Fat Biscuit

Complete Muscle Failure (Too Dramatic?)

It seems I don't know my own strength. That is, I don't fully realize how little strength I have. At least when it comes to my upper legs. 

What I thought was a casual and harmless decision to do some free weights and lunges at the gym 2 days ago, proved to be a huge mistake. Lunges! How I hate thee!

Even though these legs can carry me for 13.1 miles (it's been proven, people), a few sets of lunges and my quadriceps go splat. Muscles no workey. What do I know? It felt ok at the time; it was only the next morning when I struggled to walk down the stairs that I knew I'd overdone it. 

Yesterday, I dragged my ass out to the Mount Vernon Trail because it was just too pretty to not run outside. Those were the most painful 3 miles I've ever done and rarely did I glide below the 10 min/mile mark. Today, if I do anything, it'll be a gentle swim and then a soak in the hot tub. 

Lame.

Here's a gratuitious beer shot to cheer me up.

Almost Wordless Wednesday

This weekend Owen finally made it to the top of the rock at Lake Monticello. This is a Richards tradition, as the school-age Sian and I spent many hours scrambling up and then sliding down this large, sandy boulder. 

While Owen played on the beach with Nana, Taylor and I were off having a date of sorts in Charlottesville. Taylor enjoyed a glass of absinthe and I discovered a new favorite beer: Brooklyn's Black Chocolate Stout. 

Three Things

1. Yesterday, after listening to a full 10 minutes of my office mate's (read: husband's) conference call on speaker phone, I made a decision: "If I can't focus enough to get some editing done, then I should at least get some exercise in."  I grabbed my swim things and drove down the hill to the Mount Vernon Rec Center. My next-door neighbour/running partner had jotted down a beginner workout for me, so I had that with me, protected in a little plastic baggie, to give me something to follow:

• 100 free
• 100 free kick
• 100 pull
• 8 x 50 w/ 20 sec rest, slow down, fast back
• 3 x 100 kick: free, choice, free
• 5 x 100 free, 30 sec rest

At this point, I'm still not ready to tackle my pathetic breast stroke, which was always my least favorite and least efficient stroke. Nor am I eager to practice flip turns. I did get all my laps done, however, all the while playing music in my head, thinking about stuff, scanning the bubbly surface of the pool for floating chunks of mucous, etc. After my swim, I felt pleasantly fatigued all over: a very different type of muscle fatigue from that post-run.

2. Taylor and I have completed the first two lectures in the Open Climate 101 series by David Archer of University of Chicago. Prof. Archer gives a good explanation of some basic science on heat and light, followed by a more detailed look at blackbody radiation and quantum physics. It was like going to college, except from the comfort of our Tempur-Pedic.

3. It only took ~9 years, but my lovely little boy can finally fall asleep by himself. We still read to him every night, typically a full chapter of whatever book we're on, but then we can give him a smooch or two and roll out of his bed and scurry off to pursue some adult down time. Some magic must have happened to make him no longer uneasy by himself. Most kids get to this step by about age 3 or something, but we were lapse in our efforts to teach him independence. I hope we still have a few years before he no longer wants a bedtime story, but I think our days are numbered in that department. How many hours have we spent snuggled next to our son reading? Sigh. Glad I'll have that to look back on.

Swimmingly

This week my running is still not quite back to normal. My lower back continues to feel a bit tight, and in my determination to remain injury free for this summer's marathon training, I'm loathe to push it. That said, I did try running on the treadmill yesterday: sort of a Valentine's Day gift to myself. I did 3 miles at a very gentle pace, and not once did my lower back get angry with me. I left the gym feeling so happy. 

I can thank my lower back for something, however. It led me to throw on my 10+ year old Speedo and try some lap swimming for the first time, really, since I was in high school. For the first 100 yards or so, my left shoulder felt slightly pulled or tight, probably because when I'm running, I don't exactly use my arms that much. After that, the shoulder loosened up, so I decided to try and see how long I could go. I see the triathletes' workouts on DailyMile, so I had a rough idea of what distance an experienced swimmer can do. I took that number and subtracted about a million to come up with my very loose, very unscientific goal: Let's see if I can do at least 1000 yards?

I did it. And it felt really great. So great that I went back a few days later and did it again. And then I bought a bright pink kickboard, cause that's how I roll. 

Now I just need to figure out how to budget in the $7+ it costs me every time I want to use the pool at my rec center. Arrgh.

The family was with me the second time I went swimming. Owen tried out his underwater camera for the first time and got some really cute pictures of himself and his buddy. Maybe I can train Owen to take pictures of my freestyle stroke from underwater?

Random Friday Facts

1. I recently changed all of my online passwords and feel like I'll never remember them without my cheat sheet.

 

2. For Run this Amazing Day: I never get a bikini wax, which is exactly why I always try to hide my crotch when changing at the gym and pool. 

 

3. Last night I had another anxiety dream set on my college campus. It was the usual scenario: first day of semester, can't remember my class schedule, can't find the right building, lost my student ID, not prepared, probably gonna fail. When I'm 50 will I still be having dreams like this?

 

4. I feel uncomfortable sitting in the hot tub at the rec center when it's just me and some random guy. It's hard to avoid eye contact for an entire 15 minutes.

 

5. Already bought a bottle of wine for our Valentine's getaway: Domaine de la Morderee Lirac. It'll probably just taste like "red wine" to me.

 

6. There is a kid in Owen's class whom Owen can't stand because, "He's a know-it-all and a teacher's pet." Owen also said, "I was born hating this boy." Good thing Owen is so in touch with his own hatred. I feel that was a gift I probably gave him.

 

7. Owen has never once asked for a sibling. Nor has he asked why he doesn't have any. 

 

8. Taylor and I are going to start following the lectures on Open Climate 101, which is a Web site offering a series of lectures by David Archer at University of Chicago. I squealed with joy when I discovered that you could even take online quizzes after each video. Should I buy a new notebook???

 

9. Taylor bought me a scarf from the MOMA catalog last week. It's the brightest scarf I've ever owned (i.e., it's not black or gray).

 

10. You know you need help when you attend another school's PTA meeting, just so you can hear your school board representative discuss the FCPS 2013 budget. Please . . . help me . . . 

 

11. I bought a domain name. 

 

12. I left my favorite sports bottle at our friends' house in Richmond. 

 

13. I saw a cute group of old ladies at Panera this morning. They were sporting some serious hair dye and were flirting shamelessly with one of the male staff. 

 

14. This week's beer: Avery's Ellie's Brown Ale.

Wordless Wednesday: Six Years Ago

Test Tomorrow

 

I wish I could say that Puglee there belonged to my son, but truth be told, that cuddly worn-out mess is mine. 

 

I just tried to sneak in some last-minute studying with Owen and was met with a groan. It's just that I wanted to reinforce the fact that it was in 1911 that China's last emperor lived in the Forbidden City. Deeply engrossed in Harry Potter, Owen and Taylor did not appreciate me sticking my head round the bedroom door and blurting "1911!"

It's possible that I'm taking tomorrow's test a bit too seriously. I loved studying for tests (at least that's how I remember it) and by the time I graduated from high school had perfected The Method. The Method was instrumental in getting me straight A's every semester and in its essence consists of 

time + reading + writing to memorize + rewriting to memorize + over and over again

See, easy peasy! 

Owen, however, is quite content to "chillax" (his word not mine). After today's studying was over, he requested a re-listen to a couple of his favorite songs from this weekend's roadtrip playlist: 

 

 

 

Of course, Owen also likes LMFAO, so . . . . 

 

 

New Month

If December was a recovery month after the back-to-back fall half-marathons, then January was one really long nap.

In January I ran a total of only 38 miles: the least mileage for the entire year. So, I bid adieu to that month and its blahness, its sick days, and its school holidays. This month I've at least got one race to focus on and get me running when I'd rather be huddled under blankets. 

Too bad I'm starting this off with a sore lower back . . . . 

Thanks to my tempermental back, this week I've got a big fat zero for training, unless you count stretching and popping ibuprofen. Actually, logging stretching on dailymile.com might not be such a bad idea.

I know the back will get better soon though, and sooner if I don't push my luck, so here's what I'm looking forward to in February.

• Running 3-4 times a week: If I want the Irish Sprint 10K to even remotely resemble a "sprint," I need to do this.
• Buying new running shoes: I'm going to wait until the end of the month and then bust out my Pacer's coupon. I really hope they have the Mizunos I want in red.
• Visiting our friends in Richmond: This will be our prime time for the exchange and venting of parenting angst, which is typically accompanied by beer drinking and crude jokes. This month I'll argue the case for why the Richmond runner should do the MCM with me.
• Going away for Valentine's Day: The old man and I have a night booked at the Omni in C'ville, and Nana is on board for taking care of Owen. 
• Convincing Taylor that these would actually be terribly attractive on me.
• Seeing a Georgetown Men's basketball game at the Verizon Center: I haven't seen a basketball game since I saw UVA play at the old U-Hall. I just don't plan on purchasing any food or drink while there. I'll smuggle in water and Cliff Shots if I have to.