Mississippi

Thanks for all the comments about my long run pacing.  I guess everyone fixates on some part of their training and worries if they're doing it right.  I'll just keep doing what I've been doing.  Plus I have a half marathon fitness testing race that should help me determine if my goal race pace is realistic or not.

I've been back for more than 10 days.  The statute of limitations for making excuses for not posting is up.  I don't think this is going to get that long, but I was sort of afraid it would, which has been my excuse for not posting up to this point.

So here goes...

Two Saturdays ago (July 11), 50 some kids and 12 leaders piled into 9 rented minivans and/or SUVs.  I drove a black Chrysler Town and Country.  We took two days to get to our site (kind of near Gulfport, MS), stopping the first night at a church in Memphis.

Sunday afternoon we had orientation and learned what group we would be in and what project we would work on.  Fortunately for my pale, pale skin I was placed in a group that was going to work on flooring inside a house.  Half of my group was from my church and half was from a church from Austin, MN.

The first thing I will say is that the organization that put together our trip, Next Step Ministries, seemed to have great rapport with the community we were serving.  This was the second (I think) summer NSM was working in this community, and every interaction I saw between the staff and residents was very positive.  It seemed to me that the residents felt like someone was finally helping them five years after Katrina came through and that the NSM staff was interested in engaging with residents to solve problems- not just showing up to "do some stuff for the residents".  Obviously I was only there for a week, but I got a very good vibe from the staff/resident interactions.

Our accommodations were what you would expect if you've ever been on a service trip.  We slept on the floor, we showered in a trailer, we ate whatever was on sale at Costco.  Those weren't my favorite parts, but it does give the whole experience a "summer camp" type feel.

My group really worked hard to finish our project.  We re-floored two bedrooms, a utility room, a bathroom, and a hallway in a house that hadn't been cleaned in... well... let's say they gave up when that whole Monica Lewenskiy thing went down.  The couple was elderly, and I'm sure they did the best they could, but it was pretty gross.

Important life lesson: Never put carpet in a bathroom.  That's all (mold, pee smell) I will say about that.

But we floored:

 
We sawed

We moved a lot of stored junk

Including this guy, which was cool, but not what we wanted to find stashed behind a full bookcase!

And interacted with the residents and their family (including pets)

Friday was supposed to be a beach day, but we got rained out.  Pretty sad because some of the kids had never seen the ocean before.  I think the MN group actually went back to the beach for a little while on Saturday because it was sunny.

As for us, Saturday we packed up and made the hard drive back to Madison.  It took 17 hours, which I think is pretty darn good for a 9-vehicle caravan of high-schoolers.

So it wasn't your typical vacation, but as with all the other trips I've done, I had a good time, and I'd definitely do another one.

Week in Review - The Sweet and Spicy Edition

I guess it was the hot, rainy weather we've been having compared to last year's drier cooler temps, but the garden is just not producing the way it did last summer.  Our carrots didn't grow.  Our broccoli grew and bolted in one week.  The tomatoes look bedraggled.  Fortunately our butternut squash, pumpkin, peppers, and onions are doing well.  The pumpkin plant is humongous, and we even found one little green pumpkin hiding in there.  I guess each year in the garden is different, and you get what you get.  This year we got this:

Green peppers, sweet peppers (which, if you are in Madison and want some, just let me know), and one tiny head of broccoli.  Last year we had so much broccoli!  It's really kind of sad considering all the work we put in to it.  Oh well.  At least we'll have some zesty sandwiches.

On to running and other workout considerations:
M - 5mi easy recovery from long run last Sunday
T - Strength training
W - 8mi with 2x(800,600,600) at 5-10k pace (Interval paces were: 7:40, 7:23, 7:22, 7:47, 7:41, 7:45 min/mile)
R - 8mi with 40 min marathon tempo (run at 8:48 min/mile average pace), yoga
F - Strength training
S - 18mi with miles 9-12 at marathon tempo (did all of them in the 8:50-9:00 min/mile range) in 2:53:00 (9:37 min/mile overall average)
Su - 5mi easy recovery.  Yoga

I'm feeling good about my training overall.  The next two weeks will also be high mileage, and then I'll cut back for two weeks- the first will be recovery, the second will be for a 1/2 marathon fitness testing race.

The only thing that concerns me is how slow my long runs are.  My goal marathon time is 3:50, which is an 8:48 min/mile average pace.  Do you think that- based on the speed I'm doing my long runs- 3:50 is too aggressive of a goal?  I know you're supposed to do long runs slower than your goal pace, but is 45 sec/mile too slow?  Should I try to speed up my long runs?  I usually finish faster than I start, which I know is good...  Any advice would be welcome!

We now return to our regularly scheduled programming

After a week of being gone and a week of just plain neglect, I'm back to blogging on at least a semi-regular basis.  It's not that there hasn't been anything worth mentioning going on- it's just that I haven't wanted to or felt like I could commit the time to posting in the early morning before work.  So what have I been up to?

I got back from Mississippi last Saturday night late and spent Sunday knocking out a hot, poorly fueled 13 mile run, doing laundry, and otherwise playing catch up.

Wednesday Daniel and I went with a coworker, her boyfriend, and two of her friends to see a Beatles tribute band play with the Madison Symphony Orchestra at the Concert on the Square.   We had a potluck picnic dinner and enjoyed what might have been the only reasonably cool weather in the country.

Friday was a big day in personal grooming for me.  I got a hair cut - pretty much the same as before but with a little bit of bangs for interest

And had my feet scrubbed with steel wool and toes painted a delightful summery purple

Man, I have some big foot veins.  

After my post-work salon time, Daniel and I went out to dinner at Taqueria Guadelajara.  Daniel got a taco and a gordita and I got a vegetarian huarache and attempted to order the cactus side dish.  What I got was something akin to green bean salad.  Not sure if that's cactus or not.  Daniel's gordita was very similar to the tacos we bought at the mercado in Juarez (yes, of the three times I've been out of the US one was to the murder capital of the world).  They had Tamarind Jarritos, which I've always wanted to try, but I wasn't in a soda mood.  Sadly they did not have Manzana Lift. 

It's been a good week getting back into working out- I'll save more of that for my week in review post tomorrow- but I hit my first 18-miler this morning at a 9:37 min/mile average pace.  I started out a little slow but picked it up through the middle and end of the run.  Next week will be the first 20 of the training cycle.  Gulp!

The only bad part of the run is that it was super humid and my CamelBak got in a fight with my actual back and the CamelBak won.

Those three spots caused me to wash my hair with my head upside down this morning because standing with my back to the shower water hurt so bad it's illegal to use as an interrogation device.  So I'll have to either wear a shirt with sleeves or fashion some kind of padding between me and my water backpack so it doesn't try to erode my shoulder blade again next week.

And that's about it.  In real life (as opposed to when this will be posted) it's 8:51pm, and I have a detective novel set in Botswana (the best kind!) waiting for me.  It's good to be back, and I look forward to continuing to catch up with what's going on with all of you.

Recovery

I'm back from Mississippi, but I'm still trying to catch up on life and get back to my normal schedule.  I had a great trip, and I can't wait to post some pictures that I took and that *hopefully* others have posted or will post on Facebook.  So look forward to a big MS trip post plus a cooking post highlighting some recipes from the latest Real Simple.  After a week of dining on Lucky Charms and Chewy Bars, it has been good to see some vegetables again!    

On our way

We're headed out to Mississippi today.  We'll spend tonight in Memphis and then continue on and return next Saturday.  A 17-miler (3 minutes faster than last week, woot!) yesterday should keep me at peace during the long car ride today.  See you next week!

In the bag

Yesterday Sarah at the SHU Box did a neat post about what she carries around all day as an endocrine fellow.  I thought it was fun to get a glimpse into the daily life of another blogger, and thought I'd do the same for myself today.  I have an office and a desk so I included a little of that in addition to the bag I carry back and forth to work.  Here's Chelsea's essential tools for life and work:

The top of my desk, featuring the computer, the phone (where I get calls for everyone other than me), a tennis ball for massaging computer shoulder, standard office stuff like tape and pens, my daily log book (on the left), my calculator, and scratch paper (very very important).

I try to keep a little summary of what I do every day in my log book.  What I did, where things are saved, etc.

I have a mountain of "oops" print outs and use the back for scratch work.

Then the essentials drawer- deodorant, almonds, make-up, toothbrush... it's all in here.

I also have a bunch of informational stuff pinned to my bulletin board.   For example, units and reference ranges for lab values that maybe one day I'll remember (no, probably not).

And now for my actual bag.  Never buy a light colored backpack.  Those stains never wash out.

 And the contents.  Not too much because I'm able to leave so much at work.  I've got my purse (easier to keep the contents in there and just transfer the whole thing), my lunch bag (which usually goes in the fridge when I get to work), an umbrella, random pens and pencils, and of course, my planner.

 So there you have it.  I think it would be neat to see other people do the same thing (hint, hint).  Hope you have a great Friday.  I'm off to do a long run because I'm leaving for Mississippi tomorrow morning.

Everybody Likes Great Recipe Websites

I found Everybody Likes Sandwiches through Jess's blog, and have been in love with the uncomplicated yet interesting recipes therein.  I've been trying to get more vegetable variety going on in my diet, so I decided to try the lemon, parmesan and chickpea cabbage salad.  Lettuce I eat, cabbage not so much usually.  I made a couple substitutions- I swapped the lemon dressing for some TJ's Goddess I had on hand, I swapped white beans for chickpeas, and I threw in some cashews as this was going to be the main event for lunch.

The verdict?  Delicious and filling.  Gourmet even served out of Tupperware with ancient tomato stains.

If you like to cook and eat, check out ELS.