actually wound up taking 3 weeks off unintentionally as I tried to get used to my new work schedule. The half marathon was planned to get Haight through it, no PR's or racing for me at all. As he didn't run longer than 6 miles (I think he followed the Lance Armstrong rules for marathon training!) I knew we'd have a slow time, but the goal was to get to the finish line without a breakdown and we accomplished that!

The weather turned out magnificent---50s to start, up to 70 at finish. The course was just beautiful.....running through the streets of Sarasota, over the bridge, along the shore....quite the beautiful part of America. The course for the half was open for 4 hours and I was pleased with that. I know there's a lot of controversy over limiting times for races, but I'm a real advocate of getting people out there to run/walk---anything to cut down on heart disease (the number one killer in the US). So I loved seeing all sorts of people out there just trying to get thru! Kudos to them!!

I did another couple of 5 milers along the streets of Haight's parents community during the week--real pretty trail going through it. And the weekend following the Half I did a 15 miler--real tired through the last 3 miles, but I made it through. I also visited their neighborhood running store Fit2Run - The Runner's Superstore which boasts being the largest store in the U.S. and I was very impressed with their wonderful customer service. I got a new pair of running shoes Wmn's syncroFLOAT 2 - Pearl Izumi there and had to get new inserts as the new pup decided to chew up my million dollar orthotics!!

I'm back into action now. Even plan on getting the weights in. I figure if I just go for the real needed exercises, I have a better chance of keeping up with it. So it'll be.....

Curls

Bench Press

Upright Rowing

Lunges

Crunches

.....all done at home with hand weights and a stability ball.

Back to my vitamin regimen that I've tightened up too. Yep, I'm one of those that firmly believes in vitamins--though I know there's lots of controversy over that too. I take, on a daily basis.......

Vit C

Vit A

Vit E

Vit b-complex

Brewers yeast

Kelp

Fish Liver Oil

Calcium & magnesium

I never get PMS on this regimen....so ladies take note!! I order my vitamins from www.puritan.com which always has a two-for-0ne sale going on, and my readings have shown the quality of their products are very pure.

My goal for this year ends with my first 50-miler at Rocky Raccoon....having my first 50K in May to get me towards this goal. I've hesitated to do it since I've taken so much time off, But I THINK I'm going to go for it (damn these women that always change their minds!), so I'll train towards it and see how it goes. I'm hoping to make it up to a 50-mile training week, with a 3-week taper.

I'm back to my nutritional plan with running too.......

Accelerade before a run

SUCCEED! SPORTSDRINK during the run

SUCCEED! S CAPS every hour if on treadmill, or hot weather,

GU every 5 miles

EnduroxR4 for recovery.

Come on Spring.....I've been a waitin' for ya!!!!!

Life is Hard in Florida!

Sarasota Half Finishers

Meeting up with Jason & Leah

new pup....new do.....new race

..here's the latest "do".....only wish I could fix it up the way they do in the salon!!

Haight and I are off to Florida tomorrow for a week in the sun. We'll be visiting his folks in Sarasota and running the Sarasota Half Marathon. Actually, since neither of us is really ready for the race, we'll just walk most of it....I'm sticking with Haight to make sure he gets through it!

Work changed my hours to an hour later....YAY!!! Now I can wake up at 4:30 instead of 3:30....a normal hour for me! Running has been challenging for me...was still getting used to the new work schedule....and I think since I hate.....Hate...HATE......February....it finally got back at me and kept me exhausted all the way through it!

I've also had a new puppy in the condo. My daughter decided to help a friend out and watch his 8 month old puppy this past month....and she is quite the naughty little thing. She shall be caged while we're gone as I just know my daughter will be totally overwhelmed dealing with her this upcoming week.

But...the biggest news??? I sold my house!! Glory Hallelujah!! One little mortgage, one wonderful condo!! Now to sit back and finally start to enjoy life a bit more!!

They Bullied Me!

...into a "new and improved" blogger. I couldn't do anything unless I accepted! The Brooklyn chick inside me wants to beat the crap out of them for not giving me a choice, but I will behave like the serene, mature woman I have become (vomit now) and take it in stride (damn mf'ers!).

ok....got that off my chest......

I've been out of it as far as running goes the past week and a half. Not sure what was up...combination of the cleansing diet tiring me out, working overtime at new job, new hours to deal with....blah, blah, blah. Doesn't bother me much, I will be back tomorrow. Life sometimes throws ya curves and ya gotta deal with it. (still dreaming of my cabin in the woods with no stress).

I have been without my garmin for a few months now. Lost the base it sits in to recharge it, along with the cable. Lost the cable (rather, the dog my daughter rescued chewed it up) for my digital camera......then discovered the camera cable and the garmin cable were the same. I asked on the ultra list about a new charger and someone recommended a site that had it (garmin was out of it!), so I ordered it and received it Saturday! I'm back in business!!

Unfortunately, I can't post ya any new pics cuz, being the wonderful girlfriend I am, I encouraged Haight to go down to Key West with his pals this weekend (was supposed to be a wedding for one of them but that was cancelled--they still went down to party anyways!) and he, of course, took the camera. So you'll all have to be patient!

In the meantime, I've been catching up on reading.....the paperback for "The Year of Magical Thinking" by Joan Dideon just came out and I snatched it up. Already started it and am enthralled! Finished my easy read--I'm an addicted fan of Sue Grafton, the "alphabet mystery writer", her latest being "S is for Silence". I think I most love her protagonist, a female P.I. who I dream of being in one of my many fantasies.

I also cut my hair.....couldn't make it to the required 9 inches they want to have it donated. Cut off 6 inches---word in the salon was "adorable".....how old does one have to be before she becomes "sexy" not "cute"!!????? Guess in my next life!

So new haircut, nails manicured for work, next up.......new glasses!! Stay tuned!!

Just couldnt do it.....

tho i really tried!! Well, one full day and then a half. The cleansing diet---the lemonade diet, whichever you want to call it. Haight and I started it yesterday....bought all the supplies, the book (Barnes and Noble was out of it, as was Whole Foods!the lady at B&N said it's been flying off the shelves lately) which we finally found on amazon, and we were ready to go!!

I did real well the first day. Was surprised at how few hunger pains I felt. But the second day...oh boy!! I love to run but I don't love getting the runs!! The cramps...uck!! I called Haight to confess that I was through and I was on my way to buying lunch!

Guess what my first dinner was??? Pizza of course---I'm a true blue American!!

Changing things around...

I'm trying to get used to my new work schedule. Problem is, I can't wake up early enough to run before work. So I'm trying to run afterwards. It hasn't worked out too well...yet.

Two days this week I was just too tired to do an after-work run...I've been a morning person for as long as I can remember! I made it to the club a few days ago, but never even thought about worrying what I had for lunch! As a regular morning runner, there's never anything in my stomach before I run, except for a banana and a cup of coffee. The pickle I had with my sandwich for lunch that day was not settling in well a few hours later and it totally ruined my running.

I tried again tonight. Skipped the pickle that Panera Bread included with my tuna on wheat (love their bread!) and the run went much better. But.....I wasn't hungry for dinner afterwards! So I had my Endurox drink. Guess this will bring me down a few pounds!

The trainer approached me again.....offered me a free weight training hour with him. Begged me to try him out. I told him I can't afford him.....he gave me the whole sales pitch that the club will be having specials at the end of the month (probably around the time the "resolution people" fade away). I gave in.....Saturday at 3 pm. I told him I won't tolerate him beating me up as I want to run long on Sunday morning. If he tries, I'm just going to have to take him down!!

p.s. anyone interested in my amazing dating stories must fly out here and run with me!!! :) And remember, whatever is said on a run, stays on a run!!!!

Tagged AGAIN!!!

It's just an epidemic!!
I must name 5 things that are mainly unknown about me......hmmmmmmm

1) I am an absolute PEN freak!! Never, and I mean NEVER leave me alone with your pens for you shall never find them again!!

2) I HATE shopping for clothes. When I absolutely must, I will go and buy an entire wardrobe so that I can avoid it again for years. (running stores are totally excluded from this hatred, I'm out of control when I get into one.)

3) I do believe I was one of the first to be on match.com back in the day.....where I was given horrible looks from neighbors and friends when word got out.

4) I hired the same P.I. that checked out O.J. during his famous trial, to check out a man I was dating. (Did I forget to mention that I have THE MOST wildest dating stories from after my divorce??!!) I met this P.I. at a Denny's where he actually showed up in a trenchcoat!! His work was shoddy and I yelled at him and refused to pay him in full (No wonder O.J. got off!!)

5) When pushed I can argue like the wildest lawyer you know (I look very innocent don't I??--many confuse me with a librarian), in home care I was known for putting in catheters before you knew what hit you (or entered you as the case may be), I suck at drawing blood, I can curse and pull out my Brooklyn drawl in the thick of any ghetto situation, AND I am one wild disco dancer--raised during the 70's when the glistening ball in the middle of the ceiliing was all the rage!! Do the hustle....dododododododo!

You all didn't think I would only give you five now did you?? After all, I'm tawkin about ME here! :)

I won't tag anyone cause it goes against my religion..the eleventh commandment that Moses dropped stated....Tho shalt never pass on infections to the innocents.

........so the fun stops here!

are we having fun yet????

Red Nails is correct....tho the actual name of the color is FISHNET STOCKINGS........

Sorry....just wanted to have some fun!! ;)

Tricking My Mind

I'm going to try a trick with my mind. I'm going to say to myself, over and over, "Hey ultrarunner girl--what's going on? How do you run so fast and keep yourself looking so fantastic???" If I think I'm already there, maybe I'll get there faster!

After lots of reading up on what plan to use to prepare for my first ultra, Ice Age 50K on May 12th, I've decided to concoct my own plan. Well, sort of. I'll use the mileage of Pfitz's 55-mile a week, but go by my body's signs to see about the speedwork. Speedwork is pretty new to me, I play around with it by myself (run as fast as you can to the next tree), but nothing on a schedule. So far, no injuries in the three years I've been seriously running.

I do get a weekly massage (remember Beast Woman??) and I've been doing a series rolfing sessions which leaves me bruised (of which I've received lots of comments and concerns) and I'm sure those have helped my body stay looser. I also stretch during each run after my first two easy miles. I plan on continuing all that (tho I'll stop the rolfing after the 10 sessions--and I will make her ease up when she hits "7" in pain, not "11"---she's shocked how much pain I can take without much facial expressions, but then she says, "Oh yeah, you run marathons"--see what "they" think of us!!?)

So this week starts the training. Unfortunately, I've contracted quite the respiratory bug (I think from all the "infections" you guys gave me on here!) so I've been holding back a bit until I can fully breathe, but I'm rearing to go.

Oh---and, I accepted the new job. Starts next Monday. I've been saying goodbye to all my patients this past week, and I'm not liking that at all. I will miss many of them terribly, it was my most cherished part of the job. No more hands on care--but I'm going out on top--kinda like Michael Jordan huh? (hey....don't mess with my fantasies!)

p.s. I got my first manicure in years to prepare for the management job. Just guess the color!! :)

And another one...

I keep getting infected!! So here's the next one.....

1) Find nearest book
2) Name book and author
3) Turn to page 123
4) Go to 5th sentence and copy the next three to blog
5) tag 3 others

Here's the two books on my bedside table:

Tales Of A Female Nomad by Rita Golden Gelman
pp 123.....5th sentence:
Indonesians do not understand overt rudeness: whatever the circumstances, the impression of civility must always be maintained. I walk over and sit down. "Dr Galdikas, " I say, "I admire your work very much."

A Step Beyond: A Definitive Guide to Ultrarunning edited by Don Allison
pp123.....5th sentence
Swimming. This is one tough sport! More than in any other endurance sport, proper form and mechanics are paramount in swimming.

By the way, I would recommend both books highly.

p.s. I'm taking extra Vit C to avoid all other infections. :)

Tagged!

A-Available or Single? With a wonderful man who makes me believe again.
B-Best Friend? Haight and My Mom.
C-Cake or Pie? Decadent Cake (tho a hot apple pie with vanila ice cream comes close 2nd)
D-Drink of choice? Water
E- Essential Item? PENS!!
F-Favorite color? Red for passion!
G-Gummi Bears or worms? gummi bears (can I add white and dark chocolate??)
H-Hometown? Brooklyn, NY
I-Indulgence? weekly massage, BlackJack phone
J-January or February? January-I think Feb should be crossed off the calendar!
K-Kids & names? David & Stephanie
L-Life is incomplete without? a few loved ones
M-Marriage Date? Not sure I could do it again!
N-Number of siblings? 2--older sis, younger bro--I'm the stable middle child!! :)
O-Oranges or Apples? clementine oranges
P-Phobias/Fears? Losing my Mom
Q-Favorite Quote? "You tawkin to me?"
R-Reason to smile? cause I've been blessed
S-Season? Spring--flowers blooming are amazing to me
T-Tag three people
U-Unknown fact about me I used to be known for my speeches/fundraising skills
V-Veggie? I love them all---just hate the time to cut them all up.
W-Worst Habit? perfectionist
X-X-rays you've had? teeth, chest....blah, blah, blah
Y-Your favorite food? seafood (especially ones with tentacles--mmm)
Z-Zodiac? Sagittarius

Back to Basics

Had a great 12 mile run on the trails last Saturday. With my ipod, the time just flows. I didn't pay attention to my speed, just listened to my body....ran fast when I was stoked, walked if I needed to (not much!), and enjoyed being out alone on the trail.

I've enjoyed the relaxation of the runs of the last few weeks. I really only did what I wanted to do based on how my body was feeling, but I kept my mileage at 25 miles/week. Now it's time to get back to a training schedule.

I have my first 50K coming up in May, and it's time to decide on which plan I wish to use. I've definitely decided to hit the maximum mileage at 50 per week. I'm hoping my body will serve me well through it. I'm not doing well with weight training at the club, so I will need to get back to using my home hand held weights.

My mind goes back and forth so much regarding getting real buff for a runner, going faster or just enjoying this whole process without the competitive pressure. Both avenues attract me so I guess I'll see what develops.

Lots will be changing as far as my schedule goes. Seems the new job wants me....the hours are a concern though. I run in the morning and this job will require me to be there at 7:30, with about a 40-minute drive. A good hour run in the morning will see me waking up around 4ish. I know I can do that, but I will be in bed by 7:30 at night!! I'm boring enough hitting the sack by 8:30 nowadays. I'm not crazy about the thought of running after work, but I will have to try it out and see how it goes.

I got a new cell phone and number to prepare for this job as my current phone is thru my present job. Treated myself to a blackjack!! Oh boy---talk about toys!!! This will just blow you away!! Now I just hope I will have time to play with it!!

Time, also to pull in my diet habits. This past week my legs felt dead on my runs. That hasn't happened in months now. So I'm back to guzzling down water all day and getting the veggies in.

Here's to watching all our goals develop through the new year!!

Happy New Year

A bit blurry (sorry) but still contains the very best wishes for a Happy and Healthy New Year!!

The purse, the first hung pic and stuff....

Isn't she beautiful?? It's like buttah! Yep, that's the ordered purse from the Showtime show, Weeds. I love her!! Bayley does too!

Hung our first picture bought on our trip to Seattle in the summer of 2005 by a street vendor. We have wonderful memories of that trip and I fell in love with the amazing trails that I ran there. Hopefully, one day I'll be back!

A birthday passed by. I got a terrific gift from sweet Haight! I mentioned this juicer while we were watching a bio on Jack La Lanne's life (he still wears those tight jumpsuits). Yes, the man listens closely to me!

I'm reading up on fasting and detoxing plans. I think I'm going to try one and see how it goes. I've emeshed myself in this book, Amazon.com: How to Get Well: Dr. Airola's Handbook of Natural Healing: Books: Paavo Airola. When I was in nursing school, during my nutrition course, I was committed to eat more nuts, seeds, fruits and vegetables based on what I was learning. Raising kids made that very difficult, but now its my turn to do for me.....so I'm back to what I truly believe in.

Having met lots of foreign caregivers of my patients, I've been learning their ways of healing skin problems, digestive problems and healthier eating. I've used what they've taught me as I care for other patients, steering away from medicines and expensive lotions with great success. One from Belize stated that her grandmother used to go into the backyard, pick an herb, either grind it up or boil it and use it to heal whatever ailed family members. We've gotten too far from that....all towards filling the pockets of drug companies. It's time we relearned all that doncha think?

TGIF

Been a long week. Back to work and very busy. On my first day back, an ex-coworker called with a position available at a hospital that sounds perfect for me. I have an interview next week to see how well it could fit into my life. I kept saying let me just finish the move and then I'll check out other jobs...this fell into my lap the first day back. In yiddish we call this "beschert"----"meant to be". Let's just see if it is.

Still at 25 miles of running for the week, with one day of weight training and one day of biking. I'm glad I didn't lose any steam with my running due to my move. But the weight training has been disappointing. I'm bringing over my hand weights and stability ball from my house so that I could return to that routine when I'm really scrunched for time. I enjoyed the weight machines at the club, but even though it's right in the building, I still had trouble dedicating a straight thru 45 minutes for it a second time this week.

Tomorrow I plan on running long on the trails up north. I've missed running outside, especially on trails, so I'm very much looking forward to revitalizing my soul out there. I couldn't find anyone to run with me, and that could be a blessing in disguise. This trail is busy enough on the weekends for me not to be afraid of my safety and the weather is looking good--so it's all coming together.

I've continued to see Ximena, the deep tissue body work gal, every other week. She gets soooo deep into my body that I have bruises a week after seeing her. She has gotten rid of some very long-standing tightness in my body. She's also been a terrific resource for alternative medicine....an area I want to include more in my life. This week she was talking about detoxing and gave me sites to check out, so I'll share: www.herbdoc.com and this one: Welcome to Karyn's.

Reminder to self: charge up the ipod and the garmin tonight!!

All Coming together...

....at the new homestead. I'm really loving being a citygirl again. I can walk everywhere to do my chores. I think the city is where I most fit in, though a little country retreat every now and then would be nice. I do miss running on the trails.

I've been running on the treadmill down at the club all week since the frigid temps have continued throughout the week. They are just breaking today, so, hopefully, I'll get outside again. I'll have to figure out my routes to take here. I'm kind of leery as I run while it's still dark out, so I'm thinking I'll be on the treadmill a bit longer....at least until the sun rises around 5 am (what is that....like April???...oh crap).

I haven't gotten to a yoga class yet. But I did do a full body workout on the weight machines and with free weights. I printed out a program from www.leannesslifestyle.com They have a muscle professor program that you can pick from. Then you plug in the weights you used after you're done and they increase it for you the next time around. So I walked around the club with my little paper and pen trying to find what machines fit these descriptions. I'll probably be tweaking it as time goes on, but at least I got that going. I'm still shooting for weight training 3x week.

One of the trainers at the club is from my other club and my daughter worked out with him there. So he snagged her for a free workout and is now trying to get her (or me rather) to sign her up for a whole set of personal training. Hmmm.....she's 19 years old...when I was 19 I worked my butt off, went to college and paid for all my extracurricular activities. And my purses, I was (still am) BIG on a new purse every year. So...she's cut off. She doesnt like this idea too much--oh well...life sucks sometimes!

Speaking of purses....(weaving away from running....so the men can be excused) my daughter had me watch a new show on Showtime, Weeds....she says the mom on it reminds her of me (geesh..the mom sells weed in a beigy, boring, upscale community---well not that part she says, but the way that mom is so cool ) anyways I digress.....I was watching it and fell in love with her purse. We women are nuts, ya know?? So I went online, and low and behold (do people say that crappy saying anymore?) they had a website devoted to the clothing and such from the show. How crazy is that??? And how much more crazy is that I ORDERED THE FREAKING PURSE??? ok...that's my crazy woman confession for the month. I'm glad I got that out. I'll be back to running next time. (and I'll take a pic of the purse when it comes in) :)

2nd week off

ahhhh......all is working out well. I moved, I unpacked and I got reconnected to the internet after SIX days of no connection!! How did we live before we had the computer??? Before TV?? Well, I had those days to remind myself. Remember Little House on the Prairie---where they sat around and TALKED to each other all night long???? Yep...lots of talking, reading, quiet time!! Who knew?????

The first two days after my move, the weather was beautiful. 50 degrees. I ran along Lake Michigan and into the Northwestern University campus. Oh it was amazing. (My ex husband actually proposed to me on the rocks of the University, so it was with warm thoughts when I passed that spot).

Then the storm hit!! I think we got 6 inches of snow by me. Thankfully, I didn't have to work. And double thankfully I have a beautiful new health club in my condo building. So off I trotted in my shorts and tank to the elevators connecting to the club. It was great.....except now I have to readjust to the temperature. I was sweating bullets.

The second day I went, I took a SUCCEED tab before I started and that helped a lot. I'm not happy being forced back on the treadmill, but I won't complain due to the convenience. They have some yoga classes that I'll be going to this week. I have NEVER taken a yoga class. I'm waaaay overdue!