Year in Review 2012....besides running

Before we get too far into 2013, here are some of my favorite memories from 2012.

January: My birthday. It was a good one. We walked over to GT Fish and Oyster for a marvelous oyster, clam chowder and clam feast. Next we explored the city on foot in the cold, snowy weather, plenty warm from the delicious Sauvignon Blanc I'd had more than my fair share of at dinner:)

February: I took a two-week vacation in February- one week with Adam and my Dad in Yellowstone to ski and one week with Sara in Mexico to sun. Perfect

Right before they stampeded right in front of us!

Me and Dad

Sara and I on our balcony

March? April? I guess I was so busy becoming an Oncologist that I didn't have time to play! Good thing I like my job or I'd consider that a life failure. But I had/have sooo much to learn, it's probably okay that I fell off the face of the earth for a couple months!

May: Grandma's birthday

Mom, Dad, Grandma, me and Adam on the Milwaukee RiverWalk.

Happy, happy birthday!

June- uh-oh. Another month came and went and I can't remember what I was up to!

July: My former roommate and maid-of-honor, Tamara came to town! It was so great to see her- it had literally been years since our last reunion!

August: Our 9th Wedding Anniversary! And my first triathlon!

Outside Bridgehouse Tavern

Resting after almost kayaking:)

Me and Sara, triumphant (and tan!) triathletes!

September: Learning about babybison! We found out on September 3rd.

October: Fall golfing with my folks prior to our dinner and the great babybison reveal!

At South Shore golf course

November: Outer Banks vacation with family

December: Christmas! Since I just posted a bunch of pics of our Anne of Green Gables Xmas, I'll leave you instead with photos from our last New Year's Eve Celebration as child-free yuppies. We had a nice steak dinner at Three Forks, a steakhouse super-conveniently located in the park right next to our apartment. And we tried to take a baby bump pic, since that seems to be the "thing to do" but not sure how well it turned out. Will make a bigger effort once the bump is, well, bigger!

Happy New Year's!

Babybison at 21 weeks

Three Things Thursday, LMFAO edition

1. Speedwork today went well. I did a fun work-out I saw in Runner's World, just to mix it up a bit:

1 mile w/u, 1200m @ 8.3 mph (mile pace)
1 min rest
1600 m @ 7.1 mph (tempo)
5 x 60 second hills ( I chose 6.5 mph, 5% grade), w/ 30 s rests
1600m @ 7.1 mph
1 min rest
1200m @ 8.2, w/ last 400 up to 8.3 mph. 

I was feeling so good in the middle section that I didn't want to stop to change my music so I listened to LMFAO's Party Rock Anthem and Sexy And I Know It on repeat. For about 30 minutes That was interesting. At least they have good beats!



2. There has been a security/bodyguard/man-dressed-in-a-suit-with-an-earpiece in my building's gym the past few times I've been there. I can't for the life of me figure out who the famous person is that warrants security. Since I worked out for nearly an hour, eventually a skinny, short white young man left after his work-out with the body guard. Still have no idea who he was. He really can't be that famous if I can't place him, can he? I know I don't pay that much attention to pop culture but still.








3. I've received flack from a few people recently who wonder how I have time to have a blog. Some people wonder admiringly ("wow, it's amazing how much you get done"). I appreciate that, that's a compliment.  But these other folks have been wondering disdainfully, one even said to me "you must not be working that hard if you have time for a blog". Here's what I say to that. First of all, my blog posts were few and far between last year, indicating that I truly was at the absolute max in terms of working. But to me, that is working TOO MUCH. I don't want to have so little free time that I don't get enough sleep, exercise or breathing room to do the things in life I enjoy. 

Things have improved this year. For example, today I was at work by 7, finished at 4:30 (which is early), exercised for 2 hours and now am sitting down to dinner. This was a good, balanced day. They aren't all this good. I still plan to work 2 weekends a month and at least 50 hours a week. I would argue this is still more work than 90% of the population (be honest, do YOU work that much?). But I spend my free time exercising, occasionally hanging out with friends and family (though really not all that much since few live in town besides my wonderful husband) and blogging. I don't really watch TV unless I'm doing it while I blog, I don't follow sports (except the Olympics), I don't play video games, I rarely go out to bars. I don't shop or pay a lot of attention to hair or make-up (I probably should!). I like to have a creative outlet. And while my blog may not be super creative, I enjoy having a place to write about whatever comes to mind. Also, I find writing about running, swimming and biking to be motivating; it helps me to stay accountable when my goals are made public. And, finally, I have a terrible memory, so this is a great way to document my life so I don't forget! Just had to get that off my chest.


Btw, this post took all of 10 minutes. The time it takes many women to blow dry their hair (which I rarely do) or men to check ESPN.com (which I NEVER do). Or vice versa. To each their own!

The Stinky Fish

Half way through watching the Muppet's movie today (which is incredible, btw), Adam and I both noted the distinct scent of stinky fish. You know, cheap fish that someone was cooking on their stove. I noted the smell first, saying "do you smell the stinky fish?", to which Adam, being a classic boy, smelled himself to ensure he wasn't the source of the stinky fish. He wasn't. We puzzled over this for a few minutes, but let's face it the Muppets are hilarious and what were we going to do? Find the source of the stinky fish? I think not.

At the end of the movie we heard an announcement coming from the hallway. Something about the Fire Department but we couldn't quite make it out. Adam thought maybe they were imploring our neighbors to throw away the stinky fish. As Adam hung out in the hallway trying to catch the full message I made a mental list of the things to grab if we needed to evacuate. I had it down to 2 things- the wedding photos and the photo hard drive. Living in downtown Chicago really serves to limit the amount of "stuff" one gets attached to- there's just not enough room in a two bedroom place to acquire mounds of junk. I did NOT plan to rescue the stinky fish.



Then I glanced out the window and saw 10 full fire engines and a few cop cars. The firemen were walking away from our driveway in full fire gear so the whole thing looked pretty legit. So we began hypothesizing as to the cause of the fire:

Hypothesis #1 Someone burned their stinky fish

Since we weren't being evacuated, however, we began to consider what else would bring so many emergency personal to our neck of the woods. Since living in Chicago, I've personally witnessed at least 3 would be "jumpers", you know people who poise themselves to jump off building, balconies and interstate overpasses. Again we hypothesized:

Hypothesis #2 Someone's significant other made them such stinky fish that they decided life just wasn't worth living if they were forced to eat such stinky fish

Finally, the fire department announcement replayed, this time saying there had indeed been a fire. It was in the laundry room in the basement and it had been put out successfully. After congratulating myself on having a) not worked out in the gym tonight (it's next to the laundry room and would have been HOT!) and b) having a laundry service so we don't slave away in the laundry room, we contemplated what must be the final answer to the puzzle of how this fire occurred. (Like how I came up with good reasons for being lazy?) Anyhoo, we have the cause of the fire narrowed down to two possibilities:

Hypothesis #3 Someone was washing their clothes after the stinky fish meal stunk them up

Or, our final answer:

Hypothesis #4 Someone was cooking the stinky fish by putting it in the dryer (bringing new meaning to the term tuna roll)

Either way, next time they should try some less stinky fish!

Valentine’s Day 2012

I mentioned in the previous post that our daily mile runs were overall my third favorite experience of the trip. What about numbers one and two? Number one took place on Valentine's Day......and had nothing to do with hearts or candy.

We spent all 5 of our days in the park cross-country skiing- either ½ day or full day skis. We then would be sufficiently wiped out that after dinner, early bedtimes were in order for all. But on Valentine’s Day, we headed out on a head-lamp driven post-dark jaunt around Old Faithful.  Since pictures would not do this experience justice, we only took one (above). But the stars! The incredible number of stars! And the total silence! The only noises we heard were the hisses of the steam from the geysers and fumaroles. No animal noises- human or otherwise- whatsoever. Occasionally, a small gust of wind would make its way to us, with us hearing it many seconds before we felt it. I lay on my back in the snow and just stared at the stars. I think the last time I saw that many stars was on a trip to the Cheyenne River Reservation in South Dakota back in college. No significant ambient light for miles and miles. If I could bottle those sights and sounds I might be able to remain a city dweller forever. But since I  can’t, I look forward to living out where the stars and the silence own the night rather than the cars and the city lights……

My Optimistic Bathroom Door

This is the back of my bathroom door. Swimsuit, swimming coverall, another swimsuit. When was the last time I swam? Might have been in 2010. At least not since last spring. But do I put my swimsuit(s) away in a more logical place like a closet or drawer? No. Because I know one day I will get into swimming because one day I will do an Ironman. It's just that today is not that day. And tomorrow probably isn't either. But one day I will work less than 10 hours a day, less than 6 days a week and I will swim. And leaving my suits hanging on that door where I see them every time I leave the bathroom makes me look forward to that day and reminds me that it is coming soon. Who knew a little hook on a nondescript bathroom door could be so motivational?

Two (+1) for Tuesday

Just some randomness today:

1. Adam got us a Kindle!! So excited!!

2. I'm going to institute a Jillian Michaels abs progrm. "Jillian Abs for July" I'm going to call it. Why? Because it's too damn hot to run outside w/ a shirt on, that's why. So the tiny bit of unwanted action in my belly must go pronto, preferably by July 1. Suggestions for a good abs video? (Doesn't really have to be Jillian's).

3. Today I am thankful to be a girl. It is too damn hot for pants. At least girls can wear dresses and skirts!

That's all I got....

Three Things Thursday

This is my first foray into the bloggy trend of "Three Things Thursday" and since I have three (unrelated) things to say, it seems appropriate:)

1. Well folks, I'm full. All it took was this:


and now I need to return to eating healthfully and sparingly. Until 5/28 when I will carbo load for the Madison Marathon on 5/29! Until then, though, I MUST get back into good eating habits. I've been deviating for way too long. For inspiration, I re-read my review of Matt Fitzgerald's book, Racing Weight. And I'm going to go back to logging my eats in a food journal. I'm going to use the free program at SparkPeople this time. This is a challenging time for a diet re-boot since I'm going to work nights for the next 7 nights, 7pm to 7am. Ug. But, the good thing is, I will be having 2 breakfasts- when I wake up in the afternoon and before I go to bed in the morning, and 1 dinner. I tend to eat less calories at breakfast than at lunch so this might work in my favor. For dinner, I'm going to rely heavily on this:


1 serving of Barilla plus= 210 calories including 17g protein and 7g of fiber-- not bad for pasta!
1 tbsp of earth balance= 34 calories
4 tbsp of parmesan= 40 calories
TOTAL= ~300 calories!

This plus 2 healthy breakfasts and 1-2 healthy snacks should keep me under 1400 cal/day. Well, only if I successfully back away from the cheetohs! I will, I will.



2. I didn't put my contacts in before my run this evening but it was just as well because it was so darn foggy! My sunglasses fogged up immediately and even w/ them off I could only see 5 feet in front of me! It was fun. What usually looks like this outside my living room window:




looked this this:



Wild!


3. In addition to my diet improvements, I need some daily exercise to keep me sane while I'm up all night. I will be intermittently busy throughout the night. There is usually not enough time to sleep but there will be 20 mins of free time here or there. So.....I'm going to spend them w/ Jillian. Jillian Michaels, that is.

That's it for now! Stay tuned for my 10 in 10 goal for the first week in June.....

Sometimes a Run's Just Not Meant to Be....Time to Hit Reset

The past few weeks have been tough. I've been soooo tired. Work has been more painful than usual. It seems like it is dark ALL THE TIME and I don't have any upcoming breaks or vacations to look forward to. I know I'm not the only one in a winter slump, but that doesn't make it any easier!


I basically feel like my brain

is under a blanket.
I can't think straight, I keep making silly mistakes. My motivation is absolutely nil.


And this has not gone unnoticed by my husband, Adam. He went from being his usual supportive self to super-supportive. When I came home from my work-out last night, I found a couple gifts around the house:



First I noticed this:





Then, while I was getting some post work-out water and wine, I found this:






Adam knew today was my day off and that I had a 20 miler planned so he bought me post-run entertainment in the form of US Magazine and a David Sedaris book. He said he felt very silly buying the US Magazine:) He then bought some cupcakes for post run re-fueling. He chose Red Velvet, Black & White, and Peanut Butter Banana. He got the last Red Velvet in the store making the lady in line behind him a very sad sack. But hey- he knew his wife needed it!


Then, this morning, I found this:



What a great guy! All these incentives should have provided extra motivation to get my run done. I haven't done a long run since 2/18 and was looking forward to it (but also dreading it a bit at the same time).

However, it wasn't meant to be. I slept in, did some reading, watched some TV (Gossip Girl, if you must know), took a nap, had lunch then headed outside around 1pm. Got my hydration pack ready, got dressed, cued up the ipod and Garmin, and headed out. Since it was 30 and sunny, I thought I'd be fine w/ my lululemon tights, t shirt w/ technical sweatshirt on top, hat, gloves. As soon as I stepped outside I was worried that it was going to be too cold. I ran north a bit- it was FREEZING- I ran south a bit- still cold. I knew 20 miles in my current outfit would be too cold. I also felt sooo tired. My desire to rest on the couch outweighed the guilt and disappointment I knew I'd feel if I bailed on the run. I ran 1.23 miles instead of 20.

I'm not sure what's going on- probably just a little seasonal affective disorder- but I have to hit reset. Reset on my diet (though it hasn't been horrible, just not enough veggies), reset on exercise, reset on my attitude towards getting through a daily grind I don't enjoy or in any way find rewarding. (I'm not sure if the latter is possible.)

So today, I will rest. I will continue sitting on the couch, I will continue watching Gossip Girl and Brothers & Sisters. I will read my US Magazine. And I'll eat my M&M's even though I didn't do my run. (I'll probably eat a cupcake as well.) I guess we all need a full rest day once and a while.

Anyone have a good strategy for overcoming the winter blahs?

Jumping on the ABCs Bandwagon

I usually don't partake in the trends floating around the blogosphere but I enjoyed reading these so maybe someone will enjoy mine!

The ABCs of Me:

(A) Age: 33

(B) Bed Size: King, of course. I'm the worst sleeper ever and I need all the room I can get!

(C) Chore You Hate: Cleaning floors and bathrooms. So hubby does those and I do the laundry that he hates. I like warm, clean clothes and I always watch some trashy TV while I fold so it works out fine for me!

(D) Dogs? I like well-behaved dogs. But I like my leather couch more. From what I understand, even the most well-behaved dog is not good for a leather couch.

(E) Essential Start Your Day Item: Checking Facebook on my phone so my brain doesn't dwell on how early I have to get up.

(F) Favorite Color: Purple

(G) Gold or Silver? Umm...platinum is better than both.

(H) Height: 5'8" and 3/4"

(I) Instruments You Play: Clarinet and Saxophone, I'd like to better at the piano

(J) Job Title: Physician

(K) Kids: No, thank you. I politely decline.

(L) Live: Downtown Chi-town!

(M) Mom's Name: Wanda

(N) Nicknames: Nelson (my last name)

(O) Overnight Hospital Stays? All the freakin' time for overnight calls. NO FUN!!! Why anyone thinks its a good idea for docs to work 30 hours IN A ROW should come be the patient we have to see at hour 30. Who wants a tired, grumpy doctor??

(P) Pet Peeve: Slow walkers and people who are late when I am depending on them to be on time

(Q) Quote from a Movie: I'm really bad at remembering movie quotes....or even movie plots. When I watch a movie for the 2nd time, it's like I'm seeing it for the first time because I forget the entire plot.

(R) Right or Left Handed? Right

(S) Siblings: Younger brother- he's a fighter pilot. For real.

(T) Time You Wake Up? 4:30 AM most days, 7:00 if I'm "sleeping in". I don't know the last time I slept past 9 am.

(U) Underwear: I own over 4 weeks worth of underwear so that I don't have to do laundry very often.

(V) Vegetable You Dislike: Haven't found one yet.

(W) What Makes You Run Late: I really don't like to be late and very rarely am.

(X) X-Rays You've Had Done: Dental x-rays, 1 chest xray, I think that's it.

(Y) Yummy Food You Make: Cheese cookies, banana bread, spinach dip, stuffed peppers.

(Z) Zoo, Favorite Animal: I'm anti-zoo. I don't think it's humane to lock large animals up in cages. But my favorite wild animal is by far the bison. I am truly, truly in love with bison. We may one day move out West in part so that I can be closer to bison. I'd like to become better at photography so I can get some fabulous shots of bison. I own all the books I've been able to find published about bison. Really, I'm not kidding.

You Know it's the Snowpocalypse when.....

(I know you can't really tell from the picture but the snow is going up up not down.)

• The snow is all going upward, yet still collecting on the ground at a rate of 1 inch/hour.
• The nurses at Northwestern all have to spend the night there and get paid for it. (Note: no one tried to make the residents stay because they have no interest in paying us. And, let's face it, nurses are way more important! Really, they are.)
• I just saw a lone brown leaf blow down from the tip top of the building next store. Chicago is always windy- that leaf must have really been wedged in something to wait until 2/1/11 to make it down. Guess it's the 40 mph winds.
• I don't see a single runner on the lakefront path. Not a one. Maybe they are deterred by the waves on Lake Michigan that are exploding over onto the bike path and freezing? Wusses.
  -----Addendum: Now there is a cop blocking the path headed North....okay maybe smart wusses:)
  
• Some of the obstetricians at Northwestern recommended their very pregnant patients stay in hotels downtown "just in case".
• The folks snow-blowing the sidewalks are wearing what appear from the 11th floor of my apartment building to be full body Hazmat suits. Seriously, they are orange and everything. What's up with that?
• North bound Lake Shore Drive is bumper to bumper. There are only 2 cars going South and they both have their hazards on. What on earth happened up North??
  

Folks leaving work early downtown, around 3 pm.

Out my window today at 4pm. No fog, just snow.

The usual view out my window:












Stay safe and warm and play in the snow for me! Why didn't I choose a profession that gets snow days???

Update:

• When Lake Shore Drive is completely shut down!!
• When the meteorologists predict thundersnow and are actually right!!

  ---Wikipedia definition: Thundersnow, also known as a winter thunderstorm or a thunder snowstorm, is a rare kind of thunderstorm with snow falling as the primary precipitation instead of rain. It typically falls in regions of strong upward motion within the cold sector of an extratropical cyclone, where the precipitation consists of ice pellets rather than snow.
  

It sure looks like an extratropical cyclone out there. I'm too excited to sleep!

I Didn't Want to......

.....but I did it anyway. And I'm glad I did.

That was basically my day. A series of activities, in which I initially did not want to engage, but in the end, I was glad I did.

Activity #1: Going to Work
I wish I was one of the, let's say, 3% of people who want to go to work every morning. I currently do not fall in that category. But I was pleasantly surprised today by a relatively light day at work, w/ two excellent conferences, and I learned a bit on rounds as well. And I caught up w/ some colleagues that I haven't seen in a while since I was sequestered over at the VA.

Activity #2: Getting my eyebrows threaded
Maybe I'm a baby, but I find this very painful. I involuntarily wind up w/ tears in my eyes every single time (I think I'm known as the "Kleenex girl" at the Thread Away I frequent, because they don't offer Kleenex to anyone but me).

As an FYI to those who have never heard of threading, it is an ancient Indian method of facial hair removal. Basically, the threader holds a piece of thread in both hands w/ a part of it in her mouth and plucks the hair out. I don't really even understand myself how this works so well, so I'm having a hard time describing it. I recommend you check out this video to see how it's done. And, if you are too lazy to watch the video, here's a still shot of threading:

It's painful, but only takes about 2 minutes. I've heard it's not as bad as waxing and it's definitely cheaper (only $15). So, anyway, I didn't want to get threaded because it hurts, but I went and I'm glad I did. My eyebrows were getting bush-ey!

Activity #3: Running
So after a great social "Beer and Burger" run last night put on by a local Chicago running store (Universal Sole), I was actually pretty jazzed to run. But I was getting worried about my pinkie toe on my right foot. It's acted up on 3 out of my last 4 runs including last night, so I've started to worry a bit. So I didn't want to aggravate it by running. But I ran one nice easy mile and no toe pain! So I'm glad I did.

Activity #4: Spinning
I haven't been spinning in at least 6 months if not longer. But now that a triathlon is in my short term future, I have to get on some kind of bike. The weather here is snowy and slushy and cold, so I really wanted to go home to my nice warm building and go to the gym downstairs but I knew a self-inflicted bike workout would be nothing compared to an actual spinning class. Thankfully, I roped my friend Sara into coming with and we spun (not sure if you are supposed to use that word in that context, whatever). And I worked my butt off! I'll bet I'm going to be sore tomorrow. So I didn't want to....but I'm glad I did!



As a bonus, they were giving out free Power Bar Energy Gel Blasts at the gym and they sure were tasty! I liked the raspberry the best. For the runners out there who like Gu Chomps, this product is worth trying. Tastes like a fruit snack. 6 of them= 130 calories which makes them less caloric than Gu Chomps- this may be good or bad depending on your race nutritional strategy.


Well, that's all from me tonight! Sleep well!

Christmas....At Home

I hope everyone had a very merry Xmas! Mine was way too short because of my awful-terrible-no-good work schedule, but I tried to make the most of it. Adam helped out a ton by chauffeuring me around Illinois, which allowed me to get some extra sleep while in the car.

Since my Christmas away was too short, I'm glad our apartment is plenty festive so I can enjoy a little of bit of the holiday at home every night (except for those pesky overnight call nights). Above is our tree. We don't do presents in my family (except for those <15 yrs old or so), making the area under the tree somewhat bare, but I supplemented w/ our Illinois Santa hat and my Santa hat and beard from the Santa's Hustle 5K:)

Here are some of my favorite ornaments:

Santa Cross-Country skiing

Santa hiking (w/ a blue backpack just like my Big Blue!)

Santa kayaking!

This is a painted shell of a real hard-boiled egg I bought in Prague years ago. I'm still amazed it made it back to the US and through multiple moves intact!

We have a full herd of bison on our tree. Here are a couple representative members:






And the oldest ornament on our tree:

Go ahead, do the math, I know you want to:)

Forget running.....

So as many of you already know the past couple of weeks have been big running let downs for me.

Fail #1:
10/10/10 goal: 4:15
10/10/10 reality: 4:40. Yes, it was hot. Yes, most people were off their goal times by 30-60 minutes. Yes, that makes me feel a little bit better. But, I'm still sad. So, what exactly happened? I'll save that for my race report. Basically it was hot, I'm a wimp and that's that.

Fail #2:
I got a wicked cold 3 days after the race. I've actually never gotten sick post marathon before so I was super bummed. I was even more bummed when I was still sick the night before I was supposed to run the marathon in Rhode Island. I thought long and hard about whether I should still run. I knew I could run (or walk) slow and finish thus at least accomplishing my goals of getting Rhode Island and qualifying for Marathon Maniacs. But I also knew that if I got a time even slower than 4:40 (which was likely given how sick I felt) that I would be very, very depressed and might swear off running for a while. And since I want to keep running and the main reason to run is to ENJOY running (why start a marathon I knew was going to inevitably be painful, miserable, and possibly might ruin the rest of my vacation?) So, I bailed on the run. I don't regret not running- I really was in no shape to do so. But, I guess I have to find a way to get back to Rhode Island in the future and I need to come up with a new Marathon Maniacs plan. I'm going to start looking at races in the spring, I'll let you know what I come up with.

So, in light of all these failures, I'd like to present you with a new store whose products are right in line with my mentality these past couple weeks. It's called The Weak Shop. If you haven't seen this before, you must check it out. They sell products for lazy ass folks like myself (I haven't worked out in 2 WHOLE WEEKS!) to make our lives easier.

For lazy runners, there is the "Downhill Treadmill Converter":





For the person who doesn't want to stand in line (or stand in general) ANYWHERE, there are the "Chair Pants":






And, for the laziest of all- the folks who are too lazy to even bring food from a plate to their mouths, there is the "Food Lift". Wow. Explains some of the obesity in this country, doesn't it;)




The web page is quite funny, so if you found this at all humorous, check out all their products at The Weak Shop!