On my long run...

This week, on my 15-mile long run, I saw a two-Volvo family that has now set the standard for all residents of Ithaca. Not only did this one home have two Volvos, but the Volvos were the same battleship gray, late-90s sedan one sees so frequently in town. Both were adorned with all the appropriate bumper stickers. I would have taken a picture with my cell phone, but I feared my action would be mistaken for Big Brother's spying initiative.

I will be on the lookout for the double Subaru Forester home.

Go me!

Sheesh, having a dog changes everything. Well, having a dog and playing bridge. It seems I have little time for much else these days. I suppose there's work, sleeping, eating, cooking, and running, but I figure that all activities necessary to support life don't count. Apparently, I have also decided to eschew whole sentences. Freaky!

Anyhow, this morning, when I stepped on the scale, I had to rub my eyes twice, because there was the number I'd been waiting to see for the last month or so: 138. My goal weight. A number I hadn't seen on my own scale since somewhere toward December 2003, when I was running a marathon, graduating from college, 750 miles away from Judson, and subsisting on college-kid fare. I suppose most women my height would aim for a smaller weight, but with a BMI of 23 and a medium-large frame, I think I've hit an ideal. And I'm wearing size 6 jeans. Woohoo!

For me, losing the weight was just something I did. I found a site that worked for me, Calorie Count, and I followed the simple equation of eating fewer calories than I burned. I usually had a 750-calorie deficit, though that number dropped closer to 500 as I approached my goal weight. I lost around 1.5 lbs per week, as predicted, except over a month near the holidays, when I lost just 0.25-0.5 lb/week (and also didn't really track anything). I am sure that my running made this all much easier, chiefly because I enjoy eating.

Now, I face the much more daunting task of keeping the weight off while making sure to eat enough to stop losing.

But that's a nice challenge, and one I'm proud to accept.

Wahoo!!! Me!!!

Stagger Forward

I appreciate that the old expression "Spring forward; fall back" makes it easy to associate the season with which way you change the time. But 1) it's not spring yet, and 2) I humbly propose that we change the expression to the more apt "Stagger forward; fall back." Who can spring when they've lost an hour of sleep?

Running 30+ miles per week turns out to make me more tired than previously anticipated. I need to figure out how to go from 6.5-7.5 hours of sleep per night to 7.5-9 hours of sleep per night, I think. This is not a good situation when the NYS government has decreed that I should wake up when it is still pitch black. I believe the typical solution to this predicament is to go to bed earlier. But if I start going to bed at 10:00 or 11:00, I may have to admit to myself that I'm getting older. I'm only 28! Too soon, Executus!

Oh well. I'm going to bed. It's okay, because tomorrow at this time, it'll be midnight.

General Update

I don't want this blog to be about nothing but my dog, but I find it hard not to talk about her. It seems my solution so far has been to avoid posting. That seems like a poor choice. So here I am with an update.

Krista is doing well. We are getting free training (as a service for someone seeking trainer certification and a MS in animal behavior), and she's responding really well so far. Krista's running focus and endurance seems to be improving. I took her on a 5-mile run yesterday, and she did very well over all.

Judson and I have been playing a lot of bridge. I've now been to the Bridge Club of Ithaca three times, and I officially became a member this week. I also joined the ACBL. I really enjoy bridge because it's a tactical, strategic game. There's an entire complicated bidding system to figure out. I can't help it...I'm a nerd.

This week, I got my very first raise. That was exciting.

I also got a really cool certificate for fixing a filing cabinet in Amy's office. Thanks, Amy! I'm glad I was able to put my skillz to good use.

My running is coming along very well. This week has been the hardest running week I've had in years. You know you're getting serious when your recovery runs are five miles. Today, I did 4x mile repeats, and I'm exhausted. I did very well pace-wise though. I was shooting for anything from 8:30/mi to 9:30/mi (I'm slow, and I'm training for a half marathon). I did my repeats in 8:21, 8:23, 8:24, and 8:17. Not too shabby! At the end of this week, I will have run something like 233 miles so far in 2009. That's enough mileage to take me from Ithaca to NYC.

I inadvertently created a sourdough-starter volcano last night. Somehow, I didn't realize how much starters expand. I had my starter in a mason jar that had about 0.75-in of head space. I had put the lid on the jar very loosely, only giving the ring a quarter turn or so. This morning, the lid and ring were next to the jar, and there was rapidly hardening starter everywhere. Oops! I started again in a much bigger container. I should be able to bake my first batch of sourdough in a few days.

Judson made crackers, and they were delicious. I think maybe it was Darrell's in Knoxville that served house-made crackers? I forget, but Judson's definitely made me nostalgic.

Work has been crazy for me (and for everyone else who works at Ithaco, I think). This is part of the reason I've been delinquent with blogging and with writing to people. Sorry! But I really enjoy what I do, so no complaints there either.

And now I think we're up to date. Phew!