How to Have a Good Weekend

Excuse the bed sheet that is half hanging off the couch. As you can see, Seamus claims the couch most days/afternoons/nights and changing the sheet out each week is the best way we've found to keep the cushions clean and somewhat fresh. It's more a functional solution than a chic fix. Also, this is how I feel by Friday. TGIF, y'all! Also, also: longest caption ever.

"To ensure good health: eat lightly, breathe deeply, live moderately, cultivate cheerfulness, and maintain an interest in life."
-William Londen

I came across the above quote via Tiny Buddha, which is where I find all my favorite quotes. I like this one in particular because it sums up my life philosophy perfectly. This weekend, I plan to hit on all of the above suggestions:

Eat lightly: Saturday afternoon our CSA is hosting a potluck for all members. I am planning to bring my soon-to-be-famous carrot cake, mostly so I can finally post the recipe & photos here!

Breathe deeply: I'm looking forward to Saturday morning yoga and a Sunday evening donation class (open to anyone!). I'm also planning to run a 5K tomorrow, even though the race starts at 2pm. I'm guessing a PR is not in my future.

Live moderately: Being broke kind of forces one to live moderately, but that's fine with me. I like being frugal and thrifty and taking advantage of the free fun and good friends that I can find right here at home. As much as I like to travel, I'm happy that we're not going out of town this weekend - I have missed the simple pleasures of Nacogdoches.

Cultivate cheerfulness: Yes, please. I'm almost always in a good mood and I usually have something to look forward to, even if the present moment is less than ideal (coughworkcough). Because it's nearly quitting time on a Friday, being cheerful is extra easy.

Maintain an interest in life: This weekend, things already catching my interest are: a coffee date with friends, a kite festival at the airport, finishing a short story I plan to enter in a contest, working on the yoga newsletter for May, and finishing The Invisible Bridge, my current read which I can't put down. I am interested in life, mine and yours, and I plan to write and read and be interested in life until the day I die. I hope that you will do the same.

Happy Friday! Happy weekend! See y'all Monday! 

A Nice Surprise in a Pick Up Truck

photo source

To the Dude in His Pick Up Truck that Yelled at Me This Morning:

It was 7:00am. I had just sprinted to the end of a five mile run and was walking the quarter of a mile to my apartment. Your horn - two beep beeps, short and quick - sounded friendly and so, instead of giving you what I give the majority of men who honk and then leer at me simply because I have a vagina and the audacity to be in plain view (that is, the finger) I turned my head and glanced towards your truck, thinking you were, perhaps, a friend.

You were not a friend, and you shouted something at me. At first I was confused because I am not used to hearing that sort of thing. Usually, men in cars yell at me to suck them, scream something about my ass, or simply let out a long hoot, much like a hyena or some other uncivilized animal. So you can understand my confusion when instead you yelled, "How far?"

"Five miles," I yelled back. I help up my left hand with all my fingers - not just the middle one! - splayed out in case you couldn't hear me. You heard. You gave me a thumbs up and a smile, nodded your head vigorously, and then sped off down the highway. And I walked home, grinning the whole way.

So thank you, Dude in His Pick Up Truck that Yelled at Me This Morning. Thanks for being different and kind and for celebrating a stranger's small, early morning accomplishment on the side of the highway at 7:00am. I hope you're having a great day.

Sincerely,
Chrissy

Spinning Towards New Goals

I am a fickle cyclist. I love long bike rides in theory - the wind in my hair (or over my helmet), the country side slipping by as I cover miles of East Texas, the feeling of my legs pumping and my heart rate rising, the smell of the earth and the sun and my sweat.

But I also hate cycling. The big pick up trucks that nearly run me off the highway. The gravel covered shoulders that I'm forced to ride on. The 100 degree heat and unbearable humidity that cloaks East Texas six months out of every year. The fact that cycling is the hardest thing to fit into my schedule, made more difficult by a 40 hour work week, unpredictable weather patterns and limited daylight. Enter: spin class.

source.

Back when I was training for the century ride that never was, I went to spin class at the college rec center once or twice a week. It was a great way to squeeze in ride after work (the only time I sweat more in 60 minutes is during Bikram yoga) and being in charge of my own resistance let me push myself without fear of falling behind a pack of more experienced cyclists (a common occurrence on group rides. I am a slow cyclist).

And then I burnt out, decided not to do the century and broke up with my bike for about ten months. I got a scooter and rode that to work instead. Marathon training kicked into high gear and turned to yoga for cross training and relief. Those hours I spent on the back of a bike each weekend faded to a slightly chafed memory.

Over the last few weeks, my bike and I have rekindled our romance. I've been on a few rides with the local bike shop but it's depressing - in my off time, I've lost so much strength and stamina. So last night, I found myself back at the spin class that kicked my ass last summer, ready to pedal my little heart out. And pedal I did! It ended up being a great workout - my heart rate was through the roof and by the end of class, a puddle of sweat had literally pooled beneath my bike. Which is awesome, except for the fact that the other women in the class - all of them young college students - barely broke a sweat. Either I was pushing it way harder than they were, or my age is finally catching up to me.

My fitness plan right now involves running three times a week, yoga three times a week, strength training two times a week and spin class once a week. Once I get stronger, I'll probably suck it up and start riding the roads again - I'll play that by ear. This might seem like a lot of exercise, but it's not (for me, anyway), especially since I'm running shorter distances right now and strength training is mostly an excuse to go to the rec center during my lunch break and gossip with my friend Sonnie. I have two races coming up (a 5K and a five mile race) and then it will be summer in East Texas and my main goal for those hot, humid months is to stay active without melting or collapsing from heat stroke. I also want to strength train consistently so that I will be stronger (and thus faster!) when my next season of marathon training begins. I haven't picked out a 2012 marathon yet so I don't know when that will be. What I do know is that I plan to be ready!

And that concludes your latest tour of my training and fitness goals. In a nutshell: stay active, get stronger, be consistent and have fun. Sounds like an excellent summer to me!

Canoe Camping, Take Two

The Neches River.

This past weekend, we went on our second canoe camping trip along the Neches River. (The first trip was back in October, before it got too cold to camp.) We spent two beautiful (though very hot - it was in the 90's and humid!) days paddling down the peaceful river and camping on the sandy banks. Let's enjoy some photos as I re-acclimate to Life At a Desk, shall we?

Loaded up and ready to roll!

We left late on Friday afternoon, after borrowing a canoe from a friend and loading up the car with our backpacks, our cooler of beer (very important) and lots of snacks. The dogs were spending the night at Amy and David's, because they are not trained to sit in a canoe for ten hours without tipping it over or being scared and miserable. Nathan has grand plans to teach them the art of canoeing; I have my doubts that he will be successful. At any rate, we had to squeeze them into the car so we could drop them off on our way out of town.

Happy dogs.

Despite ending up in Amy's backyard (also known as Dog Paradise) they were very excited about the car ride and life in general. This is why I love dogs.

After the dogs were secure, we met up with our friends J and L and began the drive to the section of the river where we would put in our canoes and begin our adventure. We had chosen an 11 mile stretch of the river and planned to drop one car off at the take-out point, leaving the other at the put-in. Little did we know our adventure would start early - specifically, while coming to a stop on the highway. A huge gust of wind blew past us just as we reached an underpass and it was so strong it yanked the canoe off our car, ripping the roof rack along with it and flipping it on to our hood and then the road. No one was hurt and the canoe was (mostly) okay. Some cosmetic damage but it could have been much worse - for us, for the canoe, and for our fellow travelers. I gasped so loudly when it happened that Nathan said I sucked all the air out of the car. What can I say - I'm not a fan of surprises!

A reenactment. We were too busy getting the canoe out of the road to take a real photo.

Luckily, the rest of our trip was uneventful. We put our canoes in the water at around 4pm on Friday afternoon and paddled about two miles down the river before camping for the night on a river bank. The river looks brown in many of these photos and that's because it is - the water runs muddy and is full of animals, fallen trees and strange little house boats that are used for cleaning fish (that, or meth - we couldn't be sure). The Neches River is one of the few truly wild rivers in America - during our two days we didn't see another human, house or boat, but we saw plenty of fish, birds, turtles, snakes and nutria.

That wide brimmed hat - only $9.99 at Tractor Supply! - saved my life. As you may have noticed, I am a pale, pale woman who can acquire a sunburn in less than 15 minutes. Between that hat and regular applications of sunblock, I managed to stay just as pale as when we started. Success!

You don't even want to know how many Modelos I drank, or what time of the day we started cracking them open. I don't care if Modelo is the Bud Light of Mexico - on the river, in the sun, it was the perfect canoeing companion.

We say three of these makeshift house boats along the river, all of them nearly identical. They were floating on empty oil barrels that had been lashed together. We thought about checking them out up close, but decided to stay in our canoes and snap photos instead. It seemed the safer choice.

Saturday afternoon we had lunch on the riverbank and then took an epic two hour nap while the sun was highest in the sky. Then it was back in the canoes for more paddling and more lifting our boat over fallen trees. We're experiencing a nasty drought in East Texas so the water was lower than usual and we were in and our of our canoes a lot, ducking under trees whenever we could.

We decided to let our friends go first. ;)

And that concludes your latest tour of the Neches River! Thanks for coming and I hope you enjoyed this glimpse of the some of the wild wonders of East Texas.

A Last Look at Houston

I'm back from my conference and home from Houston, just in time for my university's furlough days. Yes, we're furloughed - that's the consequence of working for a state instutition during a budget crisis. Our furloughs are actually not that bad - we're simply forced to use vacation time on designated days, two of which are today and tomorrow. So I get a four day weekend, which is nice, but my vacation time is now non-existent, which makes planning my own getaways tricky. Considering how much worse it could be, I shall consider myself lucky and enjoy my long weekend.

But before I do that, here is one final Houston post featuring mostly delicious vegan food. I hope you're not bored of my foodie photos yet, because I don't plan to stop documenting my memorable meals. And Houston is full of good food!

This is a Catholic church that was across the street from our hotel. Every day starting at 11:00, a local restaurant called Treebeards serves lunch cafeteria style in the church's hall. It's quirky and different and most of all OHMYGODDELICIOUS. The food is southern and Cajun style with a kick, and we ended up eating lunch here two days in a row - way better than the congealed pizza and cheesy pasta that was being offered at the conference. 

 

 

Both days I feasted on the vegetarian red beans and rice, with a side of broccoli and carrots. Amazing. Let's just say it's a good thing I had my own hotel room. ;) 

I know I spent a lot of time on Twitter complaining about how boring the conference was, but I have to admit that I learned a lot. I'm new to the grant world and this was my first opportunity to get some professional development. There's a lot of important information when it comes to grants and even if the presenters were not, perhaps, the liveliest bunch, they did know their stuff. Part of my boredom came from the fact that I don't see myself working on the administrative side of grants as a long term career. That doesn't mean, however, that I shouldn't try to be the best employee I can while I'm in this field. So I came, I learned, I networked. I feel smarter about my job than I did before I went to the conference, so I would say it was a success. Also: Houston's food is always worth it.

Another fine place we checked out was Tinto's, a Spanish tapas bar. I had too much wine and dined on lots of little bits of fine-tasting items, including hummus, olives, and roasted red peppers draped in herbs and oils.  So good.

I was also lucky enough to have a few drinks with Vicki and Jeromy at Anvil, a devastatingly cool bar near their apartment. So cool, in fact, that my drink arrives ON FIRE.  I didn't get any photos because it was dark and I was tipsy, but it was a lot of fun. Vicki and Jeromy always are!

Our conference ended on Wednesday so we made sure to have lunch at Niko Niko's on our way out of town. They know how to do falafel right. I also went to Luke's Locker, a running store where I like to buy my kicks in person. Unfortunately, the shoes I wanted (Kinvaras!) are about to release their new version and they were out of stock until May. Too bad, because my I really need to replace my running shoes. I guess I can wait another three weeks. I guess.

And now I am off to be Productive and Responsible - we're going canoeing this weekend and I have a long list of things I want to get done before leave. Until next time!

Review: Poser: My Life in Twenty-Three Yoga Poses

Earlier this week, I sent Cailtin at Healthy Tipping Point a one paragraph review of this book for her "7 Inspiring Fitness Non-Fiction Books" post. This is my longer, more personal review.

In Poser, Clare Dederer tells the story of her life with her yoga practice as a frame. Each chapter is named for a yoga pose, and by explaining that pose - the mechanics of the movements, the challenges she faces while trying to master each pose, the history of yoga itself - she adds a new layer of depth and understanding to her own experiences.

At first glance, you might thing such a device would become tiresome after four of five chapters, never mind twenty-three, but you'd be wrong. This book works. The concept works. It helps that Clare is funny and self-deprecating, and reminded me so much of myself and the people I know. She is an educated and self-aware writer living in Seattle, whose parents' strange marriage and separation still affects her ideas about family and children, even as she starts and has her own. The theme of this book is perfection - Clare seems convinced that if she can just do everything right enough, good enough, then she'll never have to worry about her family falling apart again. Of course, that's a silly idea, and of course I have been guilty of the exact same thing. Knowing the futility of something doesn't mean you don't try to do it anyway. 

While we get a lot about Clare's family history and details about her life as she moves through it, her yoga practice is just as central to the book's plot. We see Clare's attitude towards yoga change and evolve over the years. While she originally begins practicing yoga as a way to heal her aching back, she soon finds that she is competitive about yoga - she wants to do all the poses perfectly, all the time. She is more focused on the physical expression of yoga than the mental, emotional or spiritual aspects. 

This was my yoga MO: sheer determination. I would do it. No matter what. I was willing to make a supreme effort. Not all poses lent themselves to effort, but the standing poses did. Somehow I couldn't see the irony of grinding my way toward freedom... It would be a long time before I could entertain the notion that maybe my yoga would improve if I didn't try so hard, and a longer time still before I began to question why my yoga needed to improve at all.

When I read that passage, I couldn't help but laugh. I know that I'm guilty of this same drive - in class, I often look with envy at people who are stronger, more flexible, more centered than myself. Often, if I fall out of a balance pose I try and jump back into it as quickly as I can, without focusing on my breathing or taking my time. One of the things I love about yoga is that it is called a "practice." Even the gurus, people who have been doing yoga for decades, talk about their practice and what they've learned lately on the mat. Because in yoga, there is no moment when you're done, when you've mastered the art. You're always practicing, always discovering something new about yourself through the poses.

In the chapter "Vinyasa," Clare talks about her struggles with chaturanga - a moving pose where you begin in plank and then lower your body, straight and strong, to hover at the ground - kind of like the down part of a push up. Clare is convinced she cannot and will not ever master this pose.

I can't, I can't, I can't, I told myself. What happens when you tell yourself that you can't do something that you are asked to do over and over every day?... The fact was, after all those down-on-my-knees chaturangas, my triceps were actually hard. The fact was, I was strong. But it happens all the time: We make decisions about ourselves and our lives that are not based on fact.

I love that last line and again - guilty as charged. I find in yoga - and in life - that when I free myself of all expectations I'm capable of more than I ever imagined. An excellent lesson to remember.

If you like to read about yoga, writers, marriage or motherhood, then I recommend Poser. It's got a little of everything and a lot of heart, making it my favorite kind of book. Namaste, y'all!

I'm Just Here for the Food

For most of this week I am, and will continue to be, at the regional NCURA conference in Houston. That would be the National Council for University Research Administrators in Texas and Oklahoma. While this is about as thrilling as it sounds, and while most of my days until Wednesday will look like this:

 

Most of my evenings will look something like this: 

When I was a librarian I attended a lot of conferences. I traveled to Miami, Taos, El Paso, Chicago, Denver, Oaxaca, Washington DC and countless small towns throughout East Texas. I delivered PowerPoints and presented posters and attended professional development workshops, and it was a very good time. And while my new position in the grants office is better in a lot of ways, the one thing it sorely lacks is opportunities for travel. These few days in Houston are a rare treat and I am taking advantage of the fancy hotel and per diem like nobody's business!

And while I'm excited to attend my first research administration conference, it does make me nostalgic for the good ole days of library events. At librarian conferences, everyone is up to date on the latest Internet craze. I communicated with my colleagues more on Twitter than I did in person. MacBooks and iPhones jockeyed for available outlets. It was a nerd's paradise! 

Grant professionals, I have found, are another breed. Not better and not worse. Just... different. The sessions are more serious. The workshops deal with work flow and compliance rather than location based apps or The Commons. There are NO HASHTAGS. But it's okay. I'm learning things, I'm becoming better at my job, and it helps that we're staying at the Magnolia, which boasts a hotel happy hour (free drinks!) and complimentary milk and cookies before bed. 

Like I said: I am not complaining. No complaining one bit!

My New Guru

I unrolled my yoga mat so I could do some ab work before yoga class (trying to be serious about the whole strength training thing, plus a strong core = a strong back and my back has been hurting lately). I turned around for just a second to grab a free weight and that was all it took for Calvin to make himself cozy on my mat. I tried to explain to him that his alignment was a bit off for Downward Dog, but he just wagged his tail mysteriously. His eyes seemed to say, "Don't practice Downward Dog. BE Downward Dog."

Easy when you say it, Calvin.

Hope y'all are having a happy Saturday! 

Friday +/-

 A study of texture. 1,2,3.

This was one of those weeks that seems never ending. Each morning I woke up thinking we were a day ahead - that Tuesday was Wednesday and Wednesday was Thursday. It is finally Friday and I couldn't be happier.

This week, the downs were pretty low.

- I attended the funeral of my friend's father, which got me mulling over death and dying and just generally feeling sad for people I love.

- I am broke! I lent Nathan money early in the month thinking I had enough to carry me through until his second paycheck. (I get paid once a month, he gets paid twice.) I was wrong. Stupid math.

-My knee is still feeling tight after the half marathon this past Saturday so I haven't been running much this week. Even though I need to rest it so it doesn't get worse, I miss my morning runs! Lesson learned: if you plan to run a race, make sure you train properly.

Overall, though, it was a mostly stellar week.

+ I met my good friend Sonnie at the gym during our lunch breaks for a weight session. I've been meaning to make a commitment to strength training and this was the first step. My goal is to lift weights two to three times a week, to compliment my running and yoga. Weights always make me feel great; it's finding the time to fit them in that's tough. Lunch dates with good friends are a huge help.

+ We're re-watching season three of Mad Men right now, one episode a night before we go to bed. I love that show. Definitely the best series on the air right now.

+ Seamus had been having stomach problems the last few weeks - needing to go outside and eat grass in the middle of the nigh, a rumbly stomach, messy stool. We took him to the vet and basically came to the conclusion that he has food allergies. So now he's on a fancy (IE, expensive) food for sensitive stomachs. Even though it's only been about a week, I can already see a huge difference in his behavior and the way he carries himself. He just seems so relaxed and comfortable. I only wish we had taken him to the vet sooner.

+ I successfully filed me taxes this week (with moments to spare!) and was pleased to see my refund was bigger than I expected. I guess student loan interest payments are good for something.

+ Tomorrow evening, I'm headed to a conference in Houston for university grant administrators. It's my first conference for this field and I'm excited - mostly for the food and fun of Houston, but still. It should be a learning experience no matter what, and (nerd alert!) just think of all the new places I can check in on foursquare!

That about sums up my week. How was yours?

Sesame Pesto Pizza

You're probably wondering if you're in the right place, seeing as this is a recipe post and I haven't posted one since February. Fear not: this is, in fact, The New Me and I have, in fact, taken the time to cook and photograph something delicious. My very fickle cooking mojo appears to have made a comeback - let's home it sticks around for a while!

We make pizza a lot, usually with a tomato sauce and toppings piled high on our own quick and easy homemade pizza crust. No cheese, of course, and we hardly miss it. Homemade pizza is healthier, tastier and cheaper than store bought, plus it's easy to make. This week, the spring weather inspired a craving for pesto pizza and I was not one to argue.

Here's a little secret about pesto: you can use any nut you want! Traditionally it's made with pine nuts, but those can be pricey. I usually use walnuts or almonds. If I'm feeling really crazy, I go for pecans. Unfortunately, I was out of all four of those nuts when it was pesto making time, and as we all know pesto is not pesto without a nut. Thanks to some quick Googling I discovered that all was not lost. I found recipes for pestro recipes that use sesame seeds AND peanut, both of which I had in my house.

Because I was making pizza, I decided to go with the sesame seeds. (A peanut pesto seems better suited for a stir fry of some kind, perhaps with a squirt of Braggs and some cilantro. Maybe next week!) And instead of our Italian inspired pizzas (topped with yellow onion, green pepper, mushrooms and vegan crumbles) I went lighter and brighter - vegan chick'n strips, red onion, yellow pepper and asparagus. Nathan declared it my "best pizza yet." I couldn't help but agree. You'll have to decide for yourself.

Sesame Pesto
(adapted from food.com)

You will need:
1/4 cup brown sesame seed, toasted
2 cups fresh basil
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 teaspoons lemon juice 
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/3 cup olive oil

Toast the sesame seeds in a dry skillet over medium heat until lightly browned and subtley fragrant. Watch pan carefully because sesame seeds burn easily. Set aside to cool. 

Once cooled, place sesame seeds in a blender or food processor and blend until coarsely ground, about 30 seconds total.

Add the basil, garlic, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Blend mixture using the pulse button setting.

Add the olive oil and process mixture until smooth. (If you have trouble getting it smooth enough, add a little water.)

Use immediately or store in covered container in refrigerator. Use up within 1 month. Bring to room temperature before serving.

To make a pizza, simply top your homemade crust with pesto and whatever ingredients your heart desires: bake in the oven for 25 minutes and enjoy! 

Weekly Writing Goals

Yesterday morning I attended the funeral of a dear friend's father. It was a beautiful service and the perfect way to honor a wonderful father and husband. While I didn't know him very well, I could tell from the stories his family shared, the number of people in the church and the nearly equal amounts of laughter and tears in the pews that he had touched many lives throughout his time here. It was a beautiful thing to see and for the rest of the day, I found myself thinking about the legacies we leave behind and how we are remembered.

I don't plan to have children and often I'm filled with a sense of urgency - I need to do something Big and Amazing right now, I need to write a book that will change the world, I need to make my mark and love as many people as I can, so that when I'm gone there's something there - some element of myself - that lives on. Some story that will be told and re-told, even when I fall silent.

I love to tell stories and I'm afraid of death. If that doesn't make Writer my ideal path in life, I don't know what does. Which is the main reason I'm making these weekly goals (now to be posted on Wednesdays rather than Mondays): to keep me focused and productive, that I might live a life of hard work and proud moments.

Last week's goals left me only half-proud. Here's the recap:

• Finishing reading and review Poser. Finished reading; have yet to review.
• Finish (finally) first draft of East Texas Gothic piece. I finished the first draft last night and it is terrible. Total trash. However, once I saw the end I realized all the work I need to do on the beginning. Again, the miracle of revision!
  
• Write one flash fiction piece. Not even close. It was a nice goal, though. 

As for the coming week:

• Write five flash fiction pieces, each 1000 words or less. That's right. We're shaking it up a bit. I like writing flash - it's easier to get published (especially online) and it keeps my imagination on it's toes. Plus I am a minimalist when it comes to my prose and the challenge of telling a complete story in as few words as possible is one of my favorites. And finally, I've been spending the last few weeks focusing on one or two pieces - writing five shorter things in one week will be a nice change of pace. At least that's what I'm telling myself.

What are your goals for the week? If you blogged them, link 'em up and let's be each other's cheering section!

New Season, New CSA

Farm life.

Long time readers will recall the local CSA farm we joined nearly three years ago. (Don't know what a CSA farm is or why they're an excellent idea? The previous link will explain everything!) We were members of this CSA for about two years, at which time we quit for a variety of reasons. We loved the idea of the CSA and the philosophy behind it - we just didn't feel that particular one was a good fit. While I still made an effort to shop at the farmer's market every Saturday, I missed the convenience and adventure of picking up a basket of in-season goodies and figuring out what to do with them. When I shop from individual vendors I tend to stick to things like onions, potatoes, squash, peppers - items that are delicious yet familiar. When I am a member of the CSA, I'm up to my ears in things like beets, chard, radishes, and Jerusalem artichokes. You see, I want to have a more adventurous palate. It's just easier when someone chooses my produce for me.

Lucky for me and my palate, another local CSA came on to the scene last year and this season we became official members. We've received two baskets so far and volunteered at the farm once (you get a discount for volunteering, and I love discounts). I know it's only been two weeks, but so far I love this farm and the people who run it.

Hello, CSA farm!

Elka, a one year old German Shepard that naps in the raised beds. I wanted to steal her.

Appleby Community Farm is only about a five minute drive from our house and we pick up our basket there each Friday afternoon. I like seeing the farm every week - it makes me feel close to my food, plus the gardens are so beautiful and lush. Right now there are about 50 members, and our shares are grown on about four acres of land. That didn't seem like enough farm to me, but it seems to work. Because it's early in the season our baskets have been mostly greens so far, but that's fine with me. I'm actually one of those annoying vegetarians that LOVES salad, so I've been making all kinds of green concoctions with anything I can find in my crisper. Delicious!

Getting my greens is easy with the CSA.

On Sunday night, Nathan and I headed to the farm to put in a few hours of volunteer time. I planted a full bed of Red Rain, an Asian green, and lettuce. Then Farmer Cindy and I weeded the carrot beds until it got too dark to tell what was a weed and what was a carrot. We brought a few beers with us and it was a wonderful and fulfilling way to spend an evening. Which is great because Nathan's life plan involves buying land, becoming excellent farmers and then starting up our own CSA. Obviously this is many years down the road, but it's a nice dream and one of which I fully approve. I love food, I love being outdoors and I love being a force of good in any way I can. A small business that puts fresh, local, organic food on the table of my community fulfills all those loves and is definitely a goal worth working towards.

I will eat you later.

Grow, little green, grow!

Race Report: Davy Crockett Bear Chase Half Marathon

Photo credit: fiftystatesmarathon

On Saturday, I completed my fourth half marathon - the Davy Crockett Bear Chase in Groveton, Texas. This was my second year in a row running the race, and my second time running with my dear friend and amazing yoga instructor, Amy. Last year, this race was Amy's first half and my PR. It was chilly at the start and we had trained diligently for two months. I finished in 1:58:21. This year, our training had been less than stellar - as I've mentioned before, Nathan and I were out of town a lot and I ended up missing most of my long runs. Consequently our longest run was ten miles, the weekend before the race. And the temperatures at the start this time around were the opposite of last year's shiver-fest - nearly 70 degrees at the 7:00am start time and fairly humid. I knew a PR wasn't in the cards, but I was still determined to run a respectable race and - most important - have a great time with Amy.

The night before the race was the bi-monthly literary reading Amy and I host at the yoga studio - probably not the wisest scheduling decision. Luckily, the reading was a success and we managed to clean up pretty quickly. I was home and in bed by 10am but that didn't mean I was asleep. Oh, no it did not. I don't know if it was nerves about the race in the morning or energy from the reading or Seamus, who had yet another stomach ache and kept me up with his whining and need to go outside. Basically I got about three hours of sleep, total. Not quite ideal when I had to be up at 4:45, drive an hour and then run 13.1 miles bright and early!

But that's exactly what I did. Dragged myself out of bed. Had a whole wheat and flax English muffin with peanut butter and poured a cup of coffee into my travel mug. Picked Amy up and drove to Groveton. Got our race packets, took a quick pre-race photo, said hello to some friends from the local running group (Go, LAPS!) and before I knew it the race had started!

Amy and I, ready to run! (Kind of.)

Despite the fact that everyone was anticipating hot and humid temperatures, the weather was actually pretty mild for the first hour of the race. There was some decent cloud cover and the pine trees were tall enough that when the sun did break through, I was able to stay mostly in the shade. The course was the same as last year, which I appreciated - out and back, with the first 1.5 miles on loose dirt and gravel, about five miles on the road, and then another 1.5 miles into the Davy Crockett National Forest on a sandy trail. Turn around and do the exact same thing again, in reverse, until you reach the finish line. While the course is pretty flat the changes in terrain were tricky. Tricky, but fun!

Going into this race I knew I was under-trained and the weather would be an issue, so my goal was to finish in under 2:10. For the first half of the race, Amy and I kept a pretty speedy pace and I thought for a while that I might PR after all. We stuck together for the first 8 miles of the race and had a great time talking about toenails, yoga, the scenery and anything else that popped into our heads and distracted us from the task at hand. When we reached the turn around point, the sand slowed us down slightly and I remembered that last year, this was the point where I had to take a walking break and Amy pulled ahead. Not this year! Just as I began to lose some speed, a woman started talking to us - she was a Marathon Maniac from Indiana and our chatter about different race experiences had me running an 8 minute mile until we were back on the road. Amazing what a good conversation can do!

A mile or two after that, Amy started to pull ahead. We had agreed to run the first half together and then each finish our own races - when you're running a race with someone, it's important to discuss this kind of thing beforehand so no one feels hurt or abandoned! I alternated water and Gatorade at all the aid stations, dumped quite a bit of water on my head, and had one gel at the halfway point. Even though I was now running around a 9:30 minute mile, I still felt strong and capable.

At about the 11 mile mark, my left knee started to hurt - not super painful, but a strange tightness that wouldn't quit. I walked a few steps and stopped to stretch it, but the nagging pain wouldn't go away. This meant that instead of picking it up and finishing with an impressive-ish sprint, I just sort of jogged towards the finish line, watching the tenths of a the last mile tick away on my Garmin. When I finally crossed the finish line, I was excited to see my time - 2 hours, 5 minutes and 25 seconds! While I didn't PR, I killed my goal for this particular race. Exciting!

A new medal to add to my collection!

After the race, we walked around, ate peanuts and Sunchips, drank water and posed for some yoga studio photos with our friends Chip and Stephanie. As for my knee, it was stiff and achy for the rest of the day but by Sunday I appeared to be recovered. I don't plan to run until the middle of this week at the earliest, just to be on the safe side. But so far, so good!

Namaste, y'all!

Overall, I had a great time at the Davy Crockett Bear Chase. This race is one of my favorite events, and I loved sharing a race experience with Amy (who finished in 1:53. Girl is fast!). Until next time, Groveton!