Ab Workout

I bought a Yamaha VStar 650. They don't make them anymore so I feel like I have a classic sitting in my driveway. Learning to ride wasn't difficult, since my heart has been with motorcycles since I first learned to kickstart an old 1970's Honda back in the early '80s. Riding on the freeway was new, though, and will continue to take some getting used to. My theory is that since I have to hold on with all the mighty strength in my small arms and tense my abdomen to keep from being pushed around by the prevailing winds, that really, riding my VStar on the freeway is an excellent ab workout. Not sure my running coach would agree, but I think it beats doing crunches any day!

A New Route

I was supposed to run with the Harey Tortuga group this morning, but had to miss it in order to complete my motorcycle safety class. (Yes, I recently purchased a Yamaha VStar 650!) At any rate, because my class started at 6:45 AM and lasted until nearly 4:00 PM, I was unable to meet with my running group. Goodness knows I wasn't about to run in the heat of the afternoon, so I set my goal Thursday night to get up and run 8.5 miles Friday morning before heading off to work. The problem? I didn't know an 8-mile route from my house.

My lovely husband jumped in his card and sleuthed his way around our winding neighborhood, until he had come up with a plan. At nearly 11:30 Thursday night, I wasn't looking forward to the 4:30 AM wake-up call.

If you've read my early running blogs, you will find that running is mostly mental. I struggle with my "running confidence" and Friday morning was no different. Thirty minutes prior to my alarm, I was awake and grumbling. However, I have found that once I put money on a race, I am more apt to train, so off I went, head lamp on lighting the way. At mile three I was feeling good. At mile six I could feel the finish line and by mile 8.5 I was hot, sweaty and happy. The route took me through rolling Citrus Heights, into Fair Oaks and down to the American River Bike Trail and back. I wouldn't want to run it on a busy afternoon (there would be too many cars on part of the route), but it was lovely in the early morning. Seeing the sun come up while on a run is amazing. It's like the world started its day just for me.

Emerging

So, what is it now? What's the drama? The heartache? The pressure? What am I "emerging" from? Nothing. I am emerging into something fierce. I am blossoming, growing, expanding the boundaries of how I identify myself and there is something magical about it. Exciting. Electric!

In five years, how will I have redefined myself? That is the question. Who do I want to be? Maybe you can help me answer that.

For now, let's start with a few new things. First, I'm a vegetarian. It took me eight months to stop craving meat, but it finally happened. Difficulty ensues when eating out. Why do most vegetarian sandwiches have tomatoes and cucumber? Perhaps I will open my own deli and delight the tastebuds of my community with a few new foodie tricks of my own.

Second, I've moved into a new community: Citrus Heights. Though I was sad to leave Orangevale, Citrus Heights has already afforded me new opportunities. They have neighborhood associations that I can join (have joined!), a community garden (I also joined), a City Council, Mayor and even an Arts and Historical Society. Who knew? Perhaps City Council is my next path. Then Mayor?

Third, the Task Force is closing. Well, at least operationally (we are still waiting to see what Senate Rules has to say). This means I have an opportunity to redefine my career as well. Will I go back to teaching? (Not likely in California these days with so many teachers being laid off.) Will I continue in wellness? Will I go public, or stay in the non-profit sector? Perhaps I will just take a little nap and decide later.

Fourth, I am running again...slowly. I have new goals for myself that include volunteering to assist at more races. I want to run in more 5ks and sprinkle in a half-marathon or two. Maybe someday I will run another full - we'll see how my hips and knees decide to hold up. As I edge closer to my 40th birthday in October, I want to push my limits and start the new era of my life with some fire under me!

Fifth, I discovered that I have amazing friends in the Sac area who came to my aid during all of the move and work chaos. I also discovered that I can make new friends, too. What a blessing to meet so many intelligent women through Emerge CA. They are truly going places and I hope to be joining them.

For now that's quite enough. But keep watching. Something amazing is about to happen. I can feel it!

Butter or Bodyglide?

Tonight I sat down to watch Julie and Julia after dinner--which made me feel guilty since I ate leftovers instead of cooking a nice meal. I have seen the movie a few times before but when you relate to a film as I relate to Julie and Julia's love of food, it's always engaging and never tiresome.

When Julie rounded her 56th recipe, a thought struck me: I have a food blog, kind of! I blog! Or, I'm supposed to anyway. It took a movie about a cooking blog to remind me that I should blog about my own hobby, running. Ironic. And I'm guilty, again. Actually, one of Julie's funny comments sparked my memory. I think it went like this: "...and I'm sweating, which isn't a surprise because I've been spending all of my time cooking fattening foods instead of exercising." Which prompts me to remind you all of why I run.... so I can eat! But over the past four months I've been guilty of picking up butter over bodyglide. Not really a stick of butter, but guilty pleasure-foods like chocolate or baked goods made with butter. And my pants are tighter to prove it.

Right. I'm going running bright and early tomorrow morning. 10 miles. That should work off the slice of cake I had last night at a dinner party... or will it buy me the extra calories I'll have for Ella's five-course Farmers Dinner Sunday night? Maybe first I should focus on burning off what I gained.

Movie moment: Julie just blogged about having to cook an aspic. Ick. Jello-meat mold? Quite frankly, it looks like my worst nightmare and I'm pretty sure Leah would hate it too. All around bad food, not supported by the Wellness Task Force (unofficially).

So what's up with my blatant lack of blogging anyway? Following the Shamrock'n Half Marathon, I failed to set another plan and when I stopped training, I stopped running eventually. I wish I could say I dropped off to pick up another brilliant, worthy activity like... cooking or learning to cook like Julia Child. But I can't say that. I got lazy. However, today I'm looking forward to 10 miles tomorrow. I joined another running group, this time with SacFit and I'm back on track! They started out the first week with a 7 mile long run so I had to woman-up, like Julia Child dove in to her French cooking class for "professionnels", a little out of her element but with determination!

Movie moment: Yet another a-ha moment! Irma Rombauer (or the woman playing her) is on screen as the author of the Joy of Cooking. I've seen the cookbook on my mother's kitchen shelf, though it's NOT the sole reason my mother is such a great cook. Wait a second, I was at Rombauer Vineyards in Napa on Monday and noticed a shelf of the Joy of Cooking cookbooks. Get out! Two and two together: the Rombauer Chardonnay that I love is the same as (or at least related to) the Rombauer chef who Julia Child loved? Confirmed... and stashed in memory for trivia.

More movie scenes, quotes and hopes to which I relate:

• The political undertones. I won't specify which, this being a work-related blog and me working for a non-partisan organization.
• Pearls and feel-better martinis in the afternoon.
• Brie. "Is that not the most wonderful cheese you've ever tried?" - Meryl Streep as J.C.
• The scene where she almost gives something up because it got difficult and tiring and interfered with other aspects of her life.
• Inability to resist exclaiming, "Yum!" during a really wonderful bite.

I guess I'm still not writing much about running.. but it is not as much fun as cooking or eating gourmet food. However, I do have thoughts on running. And they would be:

• Early morning is the only sane time of day to run in Sacramento in the summer.
• A really good run can be as invigorating to my brain as Julia's boeuf bourgignon is to supposedly everyone's taste buds. It's an "ahhh" instead of a "mmm."
  
• California International Marathon. California International Marathon. Wish I had a close friend or running partner to run it with me. Can I run a marathon on my own? Do I even want to? I told myself this was the year to complete a full marathon and I've told people that I am doing it so I have to stick with it, with or with out a partner.
• Bodyglide helps prevent chafing, at least until I stop eating butter (and I mean all fattening foods) and my thighs shrink back again, if that happens.
  

And tonight's food theme continues... An email from Active.com just popped up with an article on "4 Summer Salads to Fuel Your Runs." Wonderful! I am a salad fiend usually, despite whatever ideas you now have from my butter talk. Salads are especially delicious when it is hot out--the cool, crisp bite is so refreshing and healthy. I caught some slack from a friend recently about how I would miss essential nutrients if I ate a plant-based diet while training. The tips in this article, like adding salmon, solve the issue.

Julie has been through an array of emotions tonight, trying to reach her goal and cook her way through Julia Child's cookbook. She did it! Feel-good movies do wonders for the soul! A really great run or a really great meal can do the same.

BON Appetit everybody! (... and watch the butter.)