Weekend update

Another weekend done! It started off mighty fine with the best massage I've probably ever had. (To backtrack, I had a really bad massage last weekend. I've always maintained that any massage is better than no massage, but I was proven very, very wrong. It started with my asking the guy to change the music because I knew I would not be able to relax to the beat of new age techno music and went downhill from there. It wasn't inappropriate at all, it was just uncomfortable, not the least bit therapeutic, and akin to what it must feel like to lie face down on a fault line during an earthquake. I knew I needed another massage, and soon, to counterbalance the heinousness of the experience with someone who was actually in tune with my body and could help relieve some of its soreness, which was mighty and unprecedented after two weeks of boot camp and running.) This latest massage was delivered by an old family friend, so not only was there an automatic comfort level, she was really, really good, and I was so grateful. It was a gift.

This glorious massage was followed night out at a local evening celebrating the arts ... I haven't been drinking very much over the past few months, but I had a few cocktails ... some kind of frozen vodka concoctions with chambord at the suggestion of the bartender ... okay! I'd never heard of such a thing before, but sure. It was one of those nights in a restaurant where it's totally packed and there's a band playing in the corner and you can barely hear over the cling clang of the glasses and all was merry, even though it was a bit drizzly outside.

Saturday ... Saturday ... blur? Class, too early. A visit to the library where I checked out a ton of books, including everything I haven't read by John Green and both volumes of Octavian Nothing. Homework for many, many hours. A game, the culmination of which has caused much wrath in this town.

I got a good night's sleep on Saturday for the first time in weeks upon weeks, which was a sweet and blessed relief. On Sunday morning, it was time for my first group run, which went pretty well. Then it was more homework. And more football, which thankfully had a happier ending than the day before.

The weekend wrapped up with an evening of book club ... I made pumpkin muffins, and there was homemade bread and boudin balls and wine and pumpkin beer and a good discussion with nice people. Zeitoun is a good but very upsetting book, P.S.

Thanksgiving awaits!

1/2 Marathon Training: Week 4, Run 3

Week 4 of training concluded with my first group training run. It was a group run in that we all started and finished at the same time, but we set off at our own paces, which made sense, obviously. I ran with a friend part of the way but was mostly off on my own. It was 55 degrees mid-morning but felt much colder under a dark and drizzly sky. The sun was nowhere in sight. I missed it. Even the pelicans looked cold, puffing out their backs and sitting mostly still on the water.

It was a 45-minute run, and I got 4.35 miles in (10:20-minute miles as my average pace). Nothing spectacular but decent for me. Definitely faster than I would have run it a month ago. Our training group leader jogged beside me for a bit to give me some form pointers ... relax my arms and shoulders more, lean into the run a bit, and mostly step off mid-foot and front of foot instead of heels.

Even though the weather was vile and gross, I have to say that I mostly enjoyed this run a lot. I got a better night's sleep last night than I have in weeks, which probably helped. I look forward to more group runs and starting to work on interval training to hopefully improve my pace. It feels good to have four weeks of training behind me, and I look forward to the next 14. (Good Lord. That's a long time.)

After the run, I came home and baked pumpkin muffins. I just ate one in my bathrobe straight out of the oven. It was perfect. In other news, Joseph Gordon-Levitt is very cute, and Dave Matthews does a surprisingly good Ozzy Osbourne.

Today's Best Running Song: Bend and Break by Keane. First delivered unto me via a mix CD by my friend Grace. One of my favorite running songs, for sure.

1/2 Marathon Training: Week 4, Run 2

The second run of week 4 was a 30-minute run. This is the most tired my legs have been since starting the training program. My calves were so sore that I honestly think they forgot how to work. I just could not get moving ... my pace was lousy and I was just lurching around like I was half-lame. In the work-out of the early morning, I could barely balance on some of the moves ... I was just wobbly. I know my legs were very fatigued, and maybe I shouldn't have tried to run at all, but I did.

It was in the low 40s again, but I was pretty warm in my layers. The water was extra beautiful today ... covered in mist that made everything a bit mysterious. All the different birds were out, which was as dazzling as ever. Even the pelicans, though, largely failed to buoy my spirits or my legs. It was just a struggle. I only made it 2.45 miles (12:15-minute mile average pace) ... I mean. Yeah. That is not great. But ... at least it's one more run under my belt.

Today's Best Running Song: Don't Know Why (You Stay) by The Essex Green. As noted last year, I first discovered this song via Sweet Juniper a few years ago, and my life has been all the better for it since. This song makes me feel like I could run forever. It might have been the only excellent thing about today's run. Good thing it's mighty excellent.

Random

So here are some random things I've been enjoying.

I came across this blog when looking for things about SYTYCD this summer, and it's quite enjoyable. The author, Joe, posted a link to a blog that I'd never seen before, and this was how I discovered the blog of Dave Holmes. You remember Dave Holmes, right? Remember years back when MTV held that new VJ contest, and the tall skinny guy with the crazy hair won, but the runner-up was really the best so he became a VJ, too? (I have memories of being, for some reason, very spellbound by all of the levels and rounds of this competition.)

Anyway, that's Dave Holmes. He always seemed like a likable and knowledgeable sort of person, but I lost track of him in the years since. Well, I am here to tell you that his blog is delightful and I've now gone through all of his archives and can report that he posts some of the best links I've ever seen and some witty-assed commentary and somehow this is just what I needed to find this week. He also just ran the NYC Marathon, which is also inspiring as I haul myself around on run after run and know there are many, many more runs ahead of me. Anyway ... there are too many excellent posts to highlight all of my favorites, but here are a few: this one (because it's nice) (and true), this one (with all due respect to my friend who grew up with him and with full disclosure that I think he's a good actor), this one (because it pointed me to a blog about things that are important), this one (because it made me cry), this one (because it made me laugh), this one (because loving "Hold On" is no joke, and I do!), this one (because that dog is very cute), and finally, this one (because it absolutely made my day, and I can't decide which is better -- the reactions of the people watching, or the boy's reaction when he realized people were watching. BEAUTIFUL.)

He has another blog wherein he's chronicling a year of reading books by other people about their years of doing something. Also delightful, natch.

I am not sure why this so totally hit the spot for me this week, but there you go.

Meanwhile, Melissa sent me the galley for Liar, and as she knew I would, I loved it. I could not put it down. Read this book. Avoid spoilers at all costs. It's really, really good. Meanwhile, I think that When You Reach Me did not live up to the hype for me. Mostly, it just made my head hurt. Explaining why would be a spoiler, so I won't explain. I recognize that it's a really good book, it just didn't end up moving me or blowing me away like I hoped it would. I read reviews like this and Melissa's review and think maybe I read it too fast and need to read it again. So I think I will.

And now if you will excuse me, I have to go put my feet up and prepare to blown away by Jacob and Russell and bored by all the rest!

1/2 Marathon Training: Week 4, Run 1

So ... today began week 4 of half-marathon training. Three down, 15 to go! I set off at about 6:30 in the morning; it was 42 degrees out, which is probably the coldest outdoor run I've ever done (I know, I am a wimp!) ... but I was already plenty warmed up and delirious so I just went with it. It was a 30-minute run, and my legs hurt, and I only made it 2.75 miles (average 10:56-minute mile pace), but it was great to have it over and done and be totally done with my day's exercise before 8 in the morning.

The pelicans were out again and as usual knocked my socks off. I'm not sure what else to say about it except I drove back to see them and made myself late for work trying to take pictures of them with my cell phone like a dork.

I've decided I really am going to try to do most of my runs outside this winter ... in previous training experiences, I've mostly gone to the gym to use the treadmill when it's in the low forties or below, but today showed me that I can do it. I might not be able to do a proper burpee or hold a side plank to save my life, but I can wear some layers and deal.

It's fun to see the same familiar faces around the various routes in the morning. We smile and wave sometimes in recognition. It's nice.

I feel pretty good stamina-wise; it's just my darn legs hurting me, especially my shins, so I don't want to go too full out. Hopefully they'll start feeling better.

Today's Best Running Song: Let It Ring by Amy Ray. First heard this song in concert earlier this year, and it's been a running staple ever since. It makes me feel strong and brave and makes me wish people would just act right and be fair and believe that one day they will. Let it ring, let it ring, let it ring.

1/2 Marathon Training: Week 3, Run 3

It's been a hard week for me. I feel like I need to go ahead and give a big disclaimer that I am well aware that "hard" is relative. I'm not suffering from the flu, carrying a baby, taking care of a baby or two or three, or going through anything that anyone would consider "hard." But nonetheless. It's been hard. Very little sleep for various reasons and all of the accompanying ridiculousness -- you know how you have those days when everything that can be broken, dropped, spilled, run into, tripped over, or ruined is just that? I was just stumbling, bumbling, and fumbling around all week. Broken dryer, broken iPhone, broken spirit over epic battle with the electric company. The pelican runs and the concert were definite high points, but overall, my eyes stung with tiredness and I made a mess of just about everything.

Which is why this morning's run was a welcome relief. I knew I had a very busy day ahead -- working on a big school project (taking a 10-minute break to write this entry), washing tons of laundry and drying it at my neighbor's house because my dryer won't start, baking pumpkin pecan muffins for a co-worker who had surgery last week, and just basically trying to get myself together for what is going to be another exhausting (but hopefully better) week ahead.

I did my grocery shopping first thing to get that over with and then set out for a 40-minute run. I made it 3.68 miles at a 10:52 average per mile pace, which could have been better but could have been worse. What felt good was going faster the second half of the run than I did the first, which is unusual for me. I had a lot of trouble getting going, but about 20 minutes in, I started feeling somewhat stronger and better about the whole scenario. It was a beautiful and perfect sunny morning, and I decided I might as well try to somewhat enjoy myself.

Overall, I feel good about it, and I feel good about having decided to start training for the race 18 weeks out. It's such a long time that it takes a lot of the pressure off, and I don't feel too rushed on building up to the long runs on the weekends.

Today's Best Running Song: Don't Stop Me Now by Queen. This band wasn't a big part of my childhood ... I only first heard this song in this spectacular wedding video, and now it's one of my very favorite running songs. I cannot help but feel happy when I hear it and like I could run on and on and on.

Joy be with you all

Finally, finally, finally ... The Swell Season. The show was the perfect mix of new and old songs ... they started by sitting on the floor at the edge of the stage playing Fallen from the Sky, which delighted my brother to no end because he was really hoping they'd play it but doubted they would somehow. I pretty much cried during every single song from Once. I couldn't help it, the tears just sprung & flowed and there was nothing I could do to stop them. There was so much emotional backstory and weight to each of these songs for me, and hearing them live made my heart feel very explode-y.

[Edited because I was able to retrieve the notes I made on my phone.] The rest of the setlist: Lies (commence tears), Low Rising (much more rockin' live than it is on the album), Magnolia, Feeling the Pull (super lively and fun), The Rain (Glen said that this song is about that moment just before you get cynical when something surprising and great happens -- for them, this something was Once), The Moon ("New Orleans is fuckin' spooky, in the best way ... this is a song about people who make you feel exhausted"), If You Want Me, Fantasy Man (Marketa said that there is a light at the end of every tunnel and it's about knowing deep down that things always get better), Leave, Say It To Me Now (totally unplugged and totally amazing), Back Broke, Astral Weeks, Emer's Dream, The Lakes of Pontchartrain, I Have Loved You Wrong, Once, When Your Mind’s Made Up, Falling Slowly, a new song that doesn't have a title yet -- I jotted down "working on a high hope," High Horses (which Glen said is about being worried about someone and wishing that person luck -- a "rootin' for you song"), and Red Chord/The Parting Glass, a Clancy Brothers cover that just made me cry some more ... a sweet and pretty goodbye sort of song ... the crowd joined in, and Glen said, "Now you all sound Irish."

(Someone put together a few very nice compilation videos of this show with clips from many of the songs! Can't even listen to the third one without crying again! Love.)

Some of the songs were just Glen, some were Glen & Mar, and some were the whole band (Glen/The Frames + Marketa). Speaking of Marketa, she is so lovely, plays the piano with as much effortless grace as anyone I've ever seen, and has such a strong, clear as a bell voice. What beauty.

Highlights of songs we'd never heard included a hauntingly beautiful instrumental duet called Emer's Dream between Marketa and Colm Mac Con Iomaire, who dedicated it to the people of New Orleans, saying something about how it was for everyone who lost something big or small in the storm, and who maybe even found something, and Lakes of Pontchartrain, the video of which I'm hoping will turn up soon because it was magnificent. Another New Orleans-related tune they played was Magnolia, during which Glen led a nice audience singalong, something he did many times during the show. The encore began with Falling Slowly, of course, and you can imagine how that went over with the crowd. Glen got very blink-back-the-tears-y after this one, saying how much it meant to sing it in this city. I wasn't sure what he meant, but my brother thinks it was the lyric, "You have suffered enough, and warred with yourself, it's time that you won ... take this sinking boat and point it home ..." and so forth, and I'm sure he's probably right.

What I enjoyed about the people in this crowd was that they behaved themselves, got totally into everything and sang along and sometimes yelled things out, but it was never too obnoxious; it was always in total respect and appreciation. I can't remember the last time I was in a crowd at a concert where people were actually totally quiet when it was called for and totally loud and boisterous when the time was right. It was refreshing and uplifting to be able to enjoy a show like that without the typical shenanigans of a crowd full of New Orleans college students. (No offense, New Orleans college students.) Glen spoke about the goodwill that Once has somehow inspired the world over and I think he's right -- this music just makes people be nice to each other.

What it boils down to is that for two hours and fifteen minutes, Glen, Marketa, and the rest of the band were, for me, a ray of bright sunshine in this dark, cruel world. I knew Glen was a great singer & musician but didn't know he'd be such a blowing-the-roof-off-the-place showman & such a vessel of goodness and joy onstage. I know that sounds very stupid but -- for real. By the time it was all over, all of us, strangers and friends and lovers and brothers and sisters alike, were basically putting our arms around each other and holding our drinks in the air and swaying and singing along in harmony and believing that life is good and that people are true and that there's hope for us all. Magic!

Good night and joy be with you all. Good night and joy be with you all.

1/2 Marathon Training: Week 3, Run 2

This morning's run was my coldest so far of my training. "Cold" = low 50s, which I know many of my running pals out there in Chicago & Seattle will scoff at and rightfully so. But it is what it is. I was already very warmed up, though, when I hit the road, so it was no big deal.

It was another pretty slow-placed run ... 25 minutes, 2.11 miles, 11:40-mile average pace. My legs were in a good amount of pain from lunging their little hearts out, so I just kind of took it fairly easy and tried to run on the grass as much as possible.

I don't even know what else to say about this run except for (broken record) PELICANS! It is hard to explain what the sight of all these pelicans is doing to me. Did you know that the underside of the wings of these big, bright, white, gorgeous pelicans is dark black at the tips? And that in addition to giant white pelicans, there are tiny, minature baby pelicans? I swear, I would run every morning of my life at this ridiculous early hour just to behold the splendor of these pelicans. They'll be gone soon enough, but I will never forget what it has felt like this week, running alongside them.

I tried to find a good picture of what they look like ... this comes close ... multiply the ones in this photo by about 100 and that's what it's like ... this video is also a nice capture of the pelicans in action ... and here's a nice slideshow. And here are a few more shots of what they look like all huddled up together, which is how they've been lately. Seriously, they are too much! I am so in love with them that my heart can barely take it. If I slow down a little to get a better look at them or to linger near them a little longer, so be it! They are worth it.

Today's Best Running Song: Moulin Rouge finale.

1/2 Marathon Training: Week 3, Run 1

The first run of the third week of training was a bit unusual in that I set off for it after having gotten up in the middle of the night for a bout of intense exercise prior to running. So I was a bit sore & delirious. But not in a terrible way. Sure, it was a 20 minute run and I only made it 1.7 miles (11:43 pace), but that was okay. I wasn't in a hurry. I couldn't feel my legs, I sort of felt like I was totally out of my body, the wind was whipping, the sun was rising, and best of all, the birds were out in full force. Hundreds and hundreds of them.

I'm not a birder, but I've determined that there were snowy egrets, great egrets, lots of various ducks, blue herons, gulls, cormorants, and Lord knows what else of every shape and size and color flying and swimming around. Apparently it was breakfast time, and the wings were a-whipping and the birds were a-diving and it was all just so glorious.

Best of all, though, were the pelicans. These pelicans! They just kill me! Year after year, these white pelicans kill me. They are so big and mighty and graceful, and when they're together in a huge group, like they were today, it's almost unbearable, the beauty. As I jogged along the curve of the water, they were gliding in the same direction, and I was just hypnotized and mesmerized and overwhelmed with glee.

First, they were just moving along peacefully in a group of what must have been a hundred or more, and then they started bobbing their heads under water in unison, almost like they were dancing. A woman and I passed each other and basically just laughed out loud in shared disbelief of what we were seeing.

Meanwhile, dozens of pelicans flew directly overhead, and seeing their giant wingspans floating and circling above and then their flapping descents on to the water's surface ... seriously, it was too much. I basically had to stop and run in place at times because I didn't want to miss a moment of it.

I realize this is more about birds than it is about running. But that's what today's run was for me. Sometimes being out there for a run is more about what's going on outside of us than inside of us. Or maybe sometimes those are really the same thing.

Today's Best Running Song: "Viva la Vida" by Coldplay. I know it's the most overplayed, overblown song in the universe, but I still love it.

Weekend update

My eyes are stinging intensely from the horrid aftermath of a questionable night of sleep and an alarm clock that cruelly went off this morning when the first number was a 4, but I will try to type through the burn.

It was a jam-packed weekend that I don't want to forget in the busy-ness of this week ahead ... before work on Friday, I headed out early to an estate sale where everything was English mahogany and cost about $500. Nope. At lunch on Friday, my co-worker and I went to a downtown estate sale, where we were sadly scoreless. On Friday night, it was sushi and potstickers and Where the Wild Things Are. I'm not sure how I felt about it ... I did not fall in love with it like I thought I would, but I definitely appreciated it and was moved by it. It was beautiful and scary and sad. We stopped at the nearby Urban Outfitters, where plenty of household items were on sale, but they all looked very cheap and crappy, which was obvious even to the likes of me, so we passed! I'd been interested in Xenia Taler's wall art on sale there, but I saw it in person in the store, and it just ... did not look good. The paper wasn't glued in very well to the wood frame, and it just made me sad because I love her work. I'm all for making nice art more affordable, but not when it looks so shoddy. Her work is so beautiful, and I'm just going to have to invest in a real tile from the artist herself. No thank you, Urban Outfitters.

Saturday dawned with class bright and early, which I was late for because I got carried away buying organic satsumas and grapefruit and stationery and onesies at the farmer's market. After class, I went on an insane wild goose chase through the outskirts of town, hither and yon, to three different thrift shops and warehouses only to find nothing, nothing, absolutely nothing. Then I went to three different paint stores to collect paint chips of colors I've seen on design blogs that I've liked. This was much harder than I thought it would be because for most of them I only had names, and most of the paint chips were sorted by number. And the clerks at the paint counters weren't much help. Maddening! (It did not occur to me until later to look the names up online to find the matching numbers beforehand. Duh!) But it felt good and productive to gather these colors as I take baby steps toward making an actual plan. Then it was fair time with my friend and her daughters, which was excellent. They are delightful children and I love them very much. Highlights included snowcones, the helicopter ride, throwing balls in a lion's mouth, and watching the older child take her hot dog out of the bun and wave it around like a conductor's baton. Then our team lost the game in a rather heartbreaking defeat, so my dad and I met up for greasy bar food and beers in woe. I ended up having shrimp & corn soup and he had a grilled shrimp salad with the dressing on the side, so it's not like we went full out greasy like the evening probably called for.

Sunday morning, I contemplated going for a long bike ride, but my shins were aching a lot from the prior day's run, so I decided not to push it. Instead, I threw open all the windows and cleaned the house, which is always a liberating feeling. I went to a sale at a local vintage shop, where I ended up buying a bright orange vase, a pair of pink and purple ramekins that I just thought were cute, and a strange lime green wall hanging that looks like it could be used as some sort of planter. I don't know. I just liked the color. It does vaguely resemble something from the set of The Golden Girls, though. Then I went to an antiques store nearby, where two very lovely men were very kind to me, but everything was Victorian and expensive and kind of ridiculous. I think I will just start a tradition of going to stores and being disappointed when I find nothing and then one day I will find something truly wonderful and it will be the best day ever. Anyway! Then I went to a crafts store to buy something cute, fake, and floral to put in my orange vase (I ended up getting something that vaguely resembles capiz shells on a stem), some frames, and some spray paint for some black frames in my hall I want to paint white. Of course I ended up buying bright green and robin's egg blue spray paint, also, even though I have no idea what to do with them. I just have a hankering to spray paint stuff, God help me!

Finally it was time to go the heck home! I roasted some red & green bell peppers and carrots and broccoli and onions in olive oil and salt and pepper and some juice squeezed from a fresh lemon from a neighbor's tree and stir-fried some tofu in olive oil and it was a very satisfying dinner ... then I took a long lavender bath and finished Princess Academy, which oddly turned out to be maybe my least favorite Shannon Hale book ever ... it just kind of reminded me too much of The Bachelorette. (The Goose Girl & Book of a Thousand Days are tied for tops ... oh, how I love them both.) Then I watched some thirtysomething (the one when Melissa and Ellyn meet the guy in the video store and both kind of like him even though Ellyn totally has a very nice and cute boyfriend who buys her ski boots) and started When You Reach Me, which I already know I am going to love truly, madly, and deeply.

I can't wrap up the weekend without talking (without spoiling anything) about the season finale of Mad Men. I don't even know what to say except I loved every single second of it. Some people have given up on this show, but I honestly do not know how. It is just delicious from ceiling to floor -- every hue, every necktie, every drunken, sad, hilarious, horrible, timeless moment. I will miss it.

1/2 Marathon Training: Week 2, Run 3

Today's third run of the week was scheduled to be 35 minutes. It only lasted 20. Oops!

It was almost 80 degrees outside, which in some months would be mild and fantastic, but I think I've been spoiled by the somewhat cooler temps lately because it felt like approximately one million degrees when pounding the pavement in the full sun.

Even Zuko was slowed down by it and didn't seem to be enjoying himself as much as usual. I started feeling really barfy and almost like I was going to pass out by 2 miles in, so we just walked the rest of the way home (about 1.5 miles). Part of my feeling of sun-stroked parched-ness might have been attributable to the many slices of lemon rosemary bread purchased at the farmer's market this morning that I consumed prior to the run. Oh well!

My average pace was 10:20-minute miles. I don't know how I keep ending up in the tens, but alright!

Today's Best Running Song: My Eyes from Dr. Horrible.

Highlight of the Run: Big, beautiful white pelicans! They make me very happy.

1/2 Marathon Training: Week 2, Run 2

Ah. The gloriously manageability of a three runs per week schedule! It is delicious.

This was my first morning run since daylight savings time started ... it was 49 degrees out, which I realize is balmy to many people, but it felt plenty cold to me. But I soldiered on and it was actually quite lovely. Obviously you warm up very quickly, and it was a clear and very pleasant morning.

I did 2.41 miles in 25 minutes at a pace of 10:22-minute miles, which felt okay! I have to say, I do feel like I am pushing myself pretty hard at that pace. I hope to get to a point where it just feels a little more relaxed and normal. Although -- maybe these runs aren't supposed to feel relaxed and normal. Maybe they're supposed to make me breathe hard and make my legs ache -- maybe that's the whole point. Anyway -- I look forward to my last run of the week being smack dab in the middle of the day on Saturday or Sunday.

Today's Best Running Song: I Get Along by The Libertines.

1/2 Marathon Training: Week 2, Run 1

This week I'm starting to use a training schedule devised by the leader of a training group I joined. Instead of mileage, it's based on time, which is a method I haven't followed since C25K and One-Hour Runner back in 2006. So it will take a little getting used to, but I'm trying to be open to it because I'm sure there's a method to the madness. Also, it only has 3 runs per week for the first 8 weeks of training, which I suspect will be a welcome relief once boot camp starts and my body is beaten to a daily pulp.

The first run of the week called for a 20-minute run at a steady pace. I'm not sure what happened, but I ran 2 miles in 20 minutes. I've never run a 10-minute mile in my life to my knowledge, so that was surprising. I attribute this to two things: (1) An insane dog named Zuko was setting the pace and (2) I think psychologically 20 minutes felt so much shorter than a usual run that I just went a little faster than I usually do. I know that it's an average pace for a lot of people, and even quite a slow pace for many, but I am just not a 10-minute miler. So I am a little bit in shock.

This was also my first run in the dark. I bought a very stylish and becoming glow in the dark reflective vest and a blinking red light to clip onto Zuko's leash, so I felt visible, and I know these routes like the back of my hand, so I felt pretty sure on my feet, but I can't say I loved being out there in the dark. I suspect I'll end up doing a lot of runs during the week at the gym. Even though I dread the gym-induced case of Hot Face that I always get and the sweat flying off the brows of my treadmill neighbors and hitting me in the face.

Today's Best Running Song (also known as one of my top running songs of all time): Get Up by Bleu.

1/2 Marathon Training: Week 1, Run 4

Magnificent. That is the only word to describe the weather on this sunny, 65-degree day. Thanks, November first. You are awesome.

I am typically a better morning runner than later in the day, but I waited until mid-afternoon to go today, partly because I had a busy day happening. I set off for my first four-mile run since last fall with a little bit of trepidation, but I need not have feared the distance! It turned out to be this week's most enjoyable run so far.

I followed a route I haven't been on since last fall's training (unless I was on a bike). I had to adjust my vision a bit to take in the familiar landmarks and scenes at such a slower pace than what I saw when whizzing by them over and over on my bike. It was nice to be back on this route on foot, because it's one I've run a billion times in the past, just not lately ... there were lots of people out, and that always puts pep in my step. The sun was blasting but it was comfortably cool and I don't even know what happened, but I felt pretty strong and dare I say happy.

The guy leading my training group said the best possible terrain to run on is trail, which I take to mean grass? Dirt? I'm not sure, but luckily there are a good number of grassy or dirt patches along this route, so when possible, I stepped off the sidewalk or street to run on that slightly springier surface, and I definitely think it helped to prevent some shin/calf pain. It also felt sort of adventurous to have to do tiny little leaps over tree branches and feel acorns crunching underfoot and whatnot.

My average pace per mile was 11:28, and I am perfectly fine with that for now. After all, this week I ran 12 miles. Last week, I ran 3. The week before that, and many weeks before that, I ran zero. So how can I not feel good about that?

It felt great to finish the run and stretch in the sunshine with this view. Delightful overall.

Today's Best Running Song: The Speed Test from Thoroughly Modern Millie, which will probably only appeal to the showtune lovers in the house. The song speeds up as it goes along, and it is super fun to run to!

Weekend update

I love fall weekends! I love October in general. I'm a little sad that it's over. It was a great month ... Hawaii, multiple Saturday night football games, the weather changing from sweltering to perfect, good people, good times, road trip to see Brandi and Amy, fun dinners and coffees with friends, and beginning to train for the half-marathon. But November is looking pretty good so far. The sun is streaming in through the windows, the dogs just gobbled chew bones that are supposed to last up to five days in under two minutes, and it's about time for some coffee around here.

Friday night was rainy and cold, but a good time was still had by all at a gigantic Halloween party where the kids and grown-ups were all in costume and we enjoyed pumpkin ale and baby pecan pies and fried chicken and catching up with old friends. The later part of the evening was spent piling into my brother and his fiancee's guest room to watch the season four premiere of Friday Night Lights. My brother got Direct TV for the sole purpose of hosting such gatherings, and we are all grateful. Clear eyes full hearts Texas forever WOO! It was heart-achingly beautiful and wonderful, as always, and if you're not watching this show by now I don't even know what to say to you. It was fun to watch it for the first time with my mom, who has decided that Tim Riggins has saved the life of every character and will outline ways in which he has done so. Oh, TIM RIGGINS. Oh, Coach & Mrs. Coach and all of you. I love you.

I had class bright and early on Saturday morning, where my classmates and I sat around for a while before finally deciding to call our professor at home. "Dr. T?" I asked. "Yes?" "This is Eliza calling from class." (Pause ... pause ...) "Oh my word!" She overslept, bless her heart! It was a good morning for oversleeping, that was for sure. What can you do? She's only human. We got started presenting our projects and she arrived soon enough. Sometimes it's weird to go to class with a bunch of adults. You feel really childlike sometimes just by virtue of sitting in a desk.

I sat out in the quad with some classmates post-class and we discussed our final project ... again, kind of a time warp to find myself sitting on one of those concrete benches in the sun, where 15 years ago I was probably sitting on the same bench talking to someone inappropriate and smoking a cigarette (gross) trying to pretend I was 2 cool 4 school. (I was not.)

I finished and loved Looking for Alaska and wrote about it at Kidliterate.

I have finally started to watch thirtysomething on DVD. I think it took me a while to actually process that it came out after wishing for it year after year after year. I honestly thought it would never happen. But here it is. So far, my favorite season one episodes remain "But Not For Me," the episode about the Saturday night where Hope and Michael have an ill-fated date night and Melissa and Gary do a little backsliding and have to face each other the next morning and Michael Feinstein sings in the background. I have always loved that episode and it still holds up for me -- and also "I'll Be Home for Christmas," featuring Michael (Jewish) and Hope's (Protestant) conflict over how to celebrate Christmas (very thoughtfully and sensitively and humorously done, I think) and an epic fight between Michael and Melissa and the moment they make up, also known as one of the sweetest reconciliations I have ever seen on film. (Apparently this episode has been written about by people way more scholarly than I am ... see pages 31-32!)

It is bizarre the way I can basically recite the dialogue on these favorite episodes that I guess I've watched a few too many times on videotape over the last 20+ years.

:::

Later ...

Today I went to the Unitarian church for the first time with a friend. I liked it. It was different and interesting. Parts of it really spoke to me and fed my soul, and parts of it felt very foreign and strange. I have a lot of thoughts about this but right now I can't really process them. (WEIRD: During the service, a song by Greg Holden ran through my head over and over. I was wondering if this service was feeding my soul ... his song, "Serendipity," which I love, has these lyrics: "I have seen all I need to roam free within these streets. Climbing up walls that are never too tall feeds my soul." Anyway ... like I said, I was thinking about souls being fed, so this song popped into my head. And I just put on iTunes on shuffle and this song popped up! Out of thousands! You can hear it here.) It's hard to capture in a nutshell, but in a nutshell, I love the family tradition aspects of the church I grew up in; however, when I learned recently that a friend's husband left the Episcopalian church to join the Catholic church because of the former's openeness towards gays, it felt like a punch in the stomach. Do I want to be part of the church that people join because it's more discriminatory? No, I don't think I do. But like I said, family tradition. Argh. Moving on for now.

After the service, we had coffee and a lovely visit. What is not to love about a day that is sunny and 65 degrees? What is better than that? Not much! I then had a rather fantastic run and spent part of the afternoon with my future sister-in-law. We sat on their balcony and pored over cottages the family might stay in for their wedding and ate cheese and crackers and veggies and guacamole and my brother made these insane peanut butter / rice milk / protein powder smoothies that basically tasted like peanut butter cookie dough OMG YUM.

Now I've got a cat on my lap and "All My Little Words" just popped up on the shuffle list, a song from my friend mo pie that I LOVE AND ADORE. Seriously? This song kills me.

I guess that's about it for now. Mad Men awaits, and I still haven't watched last week's, allegedly the most intense episode of all time. (Speaking of Mad Men, how funny is "Hells bells, Trudy!" on Community?)

To close, November's first sunset: