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Race Decisions, and the Snack With Consequences

First of all, thanks to Engie for this awesome postcard!  I think she was just trying to brighten up my day with some fun mail, but I love the quote. I often feel like I’m living on the fringe of society.

So I have a few races I’m trying to decide between… but first, let me tell you about the Popcorn Incident.

Last week I was happily scarfing down some Lesser Evil popcorn, when I felt something lodge between one of my teeth and the gum- arrrrg!  Can I EVER eat popcorn without getting a kernel stuck somewhere???

The next day that gum was very irritated, and as the days went by it got more and more swollen.  I tried to probe around with my tongue, but couldn’t feel the kernel, or anything but very inflamed tissue.

I really thought I was going to have to go to the dentist, and then of course my thoughts went something like this: “Maybe the dentist can’t even fix it.  Maybe I need an oral surgeon.  I don’t want to take antibiotics!  What if it’s so infected that I lose the tooth???”

I decided to try one last thing before calling the dentist.  I rinsed my mouth with salt water several times over the course of a day… and voila!  The next day the swelling was almost gone.  It was a miracle cure- who knew?  Now I can’t wait to eat the rest of the popcorn.

Live and don’t learn, that’s my motto!

Now, on to race decisions!  There are so many races I want to do, and I have to pick one.  For the summer, I’m limiting myself to a 4th of July 5k, and I really want to work on strength and speed.  Here are the longer races I’m considering for next winter:

Jupiter Ridge Sand Spur 50k

This is the SANDY 4.5 mile loop race.  It sounds horrible… except that people who have done it say it’s a really beautiful, fun race.  It’s close to me- about an hour away, which means I could simply drive there race morning.  It’s at the end of December, which might not be ideal, timing- wise.  But it’s early enough that I could do this one, and also do the Dunes 50k in April (the race I ran this year.)

Forgotten Florida

From the website: “Get ready for a memorable adventure through Florida’s wild and scenic trails! This run is sure to be unlike any other trail adventure you’ve ever had, as this race is meant to take you to places even locals have not been to! Explore 99% of the trails in Tosohatchee, Charles Bronson State Forest, Seminole Ranch, Little Big Econ State Forest and then some. This is old Florida…The Forgotten Florida!”

SIGN ME UP IMMEDIATELY!  This race is a 2 1/2 hour drive from me- not close, but not too, too far.  It sounds like a no-brainer, right?  But…there’s no 50K option.  I would have to do the 50 mile, and I’m not sure if I’m up for that (yet.)  This race is February 3rd, so I would be doing some very long runs in December… possibly not ideal, since that month is so crazy already.

Long Play Trail Run

From the website: “The best single loop trail race in Florida…The Long Play is a 33 1/3 mile single track, single loop, trail run through the Croom Tract of the Withlacoochee State Forest. If the 33 1/3 isn’t in your plans, we also have a beautiful 1/2 marathon and a 10K. All races start and finish at the Ridge Manor Trailhead and wind along the Withlacoochee River before diving into Croom Forest. The races bring you into seldom-traveled parts of the area. It is a race not to be missed!”

Hmmm!  The distance- 33.3 miles, is good.  It sounds adventurous and scenic.  The date is March 2nd, which means I would be doing my longest long runs in January and February- I like that!  The only real drawback is that it’s the farthest of the three- about four hours away.  It would be a long drive there, overnight stay, and then a long drive back after the race.

I want to do them all!  But I have to choose one.  I don’t think my body can take an ultra every month; additionally, all these races are on Saturdays, and I work Saturdays.  I can get a Saturday off here and there, but not all the time.

Which one should I choose?  Who wants to come down to Florida and run a race with me next winter?

 

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Friday Coffee Date

Hello friends!  We made it to Friday and GUESS WHAT.  Sunday is officially the first day of fall!  Pour yourself a delicious fall-themed beverage and let’s talk about what that means. This week, Elisabeth posted her Top Five/Bottom Five Fall lists.  In her Top Five was the delightful fall weather, and in her Bottom Five was “winter is coming.”  Well, in Florida that is reversed. One of the WORST things about fall is our weather.  September is absolutely terrible.  Hot, steamy, rainy, and the chance of hurricanes increases every day.  Now that my kids are older, it doesn’t bother me as much.  But when they were young, there were all sorts of outdoor activities we thought we should be doing… like the PUMPKIN PATCH. The “pumpkin patch” was actually the yard of a nearby church that had hundreds of pumpkins- obviously no pumpkins actually grew there- they were imported from another state.  It seemed like a fun thing to do, but the weather just wasn’t conducive.  One year stands out starkly. The day we planned to go to the pumpkin patch, it rained.  But then the rained stopped- oh, good!  Let’s go to the pumpkin patch!  The problem is, when it rains here in September, it just makes things unbearably steamy.  Our time at the pumpkin patch was muggy, muddy, and horribly uncomfortable. (They don’t have that pumpkin patch anymore- I WONDER WHY.) Okay, so we don’t have fall weather here.  But you’re probably thinking that I’m guzzling down all the fancy fall drinks, right? No pumpkin spice lattes for me!  Starbucks does have some vegan seasonal drinks, but they all have a ton of sugar.  This year I’ve been having some serious FOMO, so I’ve tried a couple things… This is a vegan, unsweetened creamer, and I’ve been putting it in my tea (NOT in my Earl Grey- that would be gross.  Just regular black tea.) I think I like it?  I can’t really decide, but it does make me feel festive and fall-ish. Some friends gave us another new (to me) beverage: It’s sugar free!  The ingredients are black tea, chai spices, and sucralose.  Okay, I know sucralose isn’t good for you.  I know!  But I’m more willing to have sucralose every once in a while than sugar.  I’ve only tried it once- I mixed it with soy milk and made a DELICIOUS chai latte.  My daughter went a step further and added the pumpkin creamer to hers and made a super fancy fall beverage. Let’s go back to Elisabeth’s Bottom Five Fall item: winter is coming.  YES.  Winter is coming!  In Florida that means a break from the heat and humidity.  We’ll get some cool nights and beautiful days.  It won’t happen until November/December, but we’re here, waiting patiently. What would you tell me over coffee?  Do you like festive fall beverages?  Are you excited for the first day of fall?    

Reading and Eating

I’ve started Edge of Eternity and we are now in the 1960s!  It’s amazing to me how much I actually don’t know.  Yes- I did know there was a wall in Berlin.  But if you asked me when it was built, I would have said… right after WWII?  No!  It was built in 1961, after the US and USSR threatened war over the Berlin crisis.  This was going on during the Civil Rights protests in the US.  What an incredibly turbulent time!  Needless to say, I’m loving this book. This is the third book in Ken Follett’s Century Trilogy, and in between books 2 and 3 I quickly read this: This was a reread, as all Agatha Christies are for me.  I found it at the used bookstore, flipped through it and didn’t recognize any of the character’s names.  I took that as a good sign, and decided to risk it.  So many times I start an Agatha Christie (I read them all at least thirty years ago) and remember the ending about halfway through. Not this time!  I KNOW I read this one, but I truly couldn’t remember it.  I even tried out different “ingenious” solutions: “The narrator is the murderer!  The priest isn’t really a priest!  Someone is a long-lost son!”  Nope.  The ending was a complete surprise.  I really enjoyed this reread! Eating wise… I’ve continued to pretend that it’s not hot, muggy, and steamy here, and made chili!  I while ago I made Vegan Cincinnati Chili from this website. I was planning to make that again, but when I went to the website, I noticed he also has a recipe for “Texas Chili” which is called Best Damn Vegan Chili Ever.  Well!  I had to try that. It was very good!  I’m not sure I believe the claims that this chili is “award winning.”.  But to be fair, I did leave out two “optional” ingredients, pickled jalapenos and masa harina.  Mayne next time I’ll put those in and see if it wins any awards. I will say that my husband LOVED it!  We ate it for two dinners, and both times he exclaimed over how much he enjoyed it. Chili: Cincinatti, or Texas style? What are you reading now?

Fall Fun

I had a really nice, fall-ish weekend!  When I say “fall-ish,” I don’t mean I visited a pumpkin patch or went apple picking.  No, we don’t have that in Florida- although, I’m pretty sure it’s too early for those things just about everywhere right now.  But those are things that never happen in Florida, so we have to make our own fall. We may not have cool temperatures and falling leaves, but we do have football and homecoming!  Saturday night was our high school homecoming dance, and my daughter went with two of her friends, looking amazing in her new dress.  I got a lot of GREAT comments on my post about the suit vs. dress dilemma, including one from Julie saying that she wore a tux to her prom!  For this dance, my daughter wore a dress- who knows what will happen in the future. I dropped my daughter and her two friends at the dance, and I loved seeing all the kids dressed up.  I also loved that these three girls didn’t feel like they needed dates- they were happy to be going together.  I was excited that it was my daughter’s first high school dance. I was also excited that after the dance, another mom was picking the girls up and bringing them back to her house for a sleepover.  I knew that my daughter would be in good hands and I knew she would have fun- and my job was done for the night. I got home just in time for the start of the Baylor game.  It was gloomy and rainy outside (a typical South Florida evening in September) and my house was so cozy!  We broke out the fall food and beverages. We tried each of the beers: the Oktoberfest was very good; the Pumpking Ale was okay, and the Howling Gourds was terrible.  The only one we actually finished was the Oktoberfest.  It turns out some things just shouldn’t taste like pumpkin, and beer is one of them.  But it was fun to try them all. I LOVE chips and salsa, but don’t normally eat them.  It’s one of those thing I can’t stop eating once I start, so I usually don’t let myself start.  But I made an exception since they were “fall-themed” (holiday foods don’t really count, right???) and I loved them.  The pepita salsa is delicious, and chips are always good.  Plus they looked like fall leaves! We also had this: It was good.  I mean- it was good for a prepared dinner.  Elaborate cooking wasn’t in my plan for this night, so we definitely enjoyed these “heat and serve” enchiladas. We watched Baylor win, and oh yes- I was wearing my new favorite pajamas. After the game, I stayed up late reading, and finally crawled into bed, knowing that there was no work or school tomorrow, and no one would be needing me for anything.  I could sleep as late as I wanted, and didn’t wake up until 9 am.  It felt AMAZING. After a nice slow start to the morning, Sunday got underway.  I picked up my daughter, did the grocery shopping, and started thinking about plans for the week.  I felt a little melancholy that the weekend was coming to an end.  Sometimes everything just comes together perfectly.  I know there will be more fun times this fall, but it’s possible that I’ll look back and say “Yes, that was the best night of the whole season.” Are you starting to think about fall, or are you still in a summer frame of mind? Pumpkin ale- yay, or nay?

Weekly Rundown- Everything is Awesome!

I don’t want to say this injury is behind me, because that would be tempting fate a little too much.  But let’s just say “Everything is Awesome” from The Lego Movie has been running through my head, and life seems good!  I’m linking up as always with Kim and Deborah for this Weekly Rundown.  Here’s how it all played out… Sunday I walked one mile and ran 3. Everything felt good! Monday I did lower body strength at home, including single leg exercises and squats.  One of the (few) things I’m proud of from my work this summer is the progress I made in the one leg sit-to-stand.  It’s one of the foundation exercises on Sally McRae’s app and also one of the hip stability exercises from Brad Beer’s book.  You start sitting on a chair or bench, and stand up using one leg, then sit back down, stand up again, etc. only on one leg.  When I first started I could only do five reps on each leg- now I can do 36 reps!!!  At least something has improved. I also did Caroline Girvan’s deadbug workout..  I’m really tired of it by now! Tuesday I walked 3 miles… … and then did a different core workout!  I did Caroline Girvan’s Standing Abs Workout, and I liked it.  At least, I liked doing something different. Wednesday Again, I walked one mile and ran 3.  Still feeling good! Thursday I did my single leg exercises, and another core workout.  This one Engie recommended, MadFit Standing Core Workout..  I liked this one too!  Then I had time for 20 minutes of walking. At night we watched the Dolphins game, which was a complete fiasco.  We lost, and our quarterback got ANOTHER CONCUSSION.  The poor guy will be out for… ever?  The rest of the season?  I feel really bad for him, and now our season is a shambles after only the second game. Friday Gym day!  It was a very squat-focused workout, because I skipped deadlifts.  My low back is nagging at me again, and deadlifts sadly make it worse.  After squats and Bulgarian split squats I did some core (abs and low back machines.) At night I planned to go to our high school football game, but it rained so much that the band couldn’t play (so I didn’t go.)  They did manage to play in the rain and our team won!  This was our homecoming, and last year’s homecoming was completely rained out.  September outdoor events just shouldn’t be a thing in South Florida. Saturday This was a big day- I walked one mile and ran 4!!!  I’m getting there! At night we watched the Baylor game.  FINALLY.  A game where it didn’t rain, no one got injured, and we WON!  At least the football week ended on a high note. Sunday Off!  Sleeping in and waffles will be involved (obviously.) So, it was a good week.  Moving forward, I’m going to cautiously try running every other day.  Running every third day was great to get me back from this injury, but I can’t do that forever! How was your week?  Were there any moments where you sang “Everything is Awesome?” Top photo by Stainless Images on Unsplash

33 Responses

  1. Ha, I’d love to run an ultra with you in Florida!
    I’d pick the Jupiter one:
    1. it leaves you plenty of time to recuperate before the Dunes 50k in April.
    2. you’ll be tapering in December = more time.
    3. it’s in loops = you have a guaranteed aid station and you don’t have to worry about getting lost. You can always stop the race if you get into trouble (I know that you have enough discipline to keep on going if you can).
    4. it’s close to home = the most efficient way to race.
    5. other runners recommend it.
    I’m excited to know which option you will choose!

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  2. I like that kind of popcorn but not as much as Boom Chicka Pop or Skinny Pop. I love the slight coconut taste! However I HATE the name. Why are we giving value to a food? But also, it’s delicious. I boycotted it for a long time because of the name and then my other popcorns were unavailable, and I felt like it was weird karma, so I bought some. Now I’m thinking maybe it’s MORE evil because of your poor tooth! Dental stuff is so awful. Speaking of which…my son goes in for dental surgery on Friday so wish us luck!

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    1. Oh, your poor son- GOOD LUCK. And, I like all popcorns. I feel like Lesser Evil is actually more salty, and I like that!

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  3. I’m zero help with the choice – I HATE making decisions (they all sound like they have distinct pros/cons – what one do you *want* to do most? Like if someone took one race off the table, is there one that would make you sad to lose as an option?)

    I’ve had something so similar happen with popcorn. It’s delicious, but also very annoying with regard to dental issues. I’m so glad you were able to flush it out at home without further intervention!!!

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    1. Yes, it kind of makes me wonder who came up with the idea of eating popcorn in the first place- so many things can go wrong. Okay, I’m going to use your method and see if it helps.

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  4. I think you’re cleared to enjoy the rest of the popcorn. What are the odds of lightning striking twice;-)

    Which race…I like Catrina’s wisdom about Jupiter. Then do one of the other races next year? I know, I know, it’s hard to think about next year when YOU JUST WANT TO RUN ALL OF THE RACES RIGHT NOW ALREADY!!!!!

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  5. I say go for the Forgotten Florida! It looks very cool, it is not too far from Orlando so if someone wanted to join you, it would not be too hard to get to, and…I think you can do 50 miles and you have plenty of time to train for that! Also it gives you enough time to recover for Dunes.

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  6. Oh wow, these all sound like excellent choices! Except maybe the 50 mile one — seems like you might want to save that one for the following year?

    I am so sorry you had such an awful popcorn kernel experience! Yowch!!! The salt water solution is awesome and I’m so glad it worked.

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    1. Yes, I’ve had many bad popcorn experiences but I think this one was the worst. And I think you’re right- the 50 mile race will still be around next year and that might be a better time to tackle that.

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  7. You are so welcome for the postcard! I have a huge box of them and it made me SO SAD when you said you couldn’t remember the last fun mail you had, so I’m going to go ahead and add you to my list of people who get occasional just because mail!

    I have no advice about which race to run. They all sound wonderful and hard and way too much for the likes of me! I’m convinced you can do anything, though, after your last race. You’ll pick one and it will be amazing!

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    1. Thank you Engie! The thing I’ve discovered is, once you sign up for something you figure out a way to make it happen.

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  8. I’d love to run one of these with you! They all sound good, but I’d be looking for a shorter distance, like a 25k–does Forgotten Florida have options like that? I like the loop option.

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  9. You could do the Jupiter Ridge Sandspur in December. Then do a shorter distance in the Forgotten Florida as a lead-in to your 50K in April. That way, you’d be able to get a feel for the course in the Forgotten Florida ready for tackling it the next year?

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    1. Oooh! I like the way you think. That would be a way to do multiple races but not stress out my body too much.

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  10. My vote is for the 3rd. I don’t like to repeat loops so the 1st one is out for me (not that I am running this!!) as I fear that would get old fast. My 2nd choice is #2 although 50 miles sounds INTENSE! I am risk averse/conservative and don’t like to risk feeling undertrained though.

    I love popcorn so much but I get popcorn hulls stuck in my teeth quite often. And yet I keep coming back for more!

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    1. Yes, popcorn is strangely addictive. Why is it so good? I was originally leaning toward #3 but some of the comments here have gotten me thinking about other options. I’m glad I asked for advice!

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  11. I have a love and hate relationship with popcorn for that very reason – but I can’t quit it! All of those races sound AMAZING! I would either pick out of a hat and let the universe decide or really think about how far out you want to go (huge difference between an hour away and a night away – especially for the distances you run). I can’t wait to see where you land (and follow along)!

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  12. From the descriptions alone, Forgotten Florida sounds AWESOME. I think sandy running sounds … not awesome. But honestly, you can’t go wrong here.

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  13. People in my neighborhood running group do Forgotten Florida. Maybe I can cheer you on… I’d need reminding when it’s coming up lol

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  15. OMG, Jenny! The popcorn issue! You know I’ve struggled with that in the past, right? I’ve even had to get two deep cleanings from the dentist to solve the issue. I am so scared when I eat popcorn now that the same thing will happen again (but it does not stop me from eating popcorn, of course!) I’m glad a few saltwater rinses helped! That’s what the dental hygienist told me to do when I came into the office with the issue.

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    1. Oh wow, I really thought I was going to have to go to the dentist. Funny how we can’t seem to stay away from popcorn, even though we KNOW there will be consequences!

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  16. Popcorn is evil – lol – I am glad you got whatever it was unstuck!

    I think I’d go for the Jupiter race. It sounds fun (and challenging) and I love close-to-home races.

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  17. Oh, man, popcorn. Every. Single. Time. I’m also terrified I’m going to break a tooth on a random kernel. Yikes.
    RE: races, I loved Catrina’s advice. My only recommendation – don’t go for the 50 miler. The Jupiter + the one you ran this year = lots of good racing (I hope!).

    Reply

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