Reading, Eating, and New Terminology
Before I get to the books and food, I need some help. I’m looking for a new answer when someone casually says “How are you?” Well, let’s see. I’m worried about our country. I also don’t really feel like I belong here anymore, where my values are clearly so out of alignment with the majority of our population, and that makes me very sad. But I am enjoying the Starbucks holiday cups! We need some new terminology here. During the pandemic, when someone asked “How are you?” I would say “I’m 2020-fine!” Meaning- if you don’t count the fact that there’s a global pandemic, I’m doing well, thank you. I need a term like that for this post-election period, but I can’t come up with a good one. On to reading! I’m glad to report that unlike other years during NaBloPoMo, I HAVE been reading. Not as much as I would like, though. I’m still reading this book: I’m enjoying it, although I think I would like it even better if I had more time to read. Every time I pick it up it takes me a few moments to remember what’s going on (sigh!) I’m nearing the end, and I’m hoping to find a chunk of time to finish it, uninterrupted. Let’s talk about soup. Last week I said Tobia started a Cool Bloggers Autumn Soup Challenge, and she corrected me- it was actually Julie’s idea. Either way, I have another cozy soup to share: My husband made this one! It’s the Butternut Squash Soup from Love and Lemons. This soup is delicious, and the recipe is really simple. If you have a butternut squash, you probably have the ingredients to make it. It does call for some fresh herbs, but my husband used a mix of fresh and dried. This photo is of our election night dinner, which I didn’t feel up to sharing last week: Our pizza had Miyoko’s liquid mozzarella, Field Roast sausage, and vegetables (except for my daughter’s portion, which just had the cheese.) Delicious pizza, delicious beer. What are your reading now? Have you been making any autumn soups lately?
This and That
Thanks for all the supportive comments on my race recaps! Remember how I fell in my last (sixth) loop but then determined that everything was fine? I had a sore right arm and my ribs hurt a little, but nothing serious. WELL, Monday night I must have slept funny on my right side, because I woke up in a world of pain on Tuesday. It was crazy! The area around my ribs/sternum hurt so much, I could hardly breathe. Did I puncture a lung in my sleep? Is it possible to have a heart attack on your right side? How did I have such a delayed reaction to that fall??? I managed to get up and get through the day, but it wasn’t pretty. Two days ago I was wishing I had done a seventh loop- today I was thinking “WHY did I do that sixth loop? I should have stopped at five!” (Make up your mind, Jenny!) Moving on (yes, finally! I will talk about something other than the race!) This is Spirit Week at my daughter’s school, in honor of the first football playoff game on Friday. Every day has a different theme, and today was “Adam Sandler Day.” I was laughing as I dropped her off and saw all the kids in their baggy shorts, t-shirts, and baseball caps. I thought it was so quirky and random, but when I told my husband (who’s a teacher) about it he said “Oh yes, that’s a thing for Spirit Week.” Wait. It is? Adam Sandler Day is a thing? Oooookay. Next up! It’s been a while since I talked about the election. If you want some mature, thoughtful, compassionate opinions on what happened, check out Catherine’s blog, because you definitely won’t fine that here. I’ve moved on from sadness, not to acceptance, but to sarcasm and snarkiness. I’ve been trying to think of a code word for Donald Trump, because I just can’t stand to keep speaking or writing his name. And I have one! From now on, in my home and on this blog, DT will be referred to as “Voldemort.” You’re welcome. One last thing! It’s time to start thinking about the holidays. Meike has already knitted a Santa hat, made three advent calendars, and wrapped 48 gifts. ACK! I’ve purchased exactly one gift so far, a stocking stuffer for my daughter: It’s obviously time to get moving! If you would like to exchange Christmas cards, and we didn’t exchange last year (or, even if we did, just to be on the safe side) please email me with your address. I did buy my cards last year in January… now I just have to find them. Have you started Christmas preparations yet? If you have kids, have they had Adam Sandler Day at their school? Top photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash
Treasure Coast Ultra Race Recap, Part 2…
In Part 1 I talked about the race itself… Part 2 is “What I Ate, and What I Learned.” Eating-wise, I focused on the four basic food groups of long distance running: calories, carbohydrates, electrolytes, and caffeine. I started off with Tailwind: The “Dauwaltermelon” flavor is named after Courtney Dauwalter, the GOAT of ultrarunning! I love the name, and I love the taste. Tailwind is a powder that you mix with water. I carried a hydration vest with two flasks. In the beginning of the race, I filled one with water and one with Tailwind. This worked great until it got hot- then I needed both flasks filled with water, one to drink, and one to pour over my head. I aimed to take in at least 200 calories per hour, and I got these from gels (the pumpkin spice Gu was good!) pretzels, potato chips (I was craving salt) and this magical elixir: Energy-wise, my fueling strategy worked, and I had no gut issues during the race. But ever since Saturday, my stomach has been really off. Well, that’s what happens when you eat total crap. It’s hard, because in the middle of a run you just have to eat something that will give you quick, easy energy. It’s not like you can sit down and eat a salad. Any suggestions on this issue will be appreciated! So, what did I learn? I’m glad I took an extra day to write this part, because my feelings have shifted a bit. As a reminder, I quit after six 4.3 mile loops. Since my longest training run for this race was only 15 miles, 25.8 miles seemed like a great distance for the day. When I handed in my chip, I asked the timing guy if I was the first one to drop out, and he said “Well… yes. But some people are still on their fifth loop.” Huh. I finished my sixth loop, and there were people still out there on their fifth. I promise you I wasn’t running fast, so this means they must have taken longer breaks between each loop. I started to wonder… if I had rested a little, cooled myself down, and had something to eat… could I have gone on to complete one more loop? ABSOLUTELY. Yes, I was hot and tired. But I wasn’t limping or crawling. I let the thought “my longest training run was only 15 miles” limit me. It gave me an out, and I took it. The problem with quitting early is, you’ll always look back and think you could have done more. I’m not beating myself up over this. If I had gone one more loop I would have run a 50K, and I wish I had done that. But I’m still happy with my day- I showed up, had an adventure, and learned something for next time: You can always go farther than you think you can. And then, you can go even farther than that. Do you have any races or situations in your life where you wish you had pushed yourself a little harder?
Treasure Coast Ultra Recap: Work With What You Have
On Saturday, I ran the Treasure Coast Ultra. There were several different races in this event: a six hour run, a twelve hour run, an adventure race, and a 5K. In the days leading up to the race, I got a couple alarming emails saying things like “You will pick up your kayak…” WAIT. My WHAT? Oh, that’s for the adventure racers. I signed up for the twelve hour run, but there was something for everyone. Because of my recent injury, I was in no condition to run for twelve hours, but the format of the race was in my favor. We ran a 4.3 mile loop over and over again. We were given chips to velcro around our ankles: … and after every lap we ran over a timing mat so our distance could be recorded. The start of trail ultras is always very chill: And we were off! Although it was only a 4.3 mile loop, the terrain varied. There was a nice, grassy section: and then a section where service vehicles had obviously driven on, making the ground rutted and uneven. There were also three of these: The first time I tried to go around, but it was impossible. The only way through was through, so everyone learned to just wade right in. As the loops went on, I came to look forward to these huge puddles, because they cooled my feet down. Also, the three puddles (or, mini-ponds) were towards the end of the loop, and each time I came around I was looking forward to regrouping. Unfortunately, it was a hot day. Sometimes we have temperatures in the 50s and 60s in November, but not today. It got up to 85, and for the most part it was sunny. After two loops I started serious heat mitigation strategies, which included getting ice from a cooler at the start area, and putting it in my bra. That would cool me down for a while, and by the end of every loop I was looking forward to getting more ice. On the first loop, I was running along happily when some runners behind me called out to me- I had missed a turn and had to re-trace my steps. I felt really silly, since it was marked! But then… a little while later I saw some runners cutting across the park towards me- they had also missed the turn, and ran quite a distance before realizing it. The second time around, I MISSED THE SAME TURN AGAIN. This time I ran for a while before I noticed that the runner who used to be in front of me wasn’t there anymore. Uh oh. I then looked back and saw him way off in the distance, behind me and to the right, ARRRRG! I retraced my steps, took the turn and continued on. The third time… I missed it AGAIN, but realized it very quickly, and turned back. What in the world is going on at this turn? Well- it’s hard to tell, but the turn is actually a very sharp right, and it also looks like the arrows could be telling you to veer gently to the right (which is INCORRECT.) I’m happy to say that after three times, I didn’t miss that turn again. The first couple loops, I wasn’t feeling great. I just reminded myself that the way I felt at that moment was NOT the same way I would be feeling in an hour, and I was right. I ran a third loop, a fourth loop, and fifth loop, which put me just over 22 miles. But I knew I had one more loop in me. I wanted to run the last loop knowing that it was my last. I amused myself by saying goodbye to each part of the trail- “Goodbye, wooden bridge. Goodbye beautiful green grassy area. Goodbye TRICKY TURN THAT I MISSED THREE TIMES. Goodbye least favorite part, where the trail is so narrow and the grass is so long that I can’t even see whe- GAAAAH!” Yep- I fell. I stumbled over a root and went down, landing on my right side. I felt a jolt of pain in my low back and hip, and I had some scrapes- but luckily I was okay. I got up and kept going, but it confirmed my decision to make this the last loop. Goodbye puddle-ponds! You can see some of the adventure racers here (I believe their race included running, cycling, and kayaking.) Goodbye sandy area. I won’t miss you! Right before the end, I saw this guy: And then, I was done. As I said, my Garmin showed 27 miles, but my official total was 25.8. Looking at the results the next day, I found that my 25.8 miles put me last in the standings. There were seventeen of us altogether who ran the twelve hour option, and a couple people ran one more loop than me. If I could have hung in there for one more, I wouldn’t have been at the bottom. But… six loops is probably more than I deserved to run, given my training, so I’m happy with it. OH. And the overall winner was a WOMAN who ran 55.91 miles. GIRL POWER. To keep these recaps from getting WAY too long, I divide them into two parts. Coming up tomorrow, Part 2: What I Ate, and What I Learned. Question: if you HAD TO run one of these events, which would you pick: one of the runs, the adventure race, or the 5K? (If it makes your decision easier, some people walked the 5K.)