Do ALL the Things!

I have this problem where I want to read ALL the books! The ones that have waited quietly on my shelves for years. The ones I bought last week at the thrift store because they were two dollars. The pile I checked out at the library because I was in the neighborhood and couldn't resist. And the ones I don't own but I keep hearing are really good.

But my problem is multifaceted. I also want to run ALL the miles! When I drive by where I do my long runs, I want to go for a long run. When I see a track, I want to do speedwork and race the 5k again (what is wrong with me?). When I see my running shoes in the closet, or wherever I happen to have left them, I want to go for any kind of run.

I also want to write ALL the blog posts, short stories, and novels. I want to do ALL the Bible studies. I want to watch ALL the TV shows and movies--ones I haven't seen yet or Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings for the 10828th time. I want to cook ALL the recipes and make ALL the crafts and finally use the sewing machine I bought two years ago and left in its box.

Obviously, I can't do ALL the things at once.

Running is one of the easy ones: I wake up early to run, and I leave the house and run until I'm finished. But studying the Bible, reading, writing, even watching movies, well, those activities suffer from what I used to think was a short attention span. I start something with every intention of finishing, or at least making good progress, but halfway through, or even a few minutes in, I get bored and do something else. And then the day ends and I haven't made much real progress on anything in particular, and I get really frustrated and vow to do better the next day. And then I don't.

But blaming my "short attention span" is kind of a cop-out, huh? It's an excuse, something I pretend or even believe is fixed and unchangeable in my personality. As far as I know, this is not true. I can train myself to focus. It's called discipline. And that is my goal.

Here are some steps I'm taking to reach it:

1. Cutting Internet time. I added an extension called Leechblock to my Firefox browser. (If you use Internet Explorer, Chrome, or Safari, I'm sure there is something like this for you as well). This will block certain websites (I chose Facebook, Pinterest, etc.) during certain hours of the day, and will cut me off after 20 consecutive minutes during other hours of the day. Because Internet time is, for the most part, unproductive time for me.

2. Planning ahead. Meal planning is the main thing here, because sometimes five o'clock rolls around and I have no idea what I'm going to cook because I was too busy jumping from activity to activity that day, so I get frustrated and give up, and we eat chips or order pizza for dinner. But I'm also going to start keeping a calendar to help with my planning ahead, so that, for example, I don't have to spend an entire day doing piled-up laundry because I need a particular outfit for a social event that night, and manage to get nothing else done that day.

3. Scheduling. I will probably never be the sort of person who runs my life on a to-the-minute schedule. But I am also apparently the kind of person who doesn't function well without a schedule. So I am going to start setting aside chunks of time to do the things I need and want to do. And then I'm going to hold myself to those times. For example: I would like to write at least three blog posts a week. I might set aside time to blog everyday, and even though I won't publish a post each day, I will get something done, like work on a future post or come up with new ideas.

If you know me in real life, feel free to hold me accountable. I'll welcome it! If you've conquered "a short attention span" in the past (or if you're a professional time-manager who is gagging at my amateur scheduling skillz) and you have tips, leave them in the comments!

Friday Five: #TrailRunnerProblems

Writing this post made me aware of just how much the Internet needs a sarcasm font, or an I'm-just-joking, this-is-not-completely-serious font. Because: you can't hear my tone of voice over the Internet. AND this is not a whiny post. If that font existed, you wouldn't be reading this long pre-explanation.
This is a list of things I catch myself complaining about instead of counting my blessings. Blessings like the fact that I can afford trail shoes. And that I'm running on a trail in the beautiful outdoors. And the basic fact that I can run. So these are "problems" that, from this point of view, aren't really problems at all, but indicators that life is good.

1. "I want to look at the scenery, but I have to look at the ground or I'll trip."
2. "My trail shoes are my favorite shoes, but I don't want to wear them on the road because they're for trails."
3. "The sun is too bright and I can't tell what song is playing on my iPhone."
4. "This trail isn't wide enough to run side-by-side, so I have to run behind my friend and we can't have a conversation."
5. "Too many races are measured in kilometers instead of miles, and anything higher than 10k means I have to do math."

(And I don't usually hashtag. That hashtag in the title is probably the only one you'll ever see on this blog. Except for the ones in this paragraph. (This is a hashtag in case you weren't sure: #). I'm on Twitter, something I, at one point, probably said I would never join. And as of now, I don't tweet--I signed up to watch iRunFar live-tweet Leadville. Rambling. Anyway, if you search #TrailRunnerProblems on Twitter, the posts are entertaining).

September Summary

I almost titled this post "September Slacking," because, let's be honest, that's what I've been doing with this blog. I didn't write a single post in September (except for this one). My awesome parents came to visit Labor Day weekend, and, when I used that as an excuse to take the weekend off, little did I know that I would lose the blogging-momentum I had built, and that I would then languish in a blogging-slump for the entire month.
But I didn't slack on running. I managed to run about 96 miles (I say "about" because sometimes I run for time and then approximate distance. I don't add up monthly minutes because that would be less meaningful to me than monthly miles).

September Running-Things

1. Two long runs of 18 and 20 miles, both of which felt pretty good. I'm at that point where I have developed enough endurance that I really look forward to long runs. As in, I can't wait for the next one!

2. Ran in the rain. More than once! If you've never lived in the desert, you might not understand how exciting this is. In a rainier part of the country, you might even consider this a nuisance. But here in El Paso, we had an unusual amount of rain--think road-closures, school-and-work-delays, and leaking-roof amounts of rain. And I loved (almost) every minute of it.

The grill got to go wading in the lake which was our backyard.

Howdy: "I don't understand. Why is water coming from the ceiling?" Bruno: "Magic."

3. Ran a 5k ...which ended up being more like a 6k. On September 14, some of my awesome Sunday school class lined up with me for 5k for Life. During pre-race instructions, the race director told us a volunteer would be at every turn, and specifically NOT to turn if there was not a person there telling us to turn. Simple enough, right?
Fast-forward to mid-race. I was (astoundingly) the first woman, but there were several men ahead, so I wasn't worried about getting lost. We passed a random orange cone, the only one I'd seen, in the middle of the road. Not a person in sight, no sign on the cone. So we kept running. And came to a busy street, where we turned around at a stop sign (also with no one present, but I turned because everyone in front of me had done so).
I finally finished in just over 28 minutes, convinced the course had been way too long. And it was. The people in charge had noticed what was happening after over half of the runners and walkers had gone too far, and then started turning people around at the right place: the lonely, unmarked orange cone. The awards got messed up too. But the husband and I still placed in our age groups, and we all had a good time aside from the confusion. We also got breakfast tacos, which is an El Paso running tradition that I think should spread to the ends of the earth.

The Aggies were playing, had to represent!

3. I hurt my foot. During the 5k, I managed to turn what had been a small, nagging foot pain I'd had since, oh, June, into a wow-my-foot-hurts-so-bad-I-don't-think-I'm-using-it-properly-anymore kind of pain. It was the fastest I had run in a while, and I wore flimsy minimalist shoes in which I was not accustomed to running on pavement. And I thought a day or two of rest would heal it, but I was wrong. So wrong. I ran 20 miles on it anyway, in my most cushioned shoes, but it hurt every step of the way and didn't stop the rest of the day, even while resting it. So I paid a visit to my primary care manager (PCM), about whom, I could write an entire ranty blog post, but I won't. Because her helpful advice to me was, (before even looking at my foot!!!), "You need to stop running."

4. I learned am learning how to manage an injury. Armed with advice from my smart, experienced-runner/coach dad, as well as anti-inflammatory drugs from my PCM, I've been working on running as much as I can without doing further harm to my foot. Last week, this meant running about 30 minutes a day and then going to the pool to get in some more cardio. This week I'll probably do the same, and air up my bike tires too, for some variety. I'm hopeful that my foot is going to feel better soon, if I'm careful. If it doesn't, I'll be paying a visit to a sports doctor next time. More about this later...

September Non-Running Things

1. Started a great Bible study. On Sunday nights, I've been attending Beth Moore's Breaking Free with other women from my church, and I have learned SO much already. More to come on this, I'm sure!

2. Finished thirteen books. I think this is a monthly book-reading record for me.
Some running-related book highlights: The First Twenty Minutes by Gretchen Reynolds--a great read, full of helpful exercise-related research. Running With the Kenyans by Adharanand Finn--interesting, but I think I was expecting something a little more exciting.
Non-running-related book highlights: Ken Follett's Fall of Giants and The Help by Kathryn Stockett. Both were recommended by good friends, and both more than lived up to their recommendations.
Side note: If you're on Goodreads, I write more in-depth reviews of some of the books I read there.

I can't believe it's already October tomorrow! A new month, a new leaf for blogging regularly...I hope!

Monday Motivation: 5k on the Horizon!

Today's Monday Motivation isn't a tasty treat waiting for me post-run, but a 5k race in the near future. My Sunday school class is putting together another team (we won the trophy for biggest team at a 5k in June!) for the 5K for Life on September 14. Proceeds from the race benefit El Paso's House of Hope, a pro-life pregnancy resource center.
While I'm in good long-run shape, I need to add some speedwork if I want to beat my most recent 5k time of 23:13. Here's to upcoming fartleks, intervals, and tempo runs!

Friday Five: Running Things I Love that I Didn't Know I'd Need A Few Years Ago

Long title, but I couldn't think of a better way to phrase it. I ran my first marathon in 2008, and realized that since then, I've somehow become more pro-gear.

1. Hydration Pack. For hiking? Yes. Biking? It could be handy. But running? Honestly, just a few years ago, I would have laughed at the runner who purchased a pack just for running. Gear snob, I would have scoffed, feeling smug in my running-purist status. But then, I signed up for a marathon. And found myself trying to line up water stops on my long runs--a manageable feat in College Station, where I lived at the time. I could hit parks with water fountains and campus buildings that I knew would be open on the weekends or early in the mornings. After a while though, the same routes got old, and I resorted to a hand-me-down Camelback that slid and slapped around on my back. When I got myself a Nathan hydration pack designed for runners last year, I learned what I had been missing. It's perfect for long trail runs and non-runner-friendly cities. And I even carry it on shorter runs sometimes because it's perfect for carrying my...

2. iPhone. One thing I always said I would never run with is headphones. And strictly speaking, I still do not run with headphones. For one thing, I think they can be dangerous whether you run on trails or on the road. But because the iPhone plays things aloud, sans headphones, and because my Nathan has a nifty little pocket perfectly sized for the iPhone, I can take the tunes or a book along and still be able to hear my surroundings. Carrying it also makes me feel safer on solitary runs in isolated places.

3. Gels and chews. Same as the hydration pack--until I was doing long enough runs, I thought they were just an expensive gimmick. I still think they're overpriced, and, using some recipes I've found online, I'm going to experiment with making my own for those times I just can't stomach whole foods on a run. More to come on this later!

4. Expensive socks. This has more to do with being cheap thrifty than anything, but I buy my socks in packs at places like Walmart and wear them until they are visibly done. I currently own and wear socks purchased at least five years ago. But...last year, Runner's World sent me a pair of Thorlo Experia socks to try out (if you sign up to take their surveys, occasionally Runner's World will mail you things to test). I loved them. When I went to buy some more, I found out they cost fifteen dollars! Who pays that much for socks?? Many runners, apparently. I have two pairs for long runs, races, or blister control, because they're great, but for shorter runs I stick to my cheap socks.

5. Running hat. Possibly, this is more of an El Paso thing than a running thing, because I happily ran for many years without a hat. Without sunglasses most of the time, too. But the sun seems to be 8 million percent brighter here, and most of the time there is no shade. Now I wear the hat no matter where I'm running, unless it's going to be dark the whole time.

There are probably some other things that make my running life easier that I didn't know about a few years ago. I love improvements in running technology and trying out new gear, but often it's fun to leave it all behind and run without even a watch.

Nicaragua

I went on a mission trip to Nicaragua in the middle of July, and I've been meaning to write this post pretty much since I got back. It doesn't have much to do with running, but that's okay. In fact, I'll get the running-related points out of the way first:

1. We saw three people running in Nicaragua! I love seeing other people run--it makes me want to start running too--and in a foreign country it's even more exciting.
2. I didn't run at all during the week we spent there.
3. I ran an awesome set of quarters with my dad's awesome running group when we got back to the states, but...
4. It was kind of slow getting back into consistent running when I got back to El Paso. Part of this was probably because I expected El Paso to be cool and dry compared to Nicaragua and where my parents live, and it wasn't. I got back smack in the middle of our "rainy" season ("rainy" is a bit of an exaggeration), and it's continued to be humid.

Throwback!  Here's me and my dad in 2008.

Anyway, Nicaragua. My dad goes every year, visiting various ministries and doing whatever kind of work needs doing. I went in 2008 and had been wanting to go again ever since.

 There were four of us on the trip, and we stayed just outside the city of Masatepe, where we painted the home of a missionary, Shirley, who both teaches a sewing ministry and houses girls who need a place to live, sharing the gospel with them and helping them get a Christian education. We finished painting the whole house in just one day and used our remaining paint to paint the library, concessions stand, and computer room at the local church school Shirley's girls attend. It was so much fun! Paint colors in Nicaragua are fun and bright--we used blue, green, pink, and purple, and mixed several colors at the end to make a great teal for one of the bathrooms.

The house we stayed in.

Kitchen before...

...and after.

The outside of the school. We also attended church here Sunday night.

Coconuts grow everywhere, along with mangoes, starfruit, and so much more.

 After we painted, we traveled around the area visiting other ministries, including Rancho Ebenezer, where we stayed the first time I visited. We also visited the city of Granada, the oldest city in Nicaragua, and toured the historic attractions in a horse carriage. While in Managua one day, we visited a McDonald's (which I never never never eat in the United States!) for the purpose of obtaining cheese pies, a delicacy not found in the US. They were delicious--just like the fried fruit pies many fast food restaurants offer, only filled with cream cheese.

I could go on and on about food in general in Nicaragua--Shirley hired Martha, the school's cook, to make dinner for us every night. It was always delicious! Fried plantain chips are one of my favorite things, although I'm not going to attempt to make my own, ever, because I know they wouldn't compare with the ones I ate there. One night we ate them with a big bowl of guacamole, made from avocados three times the size of those we buy here. Also, gallo pinto, the national dish of Nicaragua, is another of my new favorite things. Rice and a type of small black bean, but indescribably tasty.

Avocados!

Each night after dinner, we had Bible study with Shirley and the girls, and even though I don't speak much Spanish, I tried so hard to follow along. I learned so much Spanish that week, just by listening and by trying to communicate! On Sunday, we got to go to church twice. In the morning, we worshiped with the International Christian Fellowship in Managua, a community of English-speaking Christians. It was such a neat service! Missionaries take turns preaching, even though not all of the missionaries are necessarily preachers by trade. In the evening, we attended church at the Christian school in Masatepe where we had done some painting earlier in the week. The songs and service were entirely in Spanish, and though I could only catch a few words here and there, I still felt completely immersed in the worship.

I'm so grateful to have had the opportunity to travel to Nicaragua and see some of what God is doing there! If you've made it all the way to the end of this long post, I hope you enjoyed it, and I hope you'll keep Shirley and her ministries in Nicaragua in your prayers!

Introducing: Monday Motivation

Friday before last, when I kicked off the Friday Five, I said there would be a couple of weekly features. As in, more than one. So here is the second. Monday Motivations aren't reasons I run--I run because I like to run. But it never hurts to have a little incentive!

Monday Motivation: Lemon Yogurt Muffins!

The picture doesn't do these muffins justice.

I made these for the husband to take to work, so he doesn't have to eat breakfast in the cafeteria. But he didn't take them all, and I couldn't help but think of them waiting in the kitchen during my run this morning. Despite the words "yogurt" and "muffin" in the title, they are really more dessert than breakfast. I mean, they have a glaze! And it is delicious.
I used the recipe here. Note: if you use plain yogurt, like I did, instead of lemon yogurt, you might need to add a little more sugar.