Martha's So-Called Life

fall shop update

I just listed a couple of new items in the shop this morning...and I have more coming (although they may not make it until after I have finished all of my fall traveling)! 

First are the fall colors dishcloths:

100% cotton, perfect for the kitchen or as a washcloth.  They are chunky and soft for all your cleaning needs!!

I also listed some eco-friendly cloths:

Made from 75% recycled cotton!  The other 25% of the fiber is acrylic, which I usually hate to work with, but I think it works with this blend.  The yarn (and the finished product) don't feel scratchy or stiff like most yarns with acrylic in them. 

I've been crocheting like a mad woman to get these done!  They don't take terribly long, so it's quite satisfying to sit down be done with a set in a couple of hours.  

book review: run faster from the 5k to the marathon

Run Faster From the 5k to the Marathon by Brad Hudson (former Olympic trials marathoner and current Olympic athlete coach) is an excellent book for those who know nothing about running, or for those who have been running for a long time.  It is especially great for those of us who love making training plans, but struggle with them because we really don't know all that much about running even though we act like we do.

He takes an "adaptive" approach to training, which may not actually be any different from what anyone else does, but there are a few features that I believe are not as common to other coaches philosophies. 1. Keep training volume high year-round, even though you lower the intensity at times, that way you don't have to increase volume and intensity at the same time, which elevates injury risk.  2. Short all-out hill sprints thoughout training, he favors these over weight training as they build running-specific muscular strength. 3. Don't follow a set plan all the time, adapt based on your own response to previous workouts. 

What I really liked about this book was all of the recommended workouts along with explanations of where they should fit into your plan as well as what progression they should take.  He throughly explains each element and then gives an example of what it would look like on your training plan.  There are also several different levels of training plans for each of the popular race distances.  Those were very helpful to me in creating my most recent training plan.  

I recommend this book for anyone who is looking to create their own training plan or who is looking for a new approach to training.  I know this book is something that I will come back to again and again as I continue running.  

frosty bottom 25M: week 2

Week 2 was the week of little to no running.  My foot hurts and I know better than to push things when something hurts.  It's better, but still not 100%.  

I think I ran 3 miles last week and swam for 2 hours (two x 1 hour sessions), definitely a big change from my 26 mile week the week before.

Here's to hoping next week is better!

 

i have a little shadow

I have a little shadow that goes in and out with me, and what could be the use of her is more than I can see.

Kiva does not like the wind...or when the power flickers, which has made for a very long evening for her given that it is very windy and the power keeps flickering.  She sat behind my chair and grumbled a little every time the power wavered.  

My poor little scaredy dog...

fun with fabric

I have been really into sewing the last few days.  My creative tendencies come in phases.  Sometimes I'm really into sewing, sometimes knitting, sometimes sewing, sometimes nothing.  

It all started when I decided I needed a bag to carry my small knitting projects around in.  I generally have them in a ziploc bag in my purse, but then the knitting needles poke holes in the bag rendering it useless for anything other than knitting projects...and then it gets worn out and isn't even good for knitting projects anymore.  I found several simple tutorials online and created my own bag out of "home decor" fabric that I got at JoAnn Fabrics for $2.

Then I decided that I wanted to make something else.  But what?  Well, good thing the Arctic Valley annual auction is coming up (Sept 22...you should go if you live in the Anchorage area)...because I decided to sew up a couple of iPad covers to donate.  

Kiva helped me make them...

I finished the first one...

And moved on the the second one...

I'm almost finished with the one with the bikes (I'm kind of obsessed with this fabric...I should have bought the whole bolt).  I got distracted yesterday and had to take care of real life business (i.e. grocery shopping...ugh). The weather is still nasty today, so I should be able to finish this one up this afternoon!  

Of course, my brain was working overtime while I was making these and I came up with 10,000 other awesome projects I could do.  Now if I could just find a way to fund them...and something to do with them when I was done.  

what we're eating 9/17 - 9/23

Hooray, the return of the meal plan!

Monday: Salmon with sweet and spicy rub with roasted broccoli and cauliflower rice

Tuesday: Sausage and Yam Frittata

Wednesday: leftovers (John will be in Whittier)

Thursday: Italian Saute

Friday: Steak Bruschetta with Spaghetti Squash

Saturday: Arctic Valley auction

Sunday: Greek Beef Stew

I think I'm going to make another batch of sweet potato hash this week too, it was really good to eat that for breakfast before work last week.  I'm also going to try to pre make most of my lunches too...we will see how that goes since that requires organization and I am not organized. 

frosty bottom 25M: week 1

First week...done!  Even though the mileage only goes up from here, I'm hoping I'll start feeling a little better as I get deeper into training.  I think running two races in one week is finally starting to catch up with me, I'm just glad that happened after I was done racing!  

Sunday:
rest
4mi easy 

I had some extra time due to being on call for work instead of having to go in so I went for a run, even though I wasn't planning it! I felt pretty good considering it was the first run after my half at Disneyland, but I got tired way faster than I was expecting.  It was a lovely sunny day though!

3.9 miles/41:05/10:35 avg pace

Monday:
rest 

While I didn't exactly rest, I didn't really go running either.  I walked approximately 500 miles at work though...it was such a busy day! My feet definitely hurt by the end of 12 hours.

Tuesday:
rest

Again, not exactly a restful rest day, but no running.  I spent 6 of my 12 hours at work standing (in the operating room doing c-sections), and the other 6 walking.  Definitely exhausted after two super busy days.

Wednesday:
8 mile run, last 1 mi @ moderate pace
5 mile easy run w/ hill sprints

I wasted most of my day and finally decided to go running after Kiva sent me a very strongly worded message that we needed to go running.  I texted my friend Amber to see if she wanted to run, because 8 miles by myself seemed like a terrible idea.  She said she wasn't going to be able to run this afternoon but she was planning 8 miles with 6 @ tempo tomorrow.  So I said I would join her.  I decided to just swap Thursdays run with Wednesday and planned an easy 5ish miles.

Kiva and I ended up running on the trails, but it turned into more of an obstacle course than a relaxing trail run.  We had to jump over/go under/go around numerous trees that had fallen during the wind storm last week.  

4.7mi/58:00/12:27 avg pace

Thursday:
5 mile easy run w/ hill sprints
8 mile run with 6 @ tempo (9:45) 

At 7:30am I headed to Amber's house to get our tempo run underway.  Once we got out the door and started running, we were both unsure whether we would make the whole 6 miles of tempo we had planned.  We felt pretty good, but it seemed like a stretch.  We made it through 2 miles without much trouble and then decided we would take a break when we hit mile 4 (our 3rd tempo mile) so she could check on her kiddo and make sure he was warm enough.  That made the next mile go by sooooo slowly...but we did it.  Once we turned around we had some Gu and water and carried on...much more slowly than before.  My legs felt like lead, but I was determined to get at least another mile in.  I realize now it was so much harder when we turned around because we were going uphill.  Stupid hills.  

We stopped to walk a few more times, once up a large hill (right after mile 6), then just as we were hitting mile 7 (Amber got a phone call that she needed to take), then at about 7.5 we were done and started our cool down.  

Overall I'm happy with how this run went, but will definitely be looking to improve my tempo running abilities in the not too distant future.  

Also, an added bonus of running so much...a very tired dog.  She's been doing a lot of snoring.  Occasionally she will get up and relocate, flop down dramatically, and then go back to snoring.  I love a tired dog!

7.8 miles/1:29:05/11:25 avg pace (3.75 mi of tempo @ 9:45 - 10:00)

Friday:
8 miles, last 2 @ HMP

I was super tired and uninspired to run today.  I decided I would go for an hour and see how far I got.  I ran on the bike path and the trail and back on the bike path and back on the trail...it was running route ADD

5.14 miles/1:03:49/12:25 avg pace

Saturday:
6 mi, easy

I didn't quite make it 6 miles, but I wasn't really trying to.  I decided (since I'm tired and such) that I would just run for an hour and see how far I got.  I also decided that I wanted to go hide in the woods since it was rainy and windy and just plain nasty out (they are predciting round 2 of the alaska hurricane to come sometime tonight)...it's always more pleasant in the woods when the weather is questionable. 

Kiva and I had a lovely easy (but hilly) run.  The wind and rain didn't really bother either of us.  It's hard to be grumpy about the weather when you have fall scenery to look at. 

I even kind of enjoyed (and felt pretty good on) the hills.  

5.16 miles/1:04:46/12:34 avg pace

This week marked the most miles I have ever run in a week (I don't have documentation to prove that I've never run more miles than this, but I'm fairly confident that I have not).

Totals for Week 1:
Miles: 26.7 (a mere .3 shy of my planned 27 miles for this week)
Time: 5:16:48 

what we're eating this weekend

My meal planning has gotten off schedule a bit due to my work schedule.  In order to get back on track, I figured I'd put up the weekend meal plan and then get back to the weekly thing next week.  

Friday: Sausage and Yam Frittata

Saturday: Leftovers (John is in Whittier)

Sunday: Slow Cooker Chicken Veggie Soup

It's supposed to get super windy again this weekend and the power companies are predicting that lots of people will lose power because all the trees that almost fell down last week when it was really windy are going to come down.  Hopefully I won't have to spend my weekend grilling all the salmon that's in my freezer so it doesn't go bad if the power is out for too long!

 

use up all the veggies stir fry

John stayed home from work sick today, which put a dent in my dinner plans as we were supposed to go to the end of season party for his work.  5:30 rolled around and I still had no dinner plan.  Then I remembered I had some peanut sauce and lots of veggies in the fridge!

Peanut Sauce 
(adapted from Melissa's recipe for Sunshine Sauce )

2 tablespoons lime juice
1 clove garlic, minced (~1 teaspoon)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon rice vinegar
1/4 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup coconut milk (the kind in the can)

Blend lime juice, garlic, soy sauce, ground ginger, vinegar, and peanut butter in a blender until mixed well.

Add cocnut milk and blend (again) until mixed well.

Enjoy immediately or store in the fridge until ready to use!

For the stir fry:

1 red, yellow, or orange pepper diced
1 carrot, peeled and sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced (~ 1 tablespoon)
2 cups broccoli florets
1 handful fresh green beans, cut into thirds
8oz mushrooms, sliced
1 zucchini cut in half and then sliced
olive oil

Heat olive oil (~1 tablespoon) in a skillet over medium heat.  Add carrots and peppers.  Saute until soft, about 5 minutes.  Add garlic, broccoli, and mushrooms, and cook another 5-10 minutes.  Add zucchini and green beans and cook, stirring frequently, until heated through (don't over cook the zucchini...no one likes mushy zucchini!).  

I also had a couple of cooked pieces of chicken that I chopped up and added at the last minute. 

Add your favorite sauce. Serve over rice, cauliflower mash, or spaghetti squash.

non-cereal cereal

Yesterday I posted about not wanting to eat eggs for breakfast and randomly throwing together some stuff to make cereal without any actual cereal.  Here's my "recipe."

1 cup chopped fruit (peaches, strawberries, nectarines, cherries, bananas, apples, pears, mango, etc.)
1/4 cup chopped nuts (almonds, walnuts, or unsalted cashews)
1 tablespoon chia seeds
1 tablespoon ground flax seed
2 tablespoons coconut flakes
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 
1/4 cup dried cranberries, cherries, or raisins (optional) 

Combine, top with milk (or non-milk) of your choice, enjoy!