Run For Good 5k 2011

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Run For Good 5k

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 The last race I completed was the Alaska Run for Women Five Miler... I think. Either way, I wasn't really planning on doing one the month of July... that is until I saw Groupon offering half off registration costs. The only thing that really bothers me about this is: I really want to register online but it won't accept either of the numbers issued on the Groupon Coupon (ha! it rhymes... I wonder if they did that on purpose) and it makes me nervous to do same day race registration. But that's what the Groupon Coupon tells me to do, so that's what I'll do. I guess.

I figure doing this 5k will be a good thing to see where I'm at, if I've improved any, or if I need to start working out harder. I've been kind of slacking the last two weeks, not going to lie. I've made some serious improvements in my ability to run outside... I just don't do it enough. Whats enough, anyway? Maybe I'm just psyching myself out.




*The Groupon Link is a referral code for me. I apparently receives monies if people buy through that link. I can't imagine a world where that happens.


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Keeping Vegan

After completing w5d2 of c25k

My second weekend as a card carrying vegan went pretty well. I ate a lot of cereal and soy milk for breakfast. One day for lunch I had a delicious veggie sandwich with roasted red pepper hummus. On Saturday, I made this pretty awesome Veggie Tofu Pot Pie. The orginal recipe calls for things like red carrots, and sweet potatoes. I live in alaska. We don't have things like that. We do have organic vegetables, so I figured that was a good start.

In the parts where the recipe calls for sweet potato in the mix, I used two small red potatoes and roasted them at the same time as the rest of the vegetables. I forgot the liquid for the tofu, so I spilled some Alaska Summer beer in the pan about 10 minutes after I put the cubes in the oven (same time as the other vegetables; different pan) and mixed it around a bit. It worked well enough.

For the dough, it calls for roasted pumpkin seeds and more sweet potato. I replaced the seeds with slivered almonds, and threw in a small Yukon Gold potato that I mashed with some agave syrup. I don't think it worked out nearly as well as the sweet potato would have, but upon tasting it, I nearly forgot. It was savory and delicious. I was a little worried when I pulled it out of the oven because it smelled quite wheaty.

Sunday night I got it into my head that I would make pizza for dinner, and then realized that I had no yeast. I looked up a no yeast pizza dough, but couldn't find much in the way of good results. But I tried one anyway. Instead of making it a vegetable pizza, I decided to go with cinnamon sticks. Very early in the process, I made two large errors:

1) I put the "butter" on before baking.
2) I put the cinnamon sugar mix on the butter before baking as well.

I also added a bit of sugar to the crust make it taste more "desertty", and two tsps nooch for the nutritional quality. Gotta get that protein where I can, right?

It turned out quite cardboardy and healthy tasting. I then spend then next hour trying to figure out how to make a chocolate frosting without powdered sugar, because nothing says NOT HEALTHY like chocolate frosting.

I couldn't.

So I went to the store and bought some, and the frosting turned out to taste quite good. Unfortunately I believe there was some fiber in those bars because my stomach was begging for me to call it a night.

All in all, being vegan isn't nearly as difficult as I'd assume it'd be. I've said no to all sorts of random unhealthy delicious items because they all generally include milk. Its been kind of life changing. Think of all the calories I've said no to, simply because they don't fit within my diet?

What I am noticing however, is I'm looking for all sorts of ways to include those extra calories back into my regular choices of food... thus the chocolate frosting. I'm not as hungry as I was last week, so thats good. I think I just needed the adjustment.

BBQ tempeh wings- YUM

I've made two forays into tofu and both times I've been pleasantly surprised at how much I didn't detest it. I'm still not ready to say I like it, but not hating it on contact is a pretty good start. I've even tried tempeh for the first time, To learn it is quite delicious and will highly recommend that you DO NOT eat the entire 8 oz. block yourself. Especially before Harry Potter.


This week I'd like to make a concerted effort to eat the kelp noodles I bought. They scare me because they're clear, they're referred to as kelp, and even though the package states they have a neutral flavor, did I mention they're made of KELP?

Have you ventured into the realm of kelp noodles? Any ideas as to what the heck I should do with them?

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Getting hit by a truck!

I woke up this morning- okay. Let me rephrase that. I tried to wake up this morning, but felt as though I'd been hit by a truck. It caused me to be an hour late to work, which would have been fine (I mean, not really) except that I was the only one coming into the office before noon. In affect, my office couldn't open on time because I couldn't get there on time.

It wasn't until nearly noon when I realized I hadn't had any coffee, and remedied that immediately.

For breakfast I had a bowl of kashi go lean crunch (the only cereal I had left!) and some soy milk with a banana. Lunch consisted of Spicy Black Bean Poop Soup (cause it looks like poop!) with some triscuits. I snacked on a chocolate chip larabar about an hour ago.

And now, time for shopping! I'm running out of food in my house, and being able to prepare proper meals makes sticking to my guns a lot easier. Today's shopping list includes:

• Fruit
• Spinach
• Carrots
• Onions
• Potatoes
• Sweet Potatoes
• Cereal
• Whole Wheat Flour
• Bananas
• Panko Bread Crumbs
• Olive Oil
• Soy Milk
• Raw Cashews
• Vegetable Broth
• Tofu

I think for my weekend meals I'm going to test drive this really awesome vegetable tofu pot pie recipe I found. If it turns out as awesome as it looks, I'll be making it for next weeks lunches and/or dinners as well. Things like this tend to refrigerate well, so I'm hoping it'll cut down on my need for stopping by the store every night and picking up a $4 avocado (because they're huge, but also because its just a really expensive grocery store!)

Also, my cats are out of food.

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Has it been a week yet?

At some point in the near past, I announce my switch to veganism for a month. I feel like its been forever since that announcement, but I believe it has actually only been one week.

So far, its been pretty awesome. I've had some issues stabilizing my bloodsugar (I go from 'hungry' to 'dying of hunger' pretty quickly) but its also been really nice to be spending so much time back in my kitchen. I love cooking. I love eating. Its a win/win for me... until it becomes unhealthy that is.

I've done some amazing things this week; I ate tofu for the first time (since the last time!) and actually liked it! I've made my own almond milk. Several recipes I've tried have turned out fantastic*. Kale chips are my new go-to snack.

Unfortunately I've been so excited to eat my food, I haven't photographed any of it. The one meal I did manage ( quinoa pasta with nooch tomato sauce) was just a useless cellphone picture.

I'll try to be better in the future.

Today I made an executive decision: instead of changing my work schedule for a day to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part Two - the Midnight Showing, I'd decided to keep my schedule the same so I can work out in the morning. The movie will still be there this weekend.

If you're interested in incorporating some vegan meals into your diet, I highly recommend the beautiful food porn website, www.findingvegan.com.  Seriously, awesome stuff.





*I was going to upload a picture of some amazing chocolate pancakes I made with homemade strawberry syrup (that was maybe 300 calories all together- omg, so amazing!) but alas, the picture will not upload. Perhaps another day.



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My Beginnings

Growing up, all I wanted to was to get out of Oregon. I grew up just outside of Portland. First in Tigard, then moved to Sherwood, followed by Tualatin just a few short years later. Each move was a cathartic release from the pressures of being me, but also left me even more isolated than the move before it. For a long long time, it was just me and my mom.

Me and my mom, Summer 2010

When I was 18, I enrolled myself into a womens college in Virgina. With $25 in my pocket, I took a 4 day train ride to a state I'd never been in, to a school I'd never seen, with no place to stay that first night (as far as I knew) and learned just how self sufficient I could be. I only attended for one year.

I spent the following summer in Colorado Springs with my cousin and uncle. That was a lesson in tyrannical depression. I fought valiantly to return to my school, even without any support from my family but ultimately, when I found out my best friend who was stationed in Anchorage Alaska, became pregnant it seemed only logical to move up there and help out with the baby.

A month after I moved up to Alaska, we had a falling out and we haven't spoken since.

The Sleeping Lady, 2011

Alaska is the place where I found myself, where everything started making sense. I often talk about leaving here, but it finds a way to get under your skin. My friends are here, the family I've created for myself is here. I've found my niche.

I enjoy traveling. This year I went to Ohio for a friends wedding, and last year I visited Oregon and my mother- we drove down to California and back up the hwy 101. I visited my cousin in Colorado just before she went off and got pregnant and married, and my grandfather just before he passed. In a few months I'll be heading to Hawaii for the first time, doing my first two races outside of Alaska.

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Vegan Month day 3

Every single morning I wake up and crave food, I instantly start chanting internally "I'm vegan now, I'm vegan now, vegan vegan vegan. No dairy, no eggs, no meat, no *gulp* cheese. No animal by products. Must be aware. Be aware. I'm vegan now, I'm vegan now." 

Not going to lie, its kind of been a struggle. I keep asking myself, "Okay, I can't eat that, what do I eat?" And come up with blanks.

Luckily there is this amazing website called finding-vegan.com which is like a RSS feed of vegan recipes online, in picture form. It is simply the most amazing website I've stumbled upon (quite literally- I love stumbleupon.com!) since icanhazcheezburger.com.



Lunch is Thai Kitchen: Thai Peanut Rice Noodles and sauce. I hope it tides me over til tonight. I'm making cornfritters for dinner/tomorrows breakfast.

I usually buy coffee and a pastry on fridays as my "reward" for making it through the week, and for making it to work so early (its the only day I work 9-5). Until I become more comfortable in my veganism, all bets are off, so no more coffee shop stops for me.

Tomorrow night I'm going to figure out what to do with my tempeh for dinner.           

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Thankful Thursday

I'm thankful today is Thursday because it means tomorrow is Friday. I love three day work weeks. 

Don't know the source. Sorry.

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Struggling with Mindful Eating

When I started this blog, I had no real weight loss goals; I still don't. The idea was to eat mindfully, and just be aware of what was actually being consumed.

Through the progression of my blog, I've calmed down on taking pictures, and documenting everything. I've started and stopped counting calories numerous times. I've stopped really mindfully eating.

What I mean is, when I first started, I would sit around, wait until I got hungry, and then eat. I would make sure the screen was off, the picture was taken, and I checked in to see just how hungry I was. Half way through my meal I checked in again.

I don't really do that anymore.

It was effective: I slowed my roll on binging almost immediately. Sometimes it was really difficult to figure out why I was trying to find something to eat when I could clearly tell I wasn't hungry. But the biggest thing that happened was, I would allow myself to become so hungry I thought I would pass out before I was able to remedy it.

Then slowly the screens stayed on while I was eating. The checking in didn't happen because my general eating habit stayed "relatively the same", it was routine to eat the same 4 items every day. It became mindless again.

So, where am I at now?

Eating Mindfully helped get me back on track, and in touch with myself. Its been a great tool to help put me back on even footing when it comes to eating. However, if I were being honest with myself and my blog, I have a number in the back of my head that I want to get to, and maybe one or two lower than that. If I were being honest, I don't believe eating mindfully is going to get me there; at least not on its own.

If I don't want to count points or calories or making silly rules about when and where I can eat certain food groups (because, lets be honest: I tried that too and have failed miserably at it) then what am I left with? How do I get to where I want to go?

To be honest, I don't really want to change. Or I do, but not from what I've said I'm going to do, but actually be consistent in doing what I've said I'm going to do. I need constant urging "this is why you do what you do".twit

The punishment for reverting to old ways is staying fat and getting fatter. Plain and simple.


I want to move forward and try something new. Some new, and short term, just to prove I can. (can you see where I'm going with this?) Based on the way I feel physically when I don't drink milk, or consume dairy products, I've decided starting on July 5th, to eat the vegan way for at least one month.

Yesterday, (the 5th) I had watermelon and black bean tacos with avocado salsa, and then a bowl of special k red berries and chocolate soy milk.  For this month, I'm going to try to get back into photographing food, and blogging it.

Today I've had a left over taco and kale chips. It'll be interesting to see how my body adjusts. Wish me luck!



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Thankful Thursday

I don't usually have topical posts, but I'm feeling pretty thankful today so I thought I'd chime in.

• For starters, I'm quite thankful for my job. I work as a Youth Employment Specialist which basically means I put teenagers on jobs through federally funded grants, and help them find their own jobs. I love what I do... when I have something to do. Its very rewarding and I honestly can't imagine doing anything else. 
• I'm also very grateful for my mother. She's awesome. We're going to Hawaii in three months and I am so excited I might pee myself before we leave.

• Doctors. Yesterday my bff's 3 year-old son had a lump removed from his chest and biopsied. It was a outpatient procedure, but they just don't know whats going on. I am very glad the doctors got all of whatever the hell was in there.
• Alaska's 24 hour sun. Okay, so its more like 19 hours where I live, but trust me, 19 is plenty. It makes sleeping a joke during the summer, but you're so hopped up on vitamin D that you just don't care!
• Payday! Within the next week or so, I'll be buying my madre's flight to here in September, and then all the major purchases (that I'm responsible for) will have been taken care of!

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How to " " in " " days!

I hate those. You know the ones. The "How to lose 10 lbs in two weeks*" or "I lost 25 lbs in 12 weeks*!"

source; plz dont click. You'll hate yourself later.

*Results vary because we paid and photoshopped these people. But srsly, it WORKS!


They're so... uninspiring, and yet I always think, "Well, if they can, why can't I?"

I make up some crazy plan in my head to do the same thing. I pick a day to start and then the next thing I know, I'm eating a carton of ice cream.

Wait, what? That wasn't in the plan!

Ads, commercials like that always make me feel so lousy about myself. Its hard to explain to people why I never watch TV (like I'm the weird one) but its because we are bombarded with these images on a minute by minute basis.

I want the easy way out of this body I've created for myself, but I know it took a lot of effort to get here, and its going to take a lot of effort to get out of here. I've finally made that commitment, a true commitment, no matter how many restarts, or setbacks, upsets, or long hauls. One day I'm going to wake up and realize I achieved what I set out to do: lose weight and get healthy. If it takes 10 days or 1000, it will happen.

My plan, the rules, my goals... they're all the same thing ultimately. They're going to help lead me down my path of health and weight loss.

Setting smaller goals like:

• Drinking enough water
• Eating salad for a week
• Tracking my calorie intake
• Lifting weights three days a week

These are a lesson in discipline. I can't tell you how much I hate making salad at home. I don't mind eating it, but making it just kills me every time. Tracking my calories sometimes is easier than others. The more I do it, the more little changes like these I make to my everyday life, the easier its going to be to make healthy decisions in the future.

The rules including:

• Photograph everything
• No eating in front of moving pictures
• Be aware of serving sizes and stick to them
• Find an exercise program and do it (in this case, c25k)

These are a lesson in accountability. I still do all of these things on some level because sometimes I need a little extra accountability. When I started this over a year ago, I had no idea what I was eating, or how much. I wasn't exercising. I was making decisions based on whether or not I wanted to climb my stairs. That's what incapable looked like to me, what it felt like. I never wanted to be the person who couldn't get upstairs in her own house, but I was well on my way.

Me; Whittier, Alaska 2011

My plan is to be healthy, to be capable, and to succeed in reaching my goals, whether they're completing c25k by August, eating salad every night for a week, or shopping in the all the other stores at the mall.

I have never declared what weight goal I'm trying to attain, nor what size clothing I'll be happy in once I get there, for a reason. I just want to feel happy and normal in my own skin- to be able to run like the wind, to say, "hey, I want to climb that mountain over there!" and then actually be able to do it. Whether I'm 240 when that happens or 130 or anything in between, as long as I'm living my life to the fullest, then I've succeeded.


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Whittier Tunnel Walk 2011

Entrance to the the tunnel

On Sunday, Fathers day, The March of Dimes hosted a walk through the Whittier tunnel. A fun fact about this tunnel, its the longest combined train/automotive tunnel in North America at 2.5 miles. Whittier started out as a Military outpost during World War II, but to get supplies there they had to drill through the tunnel. In an effort to save time, they started drilling at either side of the mountain, and met in the middle. Turns out they were off, but only by about an inch.

 

 

 

 

Me and my Friend Rachel

When we reached the visitor's center, it looked as though they were wrapping up. I couldn't quite figure out what was happening- where were all the people?! Suddenly a women hollered, "All walker's on the bus! The bus is leaving now!"

Turns out the walk didn't start at the visitor's center, it started about two miles further down the road, at the actual tunnel. Who knew?

Me in my required hard hat.

It was so neat inside. The tunnel was lit at the top, and all sides were covered by netting, and it was kinda wet inside.  (Thats what she said.)

The light at the end of the tunnel

 The further we got in, the more stale the air became. At two points, volunteers were handing out water bottles. I grabbed one, even though I had brought my own. I always bring my own.

Upon exiting the tunnel, to the left.

 When we reached the end, we weren't really sure what was going to happen next. Did we have to walk back to the otherside? Where were all the finishers ahead of us? Why did it have to be so dreary?

Turns out, they loaded us into the buses once more, and took us into town. Rachel and I grabbed some halibut and chips, and a beer. The thing is about this, the walk was technically free. There was no registration fee. If I had known all that went into organizing this event, I would have actually tried to donate. Next year, I definitely plan to.

beers

We sat at a table for 6 people, and so two others joined us. One was a retired designer, the other a school administrator. We had a fantastic conversation about life and where we came from, death, and of course, bear attacks. 

Me at Portage Lake.

God, I love Alaska.

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Saruman the Chatterbox (Rated R for Language)

After a long day of wandering around the mall, I met up with my friend Rachel and we went on a "run" not far from my place of residence. As I was getting ready to leave, Saruman walked in, and I causually invited her. She decided to join in, and after waiting for her to change, we left.

Rachel is a very fit person and went off running at a pace I can only dream about. Saruman and I stayed behind, I wanted to get a longer walk in before I started off running, and she decided to stay with me. At first she seemed surprised at how slow I was going, and kind of made comments about it. "Oh, I thought were were going to go at a full tilt pace" and "this is a lot easier than I thought" "this isn't hard at all, some people just run really slow, I guess."

Foul Language Ensues....

TGIF

lI am super excited that it is Friday, and I have a three day weekend. While I don't have much in the way of plans, what I DO have is a new attempt to get back on track. Solstice is a pretty big deal up in Alaska, as some parts of it actually have a full 24 hours of daylight, so I'm hoping to enjoy some of those festivities tomorrow. I think Anchorage pans out at about 20 hours of light or so, but it never actually gets "dark" those other four hours. More of a twilight blue sky. It has definitely made sleeping the last couple of weeks nearly impossible. Sunday I'm hoping to talk one of my friends with a car in to going to the Whittier Tunnel for the March of Dimes walk. The March of Dimes is having a Fun Walk through the tunnel, and with Whittier being on the other side, I just have to go. Its beautiful there.

Next week I'm going to start it off by renewing my early gym experiences and challenging myself to go even earlier than I used to so I can spend more time there. Hopefully I'll also be able to convince my supervisor that I need to change my Monday schedule to come in later so I can go to the gym in the morning. What I've learned about myself these last two weeks is: If I don't do it first thing in the morning, its not going to happen. In that, I am a product of my Mother.

I have less than 90 days before I go to Hawaii. A lot can happen in three months, and I intend to make the most of it.
My goals for the next three months:

• Be more proactive at tracking my food, and trying to stay within a calorie budget being accountable about it.
• Work myself up to two-a-days because I really want to be the kind of person who does two-a-days.
• FINISH C25k training, and rock it!
• Remain uninjured
• Stop eating out, thus saving ALL of my money since that's ALL I spend my money on these days.
• Feel Awesome.

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Sweet Dreams are Made of These

Last night sucked. All I dreamed about was my friend who recently died by suicide. Trying to schedule an appointment with her adopted mother. Sitting in a living room with her adopted sister. Having that conversation, the one where the details come out about how it happened. Trying to talk to her brother and save him from himself. Trying so hard to believe she was at peace, but really feeling like she still in turmoil, upset at the balloons released in the atmosphere killing the whales in her honor. Knowing being re-stationed in a town that was unfamiliar, no matter how beautiful it might have been must have been the straw that broke the camel's back. Going home (in my dream) collapsing and crying so hard I woke up with tears running down my face. Falling back asleep and experincing it all over again. And again. And again.



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Skinny Raven Twilight 12k

Last friday I completed my first 12k, and then promptly did not blog about it. I have all the pictures, I have all the anecdotes.  But I just couldn't get myself to write about it. So instead, I'll just share this with you, and move on.

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Pre Skinny 12k

I feel completely unprepared for the 12k, tonight.

Skinnyraven.com

Okay, so thats not entirely true. I am physically able to complete it. But I forgot the following things before leaving the house this morning:

• iPod Charger
• Drawstring backpack
• sunglasses
• safety pins for bib
• I brought my polar strap, but not the clip or my watch to accompany it
• Water bottle

I'm worried I'm going to walk over ten miles tonight in order to do everything which needs doing. Some things are not a necessity, like the sunglasses or heart monitor, or water bottle. But I have to have a pack of some kind because I don't drive and must carry all of my possessions with me. I'm leaving my change of clothes and my purse at work overnight, but I still need the essentials, you know? Perhaps I should view it with an optimistic view: "Yay! I get to walk over ten miles today because of improper planning! I should do this more often!" but that just seems insincere. I don't get it.

Other than that though, I'm pretty excited. The course should be pretty flat and fast, and there is a rumor of Anchorage's most tasty pizza company making an appearance at the end of the race. Though who knows if there'll be any left over cause I'm expecting this will take me close to 2.5-3 hours to complete.  If I finish it in a reasonable amount of time, I might even catch a movie after.

Maybe. Wish me luck!
 
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June Goals and May Round Up

Mt. Susitna, 2011

So, to recap the spectacle that was the month of May:

I got a new roommate and almost immediately, drama ensued. I had all sorts of plans for Mother's Day, which were intercepted by my friend, but made for a significantly more enjoyable weekend. After spending literally months convincing myself I didn't want to attend one of my best friend's wedding, I finally made the decision, and to be honest, it was such a beautiful event. I'm so glad I went. While I was in Ohio, the Blogger Apocalypse happened and my Anniversary post kind of got passed over. I lost 30 lbs in a year, eating whatever I wanted. Ideally, I would have lost more, but the important thing to remember is, after actively gaining weight for nearly 10 years, I have finally made a huge commitment with evidential proof that my health is precious and I'm finally putting it up as a priority. I wrapped the month up with a nice long walk; 9.5 miles to be exact.

AKRFW, 2010

This month, I've got two races lined up, the Skinny Raven Twilight 12k which is THIS friday, right after work. The Alaska Run for Women is the next Saturday. I might end up banditing that one... I keep trying to register, and they keep not registering me. Its very frustrating. On three seperate occasions, they have not charged me a single time, and well... fine, AKRFW. Don't take my money. I will still go. I will always go as long as I'm in this state.

As for the rest of the month, my goals are centered around progressing with c25k. I think I kinda chickened out. It doesn't seem right that I should be running at any pace at the weight I'm currently at. I lost my balls, and now I gotta get them back.  I also need to do a better job of tracking my food. I think for this week I'm going to take pictures of all my meals. Starting Wednesday, and going through til the 11th because the holiday has totally screwed me up. Oops.

Hope everyone's June is as awesome as they hope it to be!

Current weight: 290.1

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Point Worzonof Walk 2011

Friday after work, I got my butt in gear and started to pack for my outing. I wasn't really sure how long it would take since I was going for distance, not speed and made sure to pack a clif bar and some granola. Before catching the bus home I bought a very large bottle of water. I meant to sneak some bottles from work but forgot until I was all the way down the street!

I tried finding a friend or two to go walking with me, but as soon as I said 10 miles they were all, "Um yeah... no."

source

The walk from the starting point on the trail was actually only 3.75 miles each way, but I walk from my house which adds an additional mile, for the final total of about 9.5 miles.

While I was packing but before I left, I realized I had lost my keys somewhere. I remembered taking the off the hook so I could put them in my pocket, but then mysteriously could not find them ANYWHERE. Luckily my roommate was downstairs and I was able to ask her to leave the door unlocked. She didn't really seem comfortable with the idea, her eyebrows rise up in a way that says, "I'll go ahead and agree to this but whether or not it actually happens is a different story." /foreshadowing

Just before 7pm I set off on my journey.



Westchester Lagoon is probably one of my favorite spots in Anchorage. They have a disc golf course, and plenty of room to picnic around in. Plus there is this gorgeous body of water that people boat on during the summer and ice skate on during the winter. Many of the races I go on will go by this at some point.

I was really excited to get my walk on, but there were so many photo ops, I had to stop and take a few.

This is where the trail begins at the Lagoon. In reality it starts about 2 miles earlier than this at the Ship Creek trail head.

The view half way around the Lagoon. I look at these mountains every day. I'm overwhelmed by the prettiness that is just in Anchorage, let alone outside of the city!

Not going to lie: I was kind of getting irritated with myself at this point. But... baby ducks. Gotta stop and look at the baby ducks. They're just so cute!

Finally getting a move on, and just before the mile 1 marker, A view of where I would be walking to. Point Worzonof.

Got a little color in my cheeks, but happy and moving. There were a lot of people on the trail so I wasn't too worried about Moose stepping out of the trees, and had my headphones in. I was rocking out to a playlist of my own design. A Genius playlist, based on Rolling in the Deep by Adele, cause I love her.

Just before reaching Mile 3, there is Earthquake Park. It was really shady and entrenched with mosquitoes, so I paused long enough to get a little stretch in, mow down on some trail mix and then started moving again.

I didn't see a mile marker 4 point, but I figured it could have been too far off from my destination. Just towards the end, the hill going down got very steep and very curvy. I started cursing, knowing I would have to walk back up it, but when I did, it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. Or possibly I just couldn't feel my legs. Time of arrival: 8:59pm.

I paused and had some more trail mix, drank some more water. I sat in the grass, and just enjoyed the view. The thing I love most about Point Worzonof is that the Airport is right next to it, and quite often the planes will take off and make their final descent right over head. It smells like jet fuel, but I don't care because its awesome.

 Above: Mount Susitna, or as the locals call it, The Sleeping Lady.

Now, I started getting tired. My stamina was rapidly disappearing. I even had to turn on my Awesome Opossum play list to keep me going. I was not pleased.

Before I knew it, I had made it back to the Lagoon. My home was only a hop, skip, jump of a mile away!

Beautiful reflection. There are these broken down boxes that look like at one point they must have been part of a dock. I don't really know what they are. On the other side of those tree's is a hill from hell that I love to ascend. Last year I had to stop several times to get up it. Now I don't at all. It was originally part of my route this walk, but I'm not sure I could have done it would injuring myself at that point. I had nothing left.

I finally reached my home, at 11:01pm. I walked up on the porch and turned my door knob... well, tried to turn my doorknob. It was locked. After discussing with Suraman that the door should be left unlocked, it was not. So I spent the next 20 minutes pounding on the door, yelling her name up at the window (her light was still on), and even enlisted my neighbors to help me get in my apartment. Finally she comes down, wrapped in a towel, hair all wet.

Of course she was in the shower. How can I possibly blame her for wanted the door locked when she's in the shower?

I used the very last of my energy to make a protein smoothie, took it up stairs, cleared my room well enough that I could put my legs up against my wall, and left them there for 22 minutes, or approximately the length of one How I Met Your Mother episode. Specifically, the Lucky Penny Episode where Marshall trains to run the New York City Marathon, only to break his toe the day before the race. Barney runs in his place without having trained, and then later gets stuck on the subway because he can't move his legs. Legendary.


I spent Saturday in a haze of useless brain, spent money on clothes I don't actually need, and can't really afford, missed my friend's BBQ, and was angry the whole day.I ate a lot of carbs, but I didn't eat a lot, so that was good.

Stamina. Its something I need.


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After conferring with my cousin, my mother and one of my friends, I've decided not to go on the Bird Ridge trip. Today, I am acutely aware of my IT band, and the bottom of my calves feel like they've been ripped and slathered in lactic acid... which is probably the case.

So instead of ascending 3500 feet in 2.5 miles, I'll just walk 10 miles instead. I keep meaning to get in a long walk, and since the weather has been so beautiful these last couple of days, I just don't think I can put it off any longer. Because 10 miles on a relatively flat course is going to be a lot easier than 2.5 with over a mile elevation gain... right? I'm crazy. Thats all there is to it.

Expect a full report on Saturday!

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