Comments (5)

By kilax, May 31, 2009 8:34 am

This post is a reminder to myself.

Slow down. You keep “going going going” and you are going to CRASH.

Quit packing your schedule so full. Take time to RELAX.

Ha. Who am I kidding? Even as I write this, I know I have a FULL day ahead, and at least two full weeks. Busy all day at work, busy all night at home. Too much to do.

And about the super long post below – just a Target rant and some food reviews I wanted to share. It ended up super long, so read it only if it interests you.

Comments (12)

By kilax, May 31, 2009 8:29 am

I love the convenience of shopping for groceries at Target, I really, really do.

But I am really, really frustrated with shopping there right now. They keep dropping the products we buy – Cocina Nueva Mexican rice, 8th Continent Soy Milk, whole wheat flour (why the hell would they drop that?), Odwalla bars, Barabara’s Bakery products… the list could go on. And the selection is just crap. I cannot find any vegan margarine or vegan semi-sweet chocolate chips. They have hardly any organic produce. They’re always out of the cereal we want. Ugh.

I really don’t want to be one of those people that shops at four different stores on the weekends. I liked getting everything I needed at Target, and not wasting too much time. But it sounds like I am going to have to make a supplemental trip somewhere else. Perhaps I will finally step inside a Whole Foods since I still haven’t visited once since I moved out here over two years ago. I am grateful that I live in such a big area and have these other stores to shop in. I know I will find what I want, it just may not be as convenient as I like it to be.

I actually wanted to share a few products I have tried lately and liked. Ironically, I found one of these (the Odwalla bars) at Target one week and they were gone the next. Oh well.

Amy’s Roasted Vegetable Pizza: I really like pizza (who doesn’t, right?) so I’ve been wondering… what kind of pizza does a vegan eat? We found this vegan Roasted Vegetable pizza to try. It has marinated organic shiitake mushrooms, roasted red peppers, sweet onions, marinated artichoke hearts and no cheese. Yum yum yum! It smelled super strong when it was cooking, so I was kind of worried that it would taste too “fancy pants” for me, but we both ended up really liking it. It’s very sweet – I think the onions used are vidalia. It’s not like eating a cheese pizza, but it’s very tasty. I would also like to try Amy’s other vegan pizzas – Rice Crust Spinach and Non-Dairy Rice Crust Cheeze Pizza. Of course, we don’t have these at Target, and I am surprised they still had the Roasted Vegetable when I visited Target yesterday.

Odwalla Chocolate Chip Peanut Bar: Two weeks ago, Target had entire boxes of these flavor of Odwalla bar. I bought one to try since I like Berries GoMega so much. HOLY CRAP! These are so good, and they’re vegan! I actually wrote a sticky note on the box that said, “Steven, you HAVE to try one of these. They are like a little slice of heaven.” Like the other Odwalla bars, it is very chewy and dense, which are characteristics I like in a granola bar. And it’s sweet, but not too sweet.  The perfect treat! They were gone on yesterday’s Target trip though. The Berries GoMega bars where there. I noticed they had two different kinds of packaging – a 6 pack with 2.2 oz bars, and a 6-pack with 2 oz bars. Hmm, which should I buy? Way to phase those out, Target. On a side note, I found out that another store in our area has almost all of the Odwalla Bar flavors, but in single serving only. I got Strawberry Pomegranate (not that impressed) and SuperFood and Super Protein (haven’t tried those yet).

Stonewall’s Jerquee: A coworker told me about a health food store downtown so I decided to check it out. They had a few different brands of vegetarian beef jerky, so I picked up two packages of Stonewall’s to try – Original Mild, and BBQ “Beef” (BBQ “Beef” is the only one they carry that is not vegan, because it has honey in it). I called Steven to tell him about it, and it seemed pretty weirded out. BUT, we ate the the BBQ “Beef” packet on Friday night and were shocked – it is so realistically close to tasting like beef jerky, that Steven actually said, “It feels wrong to eat this.” They got the chewy texture just right. What a fun snack. I ordered some big bags off of their website.

What a piece of the vegetarian jerky looks like.

And while I am at it, I must admit that I tried THREE new kinds of Luna Bars this week, while at the same store I found the jerky in. I just got really excited to have such a large selection to choose from. I tried Luna Bars – Dulce de Leche, Cookies ‘n Cream Delight, and and Iced Oatmeal Raisin. These were all really good, but tasted very sweet. So sweet, I think they are more a of a treat, and not something I should eat that often (they have WAY TOO MANY ingredients in them). I try not to eat bars that often. I’ll have one homemade one a day, and sometimes one after I workout, if I don’t have dinner right away.

Extra points if you made it this far!

Comments (16)

By kilax, May 30, 2009 5:08 pm

My neighbor and I ran the Hope for the Hungry 5K in (evil) Libertyville, Illinois today. I got an email about this race last week and asked my neighbor if he wanted to run it, because the proceeds directly go towards providing food and an education for children in Haiti, and he is from Haiti (plus, we had been running a bit together, and I thought he was ready for a 5K). Have you heard much about the hunger problem in Haiti? It’s something I’ve heard quite a bit about in the news. It’s estimated that 1 in 4 Haitians never get enough to eat, and are hungry all the time. The event organizer talked to us today about children who are so hungry they pass out in class or on the way to school. Many people resort to eating mud cakes.

This all makes me very very sad. I think about how I live in a nation where so many people OVEREAT and indulge, and how there are people all over the world struggling to get enough to eat to make it through the day. The politics of it all are way over my head. I wish there was a clear-cut solution. I know that today, I am reminded to be grateful for what I have.

On to something cheerier! I love how enthusiastic my neighbor is. He signed up for the race right away. Then the next day, we ran 5 miles together. We talked about the race a bit, and I think he was somewhat nervous. He asked if I thought he was ready. I think I responded with something like, “You just ran two miles more than a 5k! Of course you’re ready!” And he did really great today.

It was raining just a bit when we started, but as soon as we took off, the rain cleared!

Beautiful skies… not!!!

The course went through a the Old School Forest Preserve. The course was all crushed gravel and mostly wooded. It’s a fun course! When we ran it on Thursday we saw deer three times.

Can you find me?

I was being a bit pushy while we were running. I thought our plan was to run between 9:30-10:00 minute miles (like during our practice run) but once I saw how well my neighbor was doing, I didn’t let him slow down! I hope he wants to run with me again!

We ran just under 9:00 minute miles (splits at the bottom of the page), and sprinted the last part. I said, “Go Fritz go!” (Maybe it would have made more sense to just type his name from the beginning?) and he just took off!!! Then I was sprinting to keep up with him.

Our fast sprint to the finish line!

We finished in 26:36, which is actually a 5K PR for me because I haven’t run one in awhile!

Exhausted and sweaty!

Steven* was there the whole time, and Fritz’s wife came with their two kids and his brother! It’s so fun to see family at the finish line!

After the race, we talked to the Runner’s Edge (local running store) people about a 4-mile fun run they are hosting this Thursday and we had been thinking about doing. We met another runner who wants to do it, and she seemed really nice. That should be a fun way to meet new people!

Distance: 3.14 miles | Time: 26:36 | 1: 8:30 | 2: 8:42 | 3: 8:32 | 4: 0:51

UGH, It took me FOREVER to write this, because Firefox kept typing all of my words backwards. I restarted it a few times then finally uninstalled and reinstalled. HOW FRUSTRATING!!!

*Wondering why Steven didn’t run? He’s been having a hip problem since the half marathon, and has been taking it easy (the smart thing to do). I MISS running with him though.

Comments (24)

By kilax, May 29, 2009 6:40 am

If you had the time and resources, what kind of volunteer work would you like to do?

I would LOVE to volunteer at the no-kill animal shelter right by our house. I would also LOVE to be a “running buddy” for the local Girls on the Run chapter.

I’ve filled out applications for both of these organizations and never turned them in. I worried I wouldn’t be able to make a huge commitment and disappoint someone. That’s kind of silly. Some help may be better than none!

The trainee group at my office organizes some philanthropy events. So far, most of them have been on the south side VERY far away from my home, but now they are taking about seniors bingo once a month near the city. That might be a fun way to spend an evening after work! (Yes, I’m serious)

Comments (16)

By kilax, May 28, 2009 6:23 am

My neighbor and I are running a 5K together this Saturday at a forest preserve in Libertyville, a town about 12 miles from where we live. He wanted to run the course before the race, so we plan to run it tonight after we pick up our race registration packets.

All of those stupid details don’t matter. The point is, I woke up at 4:20 and left the house by 5:00 so I could drive to the Libertyville train station instead of my normal train station. Theoretically, I could hop off the train in the evening, pick up my packet and drive right to the forest preserve.

Only, I get to the Libertyville train station this morning and all of the parking spots in the main lot are permit only before 8:30 am with a $500 fine for offenders (WTF?!). I remembered there was another lot so I drove to it and saw that all of the pay slots for parking were boarded up, and a sign was put up telling commuters to drive to ANOTHER TRAIN STATION.

Are you fricking kidding me?! I actually called the police station to ask if there was anywhere I could park and they told me to go to the other train station, which would be back-tracking from where I came, and make me miss the train.

I was so pissed. I didn’t want to park at that other train station and miss my train AND have to back-track YET AGAIN in the evening to get back to Libertyville. I could have asked my neighbor to drive me there after our run, but I left my alternate running outfit (I took the one I plan to wear with me) and some running gear in my car and I wanted it with me and I DIDN’T want to carry it to work.

I just started driving, and called Steven, to bitch a little bit about it (what a great way to wake up, right?!), and asked him if he remembered how to get to the next train station, in Lake Forest. He was nice enough to get out of bed and look up the location for me on the computer. I got off the phone with him and sped my way there. Let me just say, I love my husband and I love my new car. I wouldn’t have made the train without his guidance and that V6. Lake Forest had permit parking AND regular parking (it was $3.00 though – I pay $1.50 at my station).

This really shouldn’t make me so angry, BUT IT DOES. I got up extra freaking early to save myself time in the evening, and all I got was STRESS. Now I have to deal with traffic tonight as I try to get back there.

And how was I supposed to know there was no non-resident parking? It doesn’t say it anywhere on their website! I guess I learned my lesson – do MORE than plan ahead. I thought I was pretty smart getting up early to drive to this station, but I guess what I REALLY need to do is start planning things like this a week in advance so I can call the parking contact and figure out where the HELL I am supposed to park.

Yay, happy day.

Comments (16)

By kilax, May 27, 2009 12:21 pm

I had such a crappy, “not what I expected” Memorial Day weekend that it’s left me in a fog this week. It’s causing this huge funk that feels like it’s taking forever to shake off.

It’s also reiterated that nothing is ever going to turn out how I expect it. I can’t control people. I can’t stop them from being judgmental and irrational and pushy and ridiculous (the list could go on). ALL I CAN CONTROL IS MYSELF.

I just hate that I turn into a bitch (and more) when someone pisses me off. So I’ll work on that. And I’ll work on avoiding the people that make me feel this way.

This is why we don’t care that we live so far away from our families. Because most of them MAKE US CRAZY after long periods of time.* There, I said it.

*A long period of time being more than a day.

Comments (18)

By kilax, May 22, 2009 9:44 am

Which of your five senses (sight, hearing, smell, taste, feel) would you least want to give up?

Or maybe it would be more interesting if I asked which of your five senses would you give up if you had to?

For me, I cannot imagine living without sight. I see all of these amazing blind people navigating the streets of Chicago with their guide dogs, or their walking cane, and I feel inspired by them and their perseverance. But I also feel sad for them, because I can only imagine what a struggle being blind is. And I feel like I would miss out on so much if I couldn’t see – so many beautiful landscapes, so many beautiful works of art, even just seeing the beautiful faces and varieties of people (and I sometimes wonder, could there be a blind architect?).

If I had to give up a sense, I think I would choose smell. I would miss out on a lot of wonderful smells, and it would affect the way food tastes to me, but I would also miss out on a lot of nasty smells.

As I am writing this, I feel like it is going into a more serious discussion than I wanted it to. I am not trying to be rude or inconsiderate, just asking if you’ve ever thought about these things. I do think about it a lot, because the woman who sits next to me at work is legally blind and deaf. She has a lot of special tools she uses to get her work done, and I am amazed by her!

Comments (23)

By kilax, May 21, 2009 11:46 pm

HOLY. FREAKING. COW. THAT. WAS. HARD.

I’ve never run such a congested race in my life. The announcer said there were close to 18,000 people. The event coordinators tried very hard to be organized. They had pace signs at the start, and kept repeating over and over NOT to start in the front if you were walking or planning on finishing in over 30 minutes.

Do people listen? NO! Because everyone is SO special that the rules do not apply to them (this is not a new thought in my head – I recognize this pattern in a lot of people). I got very frustrated when a lot of my coworkers started at the 7:00 minute mile pace, after they had all told me they planned on finishing in over 30 minutes. I passed them. Anyway…

The race was so congested that I did not cross the start line until well over a minute, and I was shoulder to shoulder with people the entire 3.5 miles. I actually saw one guy get knocked over onto the pavement because he was pushed from behind. People started in front of me who were walking, or running much much slower than the people around them. It was frustrating to have to dodge around these people. Oh well. I guess that is to be expected at a big race like this.

This is a race where I kept thinking, “And… why do I run again?” Because it was hard course (it was extremely muggy when we had to run under bridges), it was HOT (75°), and it was so freaking congested. It was just a HARD run. BUT, I gave it my all and finished 3.5 miles in 27:13. My clock time was 28:22 because I didn’t cross the start line right away.

Steven came downtown to watch me race and hang out with me and my coworkers at the after party (I totally sucked at introducing him to people – what is my problem?). I am so happy he came to support me! He said he enjoyed watching people race.

Video of the start!

I started where I was supposed to… this is well before the HUGE crowds! (Click on the photo to enlarge and check out my awesome farmer’s tan! Lame)

The start line.

Starting off… still smiling…

Scary finish photo!

Me and Steven-o.

I was super pumped for this all day, and am happy with my time, but it was not as fun (the racing part) as I expected. I am worn out, and happy I have tomorrow off to kind of relax. And maybe go on an easy run (I can’t help it!).

Comments (24)

By kilax, May 20, 2009 7:23 am

Maybe this is why people think I eat so healthy:

This is the fruit I brought to eat at work today – a peach, a gold delicious apple, a gala apple, an orange, a pink cripps apple, grapes and a banana*.

This is a completely normal amount of fruit to eat, right? Ha ha. How much fruit do you eat in a day?

As I am reseaching more and more about veganism, I am realizing I need to be very careful about my protein intake, especially since I exercise. I am sad to say, I think I am going to have to cut out some of the fruit and replace it with legumes and seeds; I need to “re-balance” my diet. Oh well. I’ll get used to it. (I hope!)

*That banana is not brown enough! But at least it did not explode like the one did from yesterday.

Comments (8)

By kilax, May 20, 2009 6:39 am

I liked today’s Runner’s World Quote of the Day:

The quote says: Running gives me a sense of controlling my life. I like the finiteness of runs, the fact that I have a clear beginning and end. I set a goal and achieve it. A good run makes you feel sort of holy.

Except for the whole “feeling holy” part (what does that even mean?), I can totally relate to this.

I am someone who struggles with having control in their life. I need structure. I need goals/milestones/guidelines. I can be easy going and go with the flow of things, but I am someone who works best with a PLAN.

Running gives me the opportunity to have long-term goals and plans to achieve them, along with mini daily goals. I DO feel accomplished when I have it in my mind that I am going to run a certain distance/time that day, then I go out and do it. It’s maybe the one thing in my life that is simple enough I CAN control on a daily basis.

My only worry with this is that I am TOO goal-oriented. Honestly, I was feeling a bit lost in my running until I signed up for the Kansas City Marathon. I felt worried that I would “lose” my endurance if I wasn’t following a training plan. Even now, I am keeping up around 20+/- miles a week, but I still feel lost/unstructured, because my official training does not start until 6/15.

And surprisingly, feeling lost in running spilled over into feeling “uneasy” in general. I was really, really anxious until I selected my next goal and developed my next plan. I guess running truly is my balance now.

So, while I think it is good to have plans and goals to follow, because they make me feel like I have some control, I realize that I have some sort of addiction. Steven actually told me he thinks I have compulsive behavior when it comes to running (and other things) – he thinks I set my mind on something, and won’t stop until I achieve it (or something like that – he wasn’t trying to insult me). That can be both good and bad. It would be really good if I could take some of that and apply it to other life goals (oh you know, like getting licensed, blah de blah), but for now, my focus seems to be on running. Which is good… until I become too obsessive. And I don’t feel like I am there yet. Ha!

This is actually not meant to be a post all about running, but about control and goals, and I think it could apply to a lot of different behaviors or activities. Do you feel like there are elements in your life that you feel you have control over, and bring you a sense of accomplishment, or calm?