To and Fro

After walking to and fro, and to and fro, and to school over the last three days, I decided to go for a run in my break between classes today. I know I said I wasn't going to walk fro school on Monday, but I did anyway. My class got out about 5 minutes early so I got to the bus stop just in time to see my bus leaving. The next bus, that I would have taken anyway, wasn't going to be leaving for another 30 minutes and then another 10 to get home, and as close as I was at that point I decided that I might as well walk. I got home just in time to see my bus drop people off at my apartment. Job done. I have started to really like the walk. The first time I did it I listened to my iPod, but the last few times I have just walked. Yesterday on my way home I saw a baby snake in a puddle. Maybe it was my run in's with three water moccasins this weekend that made me think it was a baby water moccasin, I don't know, but I tried to get it to slither off and instead it attacked my shoe. I decided it best to just walk on.

Anyway! My run today was really great. I forgot my hair tie so I ran hair down and in my face. I run like the wind (a 5 mph wind) so it wasn't that bad. I didn't know exactly how far I was running but I timed myself. When I got back into my office I checked it out on Google Earth. 2.37 miles in 26:38 (11:14 per mile). Not too shabby of a time for me.

For lunch today I brought some Craisins. I usually put the Craisins in my salad with goat cheese, spinach, and walnuts - I love it. The craisins sans all that stuff are TERRIBLE! I'm going back to my raisins if I am not going to eat something with it.

Today is my second to last Landscape Ecology class (or regular session). I motivate myself to go by buying a hot chocolate with a splash of hazelnut and steamed milk to drink on my way over. It may be too hot to drink it today, but I think I will keep it up simply because it is so hard to make myself go over there. I am part of the presentation today (AGAIN) so I have to go and be knowledgeable. The funny thing is the person I am presenting with told me today that she finds me very focused. I laughed because yesterday while trying to do the readings for the presentation I fell asleep for awhile. Then I woke up and stared at the ceiling for about an hour. I have hit a bit of a lull in the school work for a few days, which has been very nice, and it is the end of the semester so I know that I am lacking in focus - but this whole year I haven't felt focused at all. Maybe it is the way I handle life now that is different and it makes me feel like I am unfocused compared to how I use to be. She even told me that she listened to me in class more than the teacher because the way I said things about the readings and in response to his questions made more sense than anything he said. I think I have just learned over the years how to B.S. my way through life instead of being focused. That perception of me is hilarious, but who am I to correct her. I tried, but she still thinks I'm focused and driven and can't believe I am not going to go on and get my Phd. No thanks. One Dr. Morgan in the family is enough. I guess though in about 23 days I would be a Dr. Beitz!

I think I have rambled long enough. Now it is time to start gearing myself up for my class, making my way over to the hot chocolate place.

Walkabout

This morning I decided to walk to school. I don't know why, I just felt like doing that rather than taking the bus. My hip and knee have kind of been bothering me so I didn't think I would be running today, so I thought a walk would be good. It is only about 3 miles and it took me about 50 minutes. Not sure that is a good time or not but it is farther than I usually travel by foot these days. I guess I didn't tighten up my shoes enough this morning due to the 20 or so chigger bites on them so now my feet are a little road weary.

I can't really complain about this day. Sitting at about 60 outside and after 8 months of trying I finally have a desk in an office at the school. I now feel like an official grad student rather than a nomadic sheep herder. I will finally be able to move a lot of my books over here so that I don't have to carry them back and forth all the time and that will also clear my drafting table at home to gather other things like mail, trash, and other junk I just lay on top of it. I think this desk has been empty for quite some time so I came to it to discover it covered in Wal-Mart bags full of food and drinks. Either I will be having a snack later, or they are having an end of the year party and this is the food storage spot. I just moved it and sat down. I don't really have anything to mark my territory except to pee on the corners of the desk right now, so I suspect the stuff will all be back in it's place tomorrow when I come in again.

I will not be walking home today because my class gets out at 5 and I need to get dinner going by about 5:30. This domestic transition may kill me . . . not in a bad way, it has just been hard over the last few months to think about the fact that I can't just eat whenever I feel the whim to do so if that is at 5, 7, or midnight, there is someone else who wants to eat with me and comes over about 6ish to do so. So instead of eating egg and broccoli burritos for 10 nights in a row I have to think of something else to fix because I am the only person who can eat the same thing every day and not really care . . . until I grow tired of it and don't eat it again for 4 months. All this to say I will probably continue this trend of walking until the end of the semester (a whopping 2-3 weeks) until I move to about a mile and a half away where I WILL be waking for the most part unless it is a blizzard or monsoon outside and I will be taking the bus (that will stop a block away).

Catching A Trend

I ran this morning. 1.8 miles in 21:20 minutes. That is a poor showing of 11:51 per mile. The difference? Not on a treadmill. Treadmills lie. They are good for actually running when there is snow on the ground or you can't bring yourself to run when it is 20 outside or even the perfect 55, but they lie on how fast and far you are running. It is all about the movement. Outside you have to push up and forward, on a treadmill just up. Anyway, it was also poor because it has been over a week since I have run. Well it is time to start kicking into gear.

A bit of it all

Doing a little Google bombing for a car place in San Antonio. Why? Because it is fun for me and I need all the fun I can get out of life right at this moment. So click on the link or even put the link in your site and type the name just like this so that it links to his web page:

Kastis Automotive Repair in San Antonio

Now back to our regularly scheduled programming.

Biked on Monday. That was way harder than I thought. 30 minutes 10ish miles. Ran yesterday:

Run Time: 33:30

Run Distance: 3 miles

Feeling: Great! I ran about 6 minutes at 6 mph which I haven't done in . . . well probably ever. Maybe I did at the 5K last year but I lost track.

Sitting on 36 days left. Actually 35 days 20 hours 49 minutes. But who is really counting?

I did not

. . . work out at all last week after Monday. My plan is to work out at least 3 days this week. I knew the second I published that I would work out at least 4 days a week maybe 5 starting after my running study I would fail. Because that is how blogs like mine work.

Anyway, on my iGoogle I have a little count down and it looks a little something like this:

So soon, so excited, and still in awe that this is actually happening to me and that I actually had these feelings for another human being. I didn't think it was possible.

7 Year Itch

I really don't have a 7 year itch, but I do have an itch. And that is all I'm going to say about it, other than when the Dr. told me what it was I said "I wish you told me I had poison ivy" (which is what I went in thinking I had).

So I went running on Monday. I did 2.5 miles in 30 minutes. For those of you keeping track at home that is only a 12 minute mile. I might as well be walking. My running and working out has been on quite a slide since spring break. Part of that is my schedule to the end of school. There is a lot of lab work to be done this month for some guys in my department, so the time I would spend in the gym gets put in their lab instead. It's OK as long as I don't make it a habit. Today I thought I would be working in the lab all day, I was told I would be working in the lab all day - but now it seems that I'm not needed today - so I just got a three hour hole of time. Guess what, no workout clothes. I mean, why would I? I was going to be in the lab all day. Oh well, it will give me some time to read a book I have been putting off for my thesis. This weekend I have to go on a field trip - Friday through Saturday. It should be fun, but that puts a lot of work on me when I get back, and I have found that I don't do work well right now. Maybe it is the spring weather, maybe it is all the lab time, maybe it is the itching, but it just isn't going very fast.

In other news, I finished the rough draft of my extension paper on green roofs. A lot of work ahead on that, I'm sure, but it felt good to get that first part out of my computer and onto another persons computer for awhile.

Balance

I follow a blog on Runners World called Marathon Virgin. He wrot a funny article with workout a couple of weeks ago:
Hanging in the Balance Marathon Virgin

I planned on working out today, but then I found out I will probably have to work all day tomorrow and so all the homework I was going to finish up needed to be finished tonight! So I didn't go to the gym. Low and behold, I finished up the bulk of it by 8:15, and the part I still need to finish usually only takes me about an hour (just jinxed myself I think). So anyway, I remembered this workout I printed off a few weeks ago and wanted to try. I'm glad I tried it in the comfort of my own home. I think I would have been embarrassed to do these things in public, especially as bad as I am at some of these exercises. The surfing pop-ups didn't pop, and the Burpees didn't burp. I probably looked like an old woman trying to do these exercises, but I did them twice each. I will work up to the 3 times each in time, but man do I need to be a better burper and popper before I do that.

Back At It

Well, after over a week off my running was sub par to say the least. I did not get a chance to run on Thursday before break like I had hoped, and I didn't get ANY running in over break. Mostly I sat around and napped. The napping part was fun.

Run Time: 22:59
Run Distance: 2 miles
Feeling: like I wasn't going to even make 2 miles. I had to slow the machine down a couple of times to rest, it was a weak showing for sure
Soundtrack: Home Improvement the snake episode. An early episode about a snake getting into the house and the exterminator can't find it and assumes it went back outside. The exterminator was Stephen Root! I couldn't believe it!

New Jersey Flooding

Long story short of spring break - went to New Jersey, 20 minutes after we got there we were told to evacuate. Well, 26 hours in a car only to be told to evacuate isn't really going to happen. So we just watched the water level. This is as high as it got and it went down over our stay. Probably more about the trip later.

Run Time

Run distance: 3.66 miles
Run time: 40 min
I tried to read, but the words on my magazine were too small to follow while running. So I just used it to cover up the screen so I didn't obsess about time and distance. Note to self: larger print.

Running again on Thrusday before my trip to New Jersey. Hopefully I can get some kind of activity in while I am away, it will be a long road back to running if I take a week off.

Yet another reason to like the guy

I'm not on Twitter, but I do follow a couple of people there. One of them being Jim Gaffigan (http://twitter.com/JimGaffigan). I follow him mostly for his one liners and any updates on tour information. Anyway this was his twitter entry for today.

On Tuesday 9th March 2010, @JimGaffigan said:

This is the day I was given the most important gift of all, Jeannie. Calling Jeannie my wife feels a little like referring to Shakespeare as some English guy. She is the true unsung hero of my success, personally and professionally. Forget that “Woman behind the man” crap. Jeannie and I are one in everything. Jeannie is not just my writing partner, acting coach and spiritual leader. She is not just the smartest sexiest woman I’ve encountered. She is my best friend who I happen to crave with every ounce of my existence. She is there to pick me up when I am down and forgive me when even I was disgusted by my own selfishness and narcissism. I wonder at her beauty and caretaking I witness in our eldest daughter. In her passion and charm bursting out of our son. I get lost in her cuteness and sweetness beaming from our nine-month-old. I even received a glimpse to last a lifetime of Jeannie’s elegance in our baby Maria Lourdes we lost shortly after her birth. Forget that “Luckiest man on earth” crap. That guy obviously never met Jeannie. Happy Jeannie Day!

Row Row Row Your Boat

Rowing again today - 20 minutes. I'm not sure if I like it or not. I kind of miss running. I look longingly over at the people on the treadmills wishing I could go nowhere on my feet instead of on my butt. I think that the treadmill people don't like me looking longingly at the treadmills because they think I am looking longingly at them and that I am creepy. Well I am creepy, but I'm not looking at you. Leg weights and abs again today. Followed by a salad with goat cheese.

Reading Rainbow

Well, I read baseball news.

I figured the key to running without thinking about time, or how tired I am, or the distance. READING! I forgot my iPod today (it is in my coat pocket and it is too warm for a coat today), so I stationed myself in front of the ESPN TV because it has closed captioning. Today was all about baseball. No word on the Cardinals or the Indians, but I think that might have been in the next half hour I was lifting weights.

I did not run yesterday for a number of reasons - most importantly the way my schedule lined itself out yesterday did not give me the time in between obligations. So I put it off to today, the day I opted to take off in my schedule. That's OK, I think it actually made for a better run today.

Run Distance: 3 miles
Run Time: 32:45
Other Activity: Arm weights (least favorite)
Feeling: I don't remember
Soundtrack: The gym

I think I'm going to start bringing some reading for my runs. A way to keep up on my reading for class and a way to pass the time.

Water, Water, Everywhere . . .

but not a single drop to drink.

Switched up the ol' gym routine today. Switch up 1: I showed up today, not usually a Monday work outer. Switch up 2: I used the row machine - Oh, the humanity! Switch up 3: I did weights for my legs and then did some ab work.

Now? Well now I am enjoying a delightful salad I made with lettuce, spinach, walnuts, craisins, and feta. How is it that I HATE anything cranberry except craisins? I use to be able to buy a salad like this at Trader Joes. I was lamenting about that yesterday before I went to the store that I wished I could buy that salad. Then it dawned on me I could get the ingredients and make my own. The trick was remembering what was in it.

Tomorrow . . . RUNNING!

Moving Forward By Looking Back

I finished my running assignment on Saturday. She runs me ragged on the tests!! She tested me before the running assignment, then again after a month, and then again a week later. It was good to keep me accountable to running - and I had a running coach for 5 weeks telling me what distances to run and what to expect. That WAS nice, but now I am on my own again. Last week, due to the testing, I wasn't running as much as I had been before (part of the thesis experiment). So to add things to my workout that were not cardio (a no-no) I started doing a little weights. It has been a long time since weights have been a part of my workout - and I could totally tell!

So now I am moving forward by using what I learned over the last five weeks. First off I am going to keep up the running! Second I am adding a day at least to the week by going 4 days a week instead of 3 (not running all days mixing up the cardio). I might end up with 5 when it is all said and done because I may do a good run on Saturdays (but we will see). I am also going to start adding weights back into the mix. It is hard, and takes a bit more time, but it is worth it! I feel so much better when I go than when I don't. I have also crafted a great iPod mix for my runs - kicking off with July Flame and in one of the hard spots I hear The Distance by Cake!

Wrapped up the weekend with some biscuits and gravy, and then I kicked Adam out so I could finish up some homework. So I guess this means I have to finish it. He has such a hard life. I make him cook for me and then make him get out. I did let him eat with me though.

July Flame

Run Time: 39:30
Run Distance: 3.5
Feeling: About 2.5 miles I wasn't sure if I could do it. I was seriously considering a little bit of walking, but I know how I am once I walk - I rarely get started again and feel in the groove at all. So I stuck it out until mile 3. At mile 3 I was still thinking a walk would be good, so I just turned down the speed to 5 mph to take a break and see how I felt. I didn't feel good but I didn't walk either.
Soundtrack: I watched a little bit of Ellen on TV and then listened to a random mix of music I have right now. It was kicked off by July Flame by Laura Viers:



I don't know if this is the real video or not. I liked it . . . until the forest fire, but they all roasted marshmallows so I guess it all worked out.

The other song I love to run to (best toward the finish line, but it is the first song on the CD so I usually listen to it while warming up) is Sigur Ros's Gobbledigook:



Don't look up the real video for it . . . but now that I have told you not to, you will. But don't. Just don't.

Now leave me a lone, I have to go work on statistics! Gosh!

Pancakes

Yesterday we celebrated national pancake day. I found out today that it isn't until like the 23 or something like that. That's OK, it was a good night for pancakes. I made them from scratch, no Bisquick for me. It was a lot easier than I thought it would be. Slowly, over this semester I have been getting farther and farther behind. It started with just an hour or less of work that got missed and it has been building, along with the decisions that need to be made about the impending nuptials have made me a wreck. A wreck for no reason. So last night was my national pancake day dang it, so don't mess with me.

None

Running

Saturday:
Run Time: 26.45
Run Distance: 2.5

Today (Tuesday)
Run Time: 33.25
Run Distance: 3

I have two more runs before my running test on Saturday. A 3.5 mile run on Thursday and then another 3 mile run on Saturday. I guess I will run before the test?? It has been good to do this right now because I HAVE to run 3 days a week or I totally screw up someones thesis. Hopefully after it is all said and done I will continue. I need to continue.

Back up

I have been behind on my running reporting!

Monday:
Run time: 28min
Run distance: 2.5 miles
Feeling: good for a Monday
Soundtrack: Home Improvement (I love that treadmill on the end in the back(ish) room

Today:
Run time: 33 min
Run distance: 3 miles
Feeling: great, ran fast (for me)
Soundtrack: Sigur Ros, and some tv here and there - I was an ADD listener today

Also, new to the whole google buzz thing. Are they pretty much trying to incorporate every kind of application out there - facebook, blogging, twitter, etc? I mean I like it. I don't do facebook anymore, so with Buzz I can still let people know at all times what I am doing.

STATUS: going to take a shower

Now, isn't your day complete?