A Case of the Runs

While I've been doing a whole lot of running over the past six or so years, I haven't *really* been back to the track.  Once, I did 14 miles on one as part of a long run ...  And other time, I walked around one for 15 or so miles, as part of Relay for Life .  In fact, these were all on the same track -- my high school's. (As I've mentioned, my running started in high school when I joined Track and Field). Eleven years ago! I don't like purposefully driving anywhere just to run, unless it's a race.  This is probably why I don't really go to the gym often, unless I'm already en route to someplace else.  And that's what ended up happening while visiting my parents.  While I come by every week, it's usually later in the day or after I've already done some other workout. With my Garmin finally back in action lately, I took to the track with a simple goal of doing six quarter-mile repeats, with a "rest lap" in between.  

We're having a January heat wave down here in Southern California.  If you have read my Race Reviews , you might already know that heat is my enemy, particularly when it comes to running in it.  But even getting into a hot car with a somewhat non-working air conditioning system is enough to disgust me. Prior to the last few days, though, it was cold -- at least in relation to normal conditions in these parts.  This means running in sub-40-degree weather sometimes.  East-coasters and foreigners, yes, I will cry you a river. Yes, I've kept up with running... blogging about it, not so much.  My average weekly mileage has jumped from 4 to a "whopping" 25-26.  Admittedly, this is "only" about 3-4 days of running per week, but it has so far worked for me in terms of not burning out or injuring myself.  *knocks on wood* Anyway, on some of my "cold" weather runs lately, I've been able to try out a couple of products from the Incrediwear

A while back, I mentioned that I was worried about my intellectual deterioration. Now, as I am trying to figure out where I stand professionally, I have been thinking more about what I could be doing differently.  Sometimes, I feel as though I've taken the wrong path and need to do some (slow) back-tracking.  Other times, I feel as though I've already sealed my fate. "Oh, you're so young... you'll be fine," I am often told.  Really?  Can I suddenly learn how to handle finance work... do I even want to?? Until I sort things out, I've taken to (free!) online learning.  The most alluring option was Coursera.org , which provides online courses of varying length (4-15 weeks, from what I've seen) with instructors from good universities.  There are so many interesting courses on there, topics ranging from nutrition to machines... but given work, I had to stop myself from signing up for too many. The "class" I'm in right now... well, yo

food.com Sometime last year, I went to Clearman's Galley for the first time.  I have lived pretty close to one for ages and wondered when I'd get to eat in a restaurant shaped like a boat.  Next door to "the boat" is a Northwoods Inn, and from what I have gathered, they serve similar food. The fare at "the boat" is not exactly health food -- wings, burgers, greasy cheese bread, and this cabbage salad that somehow manages to be unhealthy because it is OILY.  I was totally grossed out as I realized my takeout box of this stuff had leaked oil all into the plastic bag it was in (thank goodness!). However, since it WAS a tasty dish, I decided to re-create this salad, and it has now made its way into my regular rotation.  I used an online recipe , with the main modification being that I use a whole head of cabbage instead of half.  The result is a less-oily salad that will last quite a while since it is essentially pickled.  Definitely allow it to sit at

Although many people haven't returned to work/school or whatever constitutes their "normal" routines, I feel as though I am already back in the swing of things.  Perhaps this is because I had to work on New Year's Eve and immediately again on the 2nd. Everyone's good intentions (i.e., resolutions) have been rubbing off on me, and although I did not really commit to anything specific, I do feel like I'm on my "best behavior."  And I think some of it even started before the end of 2012. For one thing, I have been using my new Thermos for warm drinks instead of going out for something.  I live around a lot of drink establishments (side note: I don't count Starbucks in this category... I gave them up for good in October), so I did have that bad habit toward the end of last year.  I've never had a Thermos anything before, and they work really well!  Thanks goes out to my sister and the little birdie named Amazon for the tip!  I have some loos