So even though I’m in the last stretch of the semester,
which is always the worst, and I’m not able to run as much because I’m so busy
with school work, this week has been GREAT!
Sunday we went to the Brewers-Nationals game with friends
for my birthday. The Brew Crew scored 10
runs in the first inning!! It was a
great time even if it was a little cold.
Tuesday we got word that Al has been accepted to grad school
and has been awarded an assistantship!
We’re looking forward to living in Wisconsin again and being close to family. Now all I need is a job…so if anybody needs
an economist, I bring baked goods to work!
And lastly, I received an awesome necklace for my birthday
from Moni. Naturally I created an outfit
around it for work today…
Ok, back to reading and writing econ…only a few more weeks
left!
A lot of people hate the dentist, but I’ve never really had
a problem. I’ve always had good teeth
(thanks Dad), never had a cavity, and when you’re little, they give you a
prize…score!! Then I moved to DC. The actual dentist that we go to is fine…the
teeth cleaning lady apparently wants to remove all of the gum tissue in my
mouth. She takes out more and more every
time I go. I have super clean
teeth…brush at least three times a day and floss every day…so I really don’t understand
what she is attempting to remove besides chunks of gum tissue that I spit out
continuously throughout the cleaning. They
tricked me the first time I went by having the dentist do the cleaning…”to get
to know his new patients”…ugh. Really it
is just a scam to get you to sign up for another appointment in 6 months…then you
are stuck with the gum Nazi--forever!!!
So I get there, and she starts making small talk about
buying patio furniture. I don’t mind the
talking so much as the asking questions.
She spent a solid 5 minutes asking me questions…here’s a hint, when I’m
talking, you can’t be cleaning my teeth, and that means I have to spend even
more time here. This is actually one
time where I don’t want to talk…the faster you get done lady, the faster I can
leave. I have important things to do
like procrastinating school work and spending time not cleaning my apartment.
Then she says that I haven’t had x-rays in two years and
should get a “full set” every 5-7 years.
I say “yes” thinking that it would be faster to take a couple of x-rays
than to try to explain that I’ve never had teeth problems and don’t think it is
necessary. Usually they just take a
couple of shots in the room…not this time.
She has me walk to a back room, and there is this little woman waiting
for me. Apparently they were going to do
18 different x-rays…18?!?! Do I even
have that many teeth?? I try to get out
of it, but she’s all, “I can get the doctor to talk it over with you”…but I realize
that that will just take more time, and I will end up being conned into the
x-rays anyway. (I’ve noticed that since
the economy is down and doctors are seeing fewer patients, they are insisting
that the patients that do show up go through unnecessary tests.) I sit through the 18 freaking x-rays where
they attempt to put film the size of a road sign in your mouth…”open
wider!”…”relax your cheek!”…how about you make film that fits inside a human’s
mouth and not something that has the surface area of Texas?? Near the end she is all…”only a few more
left”…”I hope you’re not mad at me”…”I hope we can still be friends”…all in
this cutsie little voice. Let’s get this
straight lady…you nor the gum Nazi are my friends. (I’m currently working on inventing a way to
publically “de-friend” people who you don’t even know…not even on Facebook.)
As soon as the x-rays were done and I got the approval from
the dentist, I got the hell out of there.
Luckily the receptionist was looking for a file and didn’t see me leave,
so I wasn’t coerced into scheduling another appointment in 6 months. I’ll have to screen my phone calls for the
next two weeks (so if you are calling me from a VA area code, make sure to
leave a message…because I won’t be picking up any 703 numbers until this thing
blows over).
So I drive home with my bleeding, sore mouth and a pissed
off attitude (definitely to 11). My nose
has been running lately because VA in April is like walking through a sand
storm of pollen. I don’t even have
official allergies, and it even gets to me.
People with real allergies turn into red, scratchy, snot
buckets…Virginia is for Lovers—just not during seasonal allergies! So I grab the neti pot to flush out some of
the nasty. The first side goes
smoothly…then I go for the other side. I
don’t know if a chunk of the neti pot salt didn’t dissolve or if there was a
chunk of old salt in there already or if God just really hated my facial region
that day, but a chunk of salt went through the neti pot, into my sinuses,
swirled around a bit, then out the nose, burning all of the way and dripping
nasty salt snot onto the back of my tongue…O. M. G.!!! The inside of my face was ON FIRE!!!! After the crying on the bathroom floor was
mostly over (I may or may not be writing this from the bathroom floor), I was
able to clean out my sinuses with fresh water.
Let’s just say I will never use the neti pot salt again…it is evil…almost
as bad as the gum and x-ray Nazis at the dentist.
Boston Terriers are a special breed…by special I mean
crazy. We have two: Penny Lane and
Guinness Stout. You can read their
personal bios here.
They are a very determined breed that can sometimes be too smart for
their own good.
A couple weeks ago I was sitting at the computer applying
for jobsworking on my paper dinking around on the internets. Penny had lost her brand new ball that Al’s
mom gave her in her crate. She likes to
take her favorite toys with her when she sleeps so her little brother can’t get
them…she’s a whore like that. Penny
decided that she needed that toy NOW and couldn’t get it out. So she’s digging and generally acting like a
bigger moron than usual while Guinness is giving me this look like, “I think
she’s officially lost it.” I continue on
with my imperative quest to find the biggest waste of time on the internet…results
so far are impressive. (I mean how many
times can one really watch Lady Gaga on YouTube? The answer…waaaay more than originally thought.) After a few minutes, Penny has stopped
digging. I turn around to see the sheet
from her crate all of the way across the living room. Here is the scene…
A – The infamous crate that stole her toy. It will get dirty looks for at least a week.
B – The sheet that is usually (like unless it is being
washed) inside of the crate.
C – The new favorite toy in question. It is the best…almost as good as steak and peanut
butter.
D – Pillow from the sofa.
I’m not really sure how or why this was moved from the couch…but I’m
sure it gave Penny a dirty look, so she put it in its place.
E – Penny’s ass…she knew she was in trouble, so she was
hoping that by not being near the sheet, that I would blame it on Guinness.
F – Guinness, “Ummm…Penny went insane, and now I want to
take the toy…but you look pissed.”
Here’s another picture showing the layout and Penny’s shame…
So in conclusion…don’t be the sheet that stands between a
Boston Terrier and her new toy…because you.will.get.owned.
I saw a great t-shirt while running a race that said, “I run
so I can eat.” It is nice to be able to
have that extra slice of pizza because I ran 10 miles that day, but I
frequently grab more than just one extra slice.
It is a vicious cycle…I increase my weekly running miles to burn a few
more calories, the next thing I know I am ravaged with hunger. When I trained for the Marine Corps Marathon
last year, I thought to myself, “just think of the weight I will lose!” I looked ahead in the training schedule, and
saw the 40+ mile weeks, “that’s over 4,000 calories for one week…I’ll be super
skinny by the end of training!!” Boy was
I wrong. With every week of increased
mileage, I got hungrier and hungrier and hungrier. Remember the book The Very Hungry Caterpillar?
Yup, this was me last summer/early fall…
I was usually hungriest in the mornings the day after a
run. I would usually have two
breakfasts…sometimes three. One of my
favorite breakfasts was breakfast potatoes with two strips of bacon crumbled on
top…BACON!!! So needless to say I didn’t
lose any weight. I was actually really
lucky that I didn’t gain. A lot of people
gain weight during the last two months of training for a marathon. The body thinks that you are burning way more
calories than you actually are and starts sending hunger messages
all.of.the.time. The extra eating
combined with muscle gain translates to upping the number on the scale…my
thighs are MUCH larger than they were a year ago. Luckily after the marathon was over, and I
decreased my weekly mileage, the hunger went away. I haven’t had a potato/bacon breakfast since.
Well, now I am gearing up for training this summer. As I’ve added miles and speed, I’ve noticed
those nasty hungries that I used to get.
Here are some tips for eating before, during, or after a run.
1)I usually run after work, so I’ve eaten plenty
by this time to fuel my run, but I run in the mornings on the weekends. I try to wake up at least an hour before my
run. The first thing I do is eat so that
I have time to digest (nothing like throwing up your breakfast on your run to
really scare the neighbors). A mix of
carbs and protein that won’t upset your stomach is best. Usually two pieces of toast and either a
banana or yogurt works well for me. A
high protein cereal works well too. Make
sure to drink a tall glass of water to rehydrate after sleeping and to help
digest the breakfast.
2)If I run more than 7 miles, I fuel while I
run. My favorite tasting fuel is Sports
Beans, but my favorite fuel for eating speed and staying down ability are the
Clif Shot Bloks. They dissolve
faster. Always alternate drinking water
with each bite of food. Sometimes I stop
running and walk while I fuel…other times I keep going…depends on how I feel.
3)Sports drinks can also be used to fuel while
running. They don’t have as many
calories but have good amounts of potassium and sodium. The first time I tried drinking a sport drink
while running I barfed it all back up…here’s a tip: don’t try to eat or drink
while running up a steep hill. On long
runs, I fill one of my four 10 oz bottles on my belt with a sports drink. Normally I am very picky about what flavor I
have (as I am with everything), but when I am running, it all tastes
AMAZING! I’ve found that everything
tastes sweeter while running…and stuff that usually tastes sweet tastes too
sweet. I’ve had better luck with fuels
and drinks that are sourer tasting and less sweet tasting.
4)After running a long run, you need to fuel
within the hour…otherwise the hungries will attack with a greater force. One of my favorites is a peanut butter and
honey sandwich with a banana. In general
bananas are the perfect pre/post running food…hence why they are given out
after most races. If I drive to the
trail to run a long run, I pack a sandwich, bottle of water, and a bottle of
sports drink in the car for after the run.
Sometimes I am nauseous after a run of more than 15 miles, but that
usually goes away after 20 minutes and then I can chow down.
I’ve received my fair share of strange looks from people (more than usual)
while running and eating…though this is usually when I am running through the
city and not on the trail…the trail people know my kind of crazy…
