Reflecting on the Good Stuff

Reflecting.... get it??  Because it's getting dark SO early (and getting light SO late), it's time for a chat on safe running practices.  Today I went for Week 2 Day 2 of my Cast 25K program after work.  I left right at 4:00, after explaining to my team in a meeting earlier that, despite the fact that we had a vendor flown up from North Carolina in all day meetings, I really needed to leave in time to run before it got dark.  The response was blank stares - tough room.  But I think the organization problem-solving awesomeness that I had laid out for everyone in the morning session more than made up for that.  So anyway, my slavish devotion to my job landed me on the streets in running gear about about 30 minutes before sundown.

Home sweet office

I had with me a reflective slap bracelet I got for free at a running store (this photo is deceptively dark).  I finished just as the sun was going down, after waving that sucker for all I was worth at all the passing cars on my route.  As I was wearing a green tied-dyed running hoody and grey pants, with the exception of that bracelet I was probably about as eye-catching as a pinecone.  Very bad.

So this is the heart rate graph for my workout, which consisted of three minute walking and one minute running intervals.  The blue is where my HR was supposed to be.  The line is what I actually did.  2% compliance.  Now, it has been said that I am a headstrong idiot set to self destruct mode have stubborn-ness issues.  I prefer to think of it as determination.  But I cannot deny that I ran those one minute intervals at increasingly high paces until my last one was just over a 7:00 minute mile pace.  Oops.  You might also notice that I ran a bit longer and/or earlier than strictly necessary on some of them.  So much for perfectly sticking to the recovery C25K plan.  In my defense, I have no pain in my foot for the first time since before Labor Day, so I was a little excited.  Plus, it was getting dark....

Before anyone starts yelling, I have more reflective gear on order from Amazon, plus I stopped at Dick's on the way home and got a strobe clip for future runs.  While I was there drooling over gear, this also happened:

This from the man who also told Gypsy and I that if we just rode our bikes fast enough we wouldn't ever get wet in the rain.  Hmm.  Thanks Jedi.

Earlier in the morning (before the organizational awesomeness meeting), Boss Scarecrow and I were chatting about what we like to do - really like to do - with our time to unwind.  He and his wife are all about the massages (who knew?).  I do like massages, pedicures and other typical girly stuff well enough, but honestly I decided my best "pampering" treatment is time alone in my own house with no kids and nothing to do.  Cat in lap, fireplace going, a good book, and maybe a glass of wine.  Or tea.  Whatever.

That conversation, the amazing blog No Cigarettes No Bologna's most recent post about guilty pleasures, and people incessantly daily posting of what they are grateful for on Facebook during the month of November has me thinking of what I most enjoy and am grateful for.  I'm finally figuring out that the "secret to life" is not having a deeply meaningful job, checking goals off a list, material possessions, or any other self-help style crap, but rather the continual pursuit of pasttimes that make you feel really really good.  As NCNB says "Kids dance like no one is watching, because they don't don't give a shit.  They just dance."  Amen, kids!

So in no particular order, these are my guilty and not-so-guilty pleasures. (I'll leave you to decide which I should be guilty about....)

• My cats.  You may have noticed this already.  I have two, and on any given day I would rather spend time in their company than just about anyone else on the planet.  I'm also convinced that they are the only creatures that love me unconditionally.  Even the white one, who pooped in my closet as a "welcome home Mom" present for me tonight.  I live every day with the assurance that when I am an old woman, when my children have grown up and moved out, and Jedi has left me for a 20-something with perky boobs at the ability to run a sub-2 hour half marathon, that I will be warm and comforted with the love of the many shelter cats I will have adopted.

• Really bad, trendy workout music.  Like that idiot song about crashing your car into a bridge on a summer day that plays at every race possible.  I become a thirteen year old girl while exercising.  I also have let this bleed over into my actual work, where I listen to Pandora turned to the "Cups Radio" Station all afternoon to stay awake.  A coworker once caught me humming a line from a Taylor Swift song - I didn't stop hearing about it for weeks.  Newest love is Lady Gaga.  Oh Gaga......
  

• Dancing in my car.  To music from #2.  To the point that people look at me strangely at stop lights.  To the point I take my hands off the wheel to clap during the chorus of Black Eyed Peas "Pump It".  (I only do this while alone, however.  That's not true - I totally car dance with the kids too.  With hands on wheel).  I also like to sing as loudly and as out of tune as possible while performing this action, even though I do have a decent singing voice.  I just like to scream in my car.  

• Fantasy novels.  No not that kind - my goodness.  You've got a smutty mind!  I couldn't even get past the first few chapters of 50 Shades for crissake.  I'm talking about anything involving dragons, lost orphans discovering they actually have magic powers, crystal anything... I'm set.  From Games of Thrones to Tolkien to all the lesser wannabe geek authors... this is my beach reading.  I remember being genuinely upset to turn 13 because I realized I was too old to get into Narnia.  Still am upset, actually....

• Wearing my husband's hoodies.  Especially when I'm sick.  Not the gross one that he wears every day (why??) with the zipper, but the pullover type with the Patriots logo on the front that I got him for Fathers Day five years ago and he never wears.  Even though they are way too big and I would never leave the house in them.  Maybe.....

• Glee.  I love reliving every adolescent moment of dramatic angst I had while being my high school's Queen Band Geek and theater diva.  You might remember that my tri coach Sheriff and friend Maid Marion also hail from this time.  I make no apologies and cried like a baby while watching the episode memorializing Cory Monteith.  So sad.

• Cuddling my son to sleep every night.  This one might sound like a cliche, but really - he is the best cuddler in the world.  I know that you're supposed to let children fall asleep on their own lest they grow up with severe mommy issues and an inability to self-regulate. And he can.  But he falls asleep within 5 minutes of laying down - ALWAYS.  He is warm and non-wiggly and his bed is comfy and he tells me that he will still need cuddles every night until he is fifty.  I wonder what his wife will think about that?  Oh well... she'll share....

What are your guilty pleasures?  How do you unwind?  What embarrassing things can you secretly not live without?

And how do you stay safe on the roads in the dark?  What should be on my Christmas list in this category?

Product Review and Recipe - PearSports Mobile and Pear Crisp

Disclosure - I have absolutely zero affiliation with PearSports.  I did not get any swag, money, props, bribes or cool stuff of any kind for writing this review.  In fact, I'm quite sure PearSports is blissfully unaware of my existence and will continue to be so for quite some time, if not forever.  All of these opinions are 100% my own.

I'm not a bad runner.  But I am, let's say, a confused one.  I'm confused about correct form.  I'm confused about how to get better without injuring myself.  In the last six months I've needed PT for both knees, both hips, I've hurt my ankle, my back, and most recently sparked up some PF issues.  Grace, thy name is not Miranda.  I'm also quite honestly often confused as to how people who love running.... love running.  I've spent most of my life hating running.  Previous to six months ago, there were two things that would motivate me to run:

BEER

Being chased by a T-Rex

And that was it.  I mean, what the heck - people do this voluntarily??  Insane.  I'm also usually running alone because of my crazy work/schedule.  So when SwimBikeMom posted her review of PearSports Training Intelligence system, I thought hey - something that, for the low price of sub $100, will whisper sweet nothings in my ear telling me how I'm supposed to be training, encouraging me, and otherwise keeping me company on my long fall and winter of running, I got one pretty darn quick.

I love this system.  It's a heart rate monitor, special fancy earphones, and IPhone app.  My IPhone is pretty much surgically implanted, so one more gizmo to use with it was an added benefit.  The heart rate monitor is surprisingly comfy - I actually often forget I'm wearing it after a workout until I shower (which realistically isn't always immediately).  The headphones come with three different sizes of keep-it-in special comfy earpads.  I was actually so distraught at losing one of my size small earpads on a run that I went back to find it the next day in the rain.  The headphones also have a volume switch and a little button that clips to your shirt, and will tell you relevant stats (pace, mileage, heartrate) when you press it.

But the best part of all is the software itself.  First, it lets you listen to your own music while you work out - syncs right into your ITunes.  There are multiple training plans you can download (I'm doing the 10K running plan), with structured workouts that you schedule on given days of the week.  A coach (a famous one, if you are aware of such things, which I am not) will coach you all the way through each workout - giving you tips on form, reminders of what zone you are (or are supposed to be) in, etc.  The dialogue is often, but not so often that it becomes obnoxious or interferes with your tunes.

The home screen

In addition to running plans, there are spinning programs, strength training workouts, and even a guided meditation that you can download and use a la carte.  Yesterday when I couldn't get to the gym because work kept my late in the home office waiting for a critical email, I jumped on the trainer instead and logged a 50 minute spin workout.  The intensity was perfect, the coaching good, and except for the coach calling me "a monkey's uncle" when I was in the wrong zone (British? Aussie?  Just not sure...) it was pretty good.  There is also a free-form workout option that tracks your HR, distance, etc. but doesn't hold you to any particular program.  I've used this for races, and for runs that are longer than what I should be doing per the 10K plan (bad bad athlete).

38%?  I told you I was non-compliant...

At the end of your session, you can see your stats, a graph of what your heart rate was compare to what zone it should have been, and a map (if you workout was non-stationary).

A few nice-to-haves would be if it automatically synced to other apps like MapMyRide (it synces to some, just not my favorites), and if it was a little more flexible it letting you schedule and reschedule your workouts.  Maybe part of coaching is learning to stick to the plan?  I wish the HRM was a little more sensitive too - when I put my phone in my saddlebag on a long ride, it lost signal a lot.  A handlebar mount for the phone would probably fix that (more toys for my toys!!!).  Ditto for Boot Camp.  But that's pretty standard for BlueTooth...

A couple of thoughts on heart rate training, specifically for running.  Mainly, it is confusing as all anything.  I've spent all of my time to date trying to go FASTER.  You can't do that with heart rate training.  The voice in my ear wants me to actually warm up and cool down in Zone 1.  Which is just about walking for me.  Today I had a 4 mile "long" run.  (See how I had to put "long" in quotes?  Clearly I still have attitude....)  The first and last half mile the system wanted me in Zone 1 (walking fast) and the middle part in zone 2 (running not at my fastest pace, or even my almost-fastest pace).  For part of the run I was above in Zone 3, and when the electro-coach rebuked me I thought "Ha! I am BEATING heart rate training!"  Oh wait a minute....

Posting my runs to Facebook (which this system also does, even allowing you to select which subset of friends you irritate by doing so) isn't as much fun as usual with these slower paces showing.  Not that I was impressing anyone before, mind you, but still.  My run this morning ended at my kids' soccer practice - if you were to  look closely at my HR graph you would see where I started running again lest anyone not watching their little darling on the field glance over and think I couldn't hack a 4 mile run.  Because I'm crazy like that.  Clearly there is some mental re-shuffling needed to adjust here.... I'm working on it....

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On the subject of pears, let's flip over and discuss how much I LOVE fall recipes.  Butternut squash, pork roast, pumpkin pie, baked apples - you name it I love it.  This is by far the best time of year for food (good thing I'm still running, huh?).  My family has been doing more than our fair share of apple picking.

Up on Jedi's shoulders

Which leads to much cooking of apples.  Much like after peach picking, I am over-run with apples.  So I make apple butter, apple sauce, and my favorite - apple crisp.  I'm the only one in the house that likes it, but that's ok because I am more than happy to eat the ENTIRE pan by myself.  Judge all you want.  I'm a triathete.  So shush.  Ha!

She's got a little bit of Evil Queen from Snow White vibe going-
I think the pirate scarf helps....

My favorite crisp recipe is actually equally good with pears (Bosc are best) or apples, so I'll share it here:

Maple Oat Pear [or Apple] Crisp

• 4-5 large pears or apples, peeled and sliced
• 1 stick of butter, melted
• 1/4 cup of maple syrup (real if you have it)
• 1 cup of brown sugar
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp cloves
• 1/2 tsp allspice
• 1/2 tsp ginger

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Lay the sliced fruit in a 9x9 inch baking pan.  Drizzle with about 2 tablespoons of melted butter and the syrup.

Add a little lemon juice to keep fruit from browning, if you like

In a separate bowl, mix together the remaining ingredients.  Pat onto the sliced fruit to make a more or less smooth layer.

Oven ready

Bake for about 30 minutes, until the apples are just starting to be soft.  This is personal preference, but I feel like most apple crisps are too sweet, and too overdone.  To the point of applesauce under the crust.  This recipe is much more like sliced fruit under and oatmeal cookie.  In fact, that's what my kids call it - "apple oatmeal cookie thing".  Serve with ice cream, with whipped cream, for dessert, or even for breakfast.  After all, it does have fruit and oats....  I dare you!

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The rain is just starting to fall here, and will continue through tomorrow's 10K race that I'll be taking on with Gypsy.  We will be soaked.  I'm not sure I'm even going to bring my IPhone and Pear system, because I don't want them to get ruined.  So think warm, cozy, fall thoughts for me and enjoy!

Happy Fall :)