Two Weekends in Iowa

Right now, I am smack dab in the middle of two back-to-back weekend trips to Iowa. Last Friday, Aaron and I drove about 7 and a half hours to Waukon, which is in the Northeast corner of the state, so that I could be in one of my very best friend's wedding. Lacey (pictured, along with her new husband and me, playing the air fiddle to "The Devil Went Down to Georgia") was my roommate when I lived in Hastings a few years ago. We had some crazy times together and stood by each other during some rough spots. Even though we don't get to see each other very often anymore, she is still one of the best friends I've ever had. I wish her happiness in her new life with Matt.

Alamakee County, Iowa is a beautiful place - especially, I suspect, in the fall. We drove over hills and through valleys covered with trees of all colors. We went through cute little towns and over winding rivers. The park, where the wedding party took pictures on Saturday, was beautiful, too, except for the fact that we were in strapless dresses in 35 degree weather. Brrrr!!! Not to worry, though, I'm sure the photographer can photoshop the blue lips! After a whirlwind Saturday, full of hair appointments, pictures, wedding, reception, pie, and dancing, we headed back to the great state of Nebraska.

And ... I woke up Monday morning with the flu, which still hasn't gone away, and which I'm still trying to convince myself isn't the H1N1 (I'm almost positive it's NOT). This is very inconvenient because it puts a bit of a damper on the upcoming Iowa weekend... I have plans to run the Des Moines 1/2 Marathon on Sunday. I've been taking good care of myself, I think, with lots of rest (I stayed home all day Monday and since then have been leaving the house only to go to class, then come straight home again), lots of fluids, soup, etc. The thing I'm unsure about is what to eat... I sent a blog post from the No Meat Athlete (a marathon runner who just qualified for Boston) to all of my Des Moines-running Peeps, which said that you're supposed to eat a little less fat and a few more healthy carbs the whole week before the race. I have been eating less fat, I think, but doubt I've been eating more carbs, or food in general, than I normally do. If this were a normal week before a 1/2, I would probably up my calorie intake by about 200 per day, just to be sure I'm fueling well for the race. But this week, all I'm doing is laying around, so I haven't been increasing my intake any. I wonder if this is a big deal??? (Probably not.)

So, the Peeps caravan (plus Aaron, who is an honorary Peep) will be leaving for Des Moines on Saturday morning, checking into the hotel, picking up our race numbers and packets, probably walking around the pre-race expo for a while, then having a nice pasta dinner and getting to bed early. And Sunday morning is the race. My #1 goal is to start and finish the race. Second to that, I'd like to beat my previous 1/2 Marathon time. Anything beyond that, and I'll be ECSTATIC!!! : ) My #1 job between now and then??? GET HEALTHY! (Oh, and do a little homework, too.)

Good luck to all Des Moines runners, and to all of my Peeps doing the Governor's Run in Lincoln this weekend!

Oh, and expect a post-race recap next week -- hopefully with pictures!

Choices

My high school chemistry teacher, Mr. Crippen, used to tell me, "Life is about choices, Starkweather." Since he was one of my favorite teachers in high school (second only to Mr. Dougherty, the greatest geometry teacher of all time), I tended to listen to what he had to say. As you know, I've been feeling a little overcommitted lately and have been looking for ways to deal with the stress of it all. When I read this blog post on "The Healthy Tipping Point" I had an epiphany: Life IS about choices!!! (Mr. Crippen was right!)

We make hundreds of choices every day. Coffee or tea? TV or homework? Sleep or exercise? Left or right? Some choices are small and seemingly insignificant, while others can truly effect how we feel, how we chose to see the world, how successful we are. One thing that can have an enormous impact all by itself is recognizing that we have a choice. Our attitude is a choice, our effort is a choice, the way we treat others is a choice...

I have been making a conscious effort lately to recognize my own choices. I remind myself (sometimes more than once a day) that I CHOOSE to be as busy as I am this semester. I don't HAVE to put in fellowship applications, retake the GRE or apply to PhD programs, and I don't HAVE to get A's in all of my classes. I choose to do these things because I know that they will help me eventually to have a career that I am passionate about and lead the kind of life that I want. Sometimes I make choices that I'm not very proud of: I get frustrated easily with myself and sometimes with those around me, I can be inconsiderate, more often than not I chose to eat dessert without stopping to think about whether I really want it or not, I slept in on Tuesday morning instead of going to yoga (and have been trying to rationalize that away for the last three days). HOWEVER, just recently, I made a choice that I was very proud of. I had a school semi-obligation (something I should do, but not totally necessary) that I had been wishing I could get out of for days. Then it hit me -- I don't HAVE to do this, I'm CHOOSING to do it. And so I chose NOT to do it. : ) Instead, I went on a nice, long, relaxing, fun, and much needed dinner date with Aaron. It was one of the best nights I've had in quite some time, and not for one second have I regretted that choice.

It is an incredibly liberating and, I might even say, peaceful feeling to wake up every morning, knowing that you have a choice. I hope that I remember that more mornings than I forget it...

Have you made a choice lately that you're particularly proud of???

Have a lovely day!

Recovery

I've been trying to make a habit out of writing to you all every Thursday morning after I get home from yoga. Today didn't quite work out that way...

I don't have anything particularly interesting to talk about today, so I'm going to tell you about my run last night and a couple of my goals for today. Yesterday afternoon, after a full day of STATISTICS!, I met Beth and Lana for some speedwork -- 8 miles of speedwork to be exact. The total distance of the run was 8 miles with 4 1-mile repeats (which means that after you warm up for a mile or so, you run 1 mile at a faster pace than you normally do, recover for a half mile, then repeat a certain number of times). The first half was HARD because our first two repeats were into the wind, which was blowing 25-30 mph. The second half was significantly easier, until we got to mile 7 - our last fast mile. Our "fast mile" goal was 9 minutes 45 seconds (which seems like a nice, leisurely pace to many, but not necessarily to me). We did fast mile 1 in 9:20, fast miles 2 and 3 around 9:50 and ... wait for it ... fast mile 4 (mile 7) in 8:58!!! No wonder my legs and lungs were burning and I wanted to walk, crawl or die! Anyway, we finished with a cool down mile, some walking and stretching. I felt VERY SICK after this run (anyone have any ideas on this one?) and wasn't able to eat or drink much of anything until around 10:00 last night when I had some Stacey's Pita Chips. Then, still needing to ice my knees, I stayed up to watch an episode of Seinfeld (the one where Jerry and Elaine go to Florida and Elaine has to take painkillers for her back...) and didn't get to sleep until about 11:45.

This was all fine and well until I woke up at 5:15 this morning to make it to 5:45 HOT yoga. HOT yoga is not easy when you ran 8 miles the night before and haven't had much to drink since then. I made it through class, but let's just say the "balancing" (I use that term VERY loosely for today!) poses were an extra special challenge, involving a fair amount of dizziness! haha I got home with EVERY intention of eating everything in sight, stood in the kitchen for about 10 minutes trying to decide what sounded good, but couldn't think of a thing. So, instead, I showered and laid down on my bed and promptly fell right to sleep. Two hours later I woke up hungrier and thirstier than I have been in quite some time!

I have heard that after a long or hard run it is important to do 2 things: sleep and eat. Ha and ha. Very bad job at BOTH! : ) So! Today's #1 goal: EAT!!! I've got a 10 mile run on Saturday morning, which is my last long run before the Des Moines 1/2 Marathon on October 18th (with my Peeps) and I think it's important to be properly fueled for that run. I'm going to up my calorie intake a little today and tomorrow (with mostly healthy foods) and see how I feel at the end of 10 on Saturday morning.

Today's other goal: Do my stinkin' reaction paper (the one that's always due on Saturday mornings at 10:00!) so that I have tomorrow to run errands, clean, and have lunch with a friend. I guess I'd better get going on this one...

**Today's intention: GRATITUDE (I needed to remind myself every few minutes how grateful I was to be in class this morning! haha)

QUESTION: On last night's run, we talked about our favorite places to travel and some trips we've got planned (either in the near or distant future). WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE PLACE TO TRAVEL? WHERE IS ONE PLACE YOU HAVE BEEN THAT YOU WOULD GO BACK TO OVER AND OVER IF YOU COULD??? (Mine is Maine.)

Discombobulation

I've been mentioning the s-word a lot lately (STRESS), and figured that I should at least mention why I'm stressed... I have a lot going on with school this semester. Here's a list of everything that needs to be accomplished by December 18th:

(Regular class stuff -- reading, attending classes, papers, tests)

Weekly reaction papers due on SATURDAY MORNINGS (yes, that's right)

6 or so hours of Statistics homework per week (and that's JUST getting by -- 9 or 10 hours would be preferable)

AnthroGroup duties (I'm the co-president, so I help run meetings, set up speakers, etc.)

apply for 2 PhD programs (applications due the first day of finals week)

apply for 2 fellowships to help fund my PhD work (one is due October 5th, the other November 5th)

study for and retake the GRE

help high school vball team with practice once a week (and attend games when possible)

run a 1/2 marathon (October 18th)

travel to be in 2 weddings (which I'm VERY excited about, but the money and time are both hard to come up with)

travel to Philadelphia in December to attend a conference and mingle with important Anthro people (phew -- that one makes me nervous just thinking about it!)

make time for self, boyfriend, family, friends so I don't go crazy

Wow.

Now, I'm NOT complaining!!!!! I am a VERY lucky person to be doing what I want! And I LOVE doing all of these things (except 6+ hours of Stats per week), which makes it much more manageable. I'm just feeling like I have SO much on my plate, looming over my head, and right now, I'm just struggling to make it from day to day! I'm not sure how I'm going to start fitting more in as the semester goes on without letting some other things go, and I'm not sure how to decide what needs to be let go.

For now, yoga and running with friends keep me sane, coffee keeps me awake, and dinner out with a nice glass of wine and some chocolate to finish, on a night when I just didn't know how I was going to hold it together helps me relax, makes me happy, and helps me remember just how lucky I am...

Question: I couldn't come up with the "perfect" intention in yoga class this morning -- you know, the word(s) that matched exactly what I needed today. So, I went with the instructor's word instead: Joy.

If you had to come up with an intention today, what would it be?

Morning Goodness

Good morning!

I've had another post in the works now for the last couple of weeks recapping my summer and looking ahead to what's coming up this semester, but haven't found the time to finish it. This morning, I feel inspired to write to all of you about something a little different...

I've been feeling REALLY stressed out lately. Aside from finals week or the occasional major life-changing event, that's pretty unlike me, and let me just say this: I don't like it! I don't feel like myself. I don't feel like I have much to give to others, and I certainly don't feel very happy. Now, I know there are several "recommendations" for relieving stress: exercise, healthy (I would add balanced) diet, sleep, etc., etc. So, what do you do when you're already doing all of those things?!?!?! YOGA. Well, at least that's what I decided to do this morning.

My alarm went off at 5:15, and although I didn't exactly jump out of bed, I made my way around the dark house and managed to scurry into the yoga studio (Yoga Body and Balance) by 5:45 for a HOT Vinyasa class with Thomas. At the beginning of each class (which, I should mention, I haven't been to in nearly 9 months!), we are asked to create an intention. This should be a word or short phrase that represents something you want to remember throughout class, something that will help you feel centered when you repeat it, something you feel you need in your life, or simply a word that is going to represent your practice for that particular hour. This morning, my intention was: CELEBRATE! It's something I desperately need to remember to do in my day to day life, and it made me smile every time I thought of it. And as I moved through the sweaty flow, I continued to remind myself to celebrate and enjoy what I was doing. I walked out of the classroom, shirt drenched, smiling and feeling a little bit more like myself - a really peaceful version of myself.

Yoga was EXACTLY what I needed in my life this morning. I felt so happy to be back in the studio, relieved to be doing something only for me, and thankful that I had made the decision to be there. I drove home in a blissful state, petted a few cats, made some hazelnut coffee (yum!) and some banana nut oatmeal (double yum!), and settled down in my chair to write to you all. I really can't think of a better or more perfect way to spend my morning...

What about you? If you want to, leave me a post and tell me what your perfect morning would be... I'd love to know!

Have a wonderful day!

Katie

p.s. If you're an oatmeal lover (like myself) or have to make yourself choke it down (you know who you are!), here's what my banana nut oatmeal entailed:

rolled oats

1/2 of a large banana (1/4 cooked in for about 3 minutes, the other 1/4 on top)

cinnamon

a splash of vanilla

a little brown sugar

walnuts

milk

Give it a shot! It tastes oh so good, a lot like banana nut bread, and it's totally healthy!

Mindfulness

This past Saturday, my mom and I drove out to Raymond (a small town about 10 minutes North of Lincoln) to attend a workshop called "Meditation in Nature" at the Common Good Farm. I've done some meditation before, in yoga class and sitting on the floor of my bedroom on the nights when I know I'm going to need some help sleeping, so I figured the workshop would be interesting. I was right...

The 12 of us, including the teacher, sat in a circle in the peaceful living room of the farm owners' home. I was totally exhausted after a late night and an early 8 mile run, so I sunk gratefully right into the big cozy couch and tried to soak in everything the teacher had to say. Now, I can't really give a blow-by-blow of the entire workshop (mostly because I don't remember what order the conversation went in...) but I can tell you what we talked about: mindfulness.

Mindfulness is something that I constantly battle with; day to day, moment to moment. I've always got a million things going on in my mind (and unfortunately for those around me, a lot of that comes out of my mouth at some point); I've always got at least 4 windows open in my internet browser, along with calculator, calendar, iTunes, etc., etc.; when I'm doing homework or reading a book, I'm thinking about the next thing that needs to get done; and when I'm listening to someone (anyone) talk, I'm almost ALWAYS formulating what I'm going to say next, rather than just listening to what they have to say. These are excellent examples of NOT being mindful; of allowing a constant stream of unconscious thinking to run through my head. I don't enjoy it. I feel so un-grounded and (dare I say it?) discombobulated when I'm doing one thing and always thinking of something else.

Ok, so after we listened to the teacher talk about mindfulness, her path to meditation, and how you can really, truly TELL when the person you're talking to isn't really listening, we got to practice mindful meditation. This was totally different from any other sort of meditation I've done. I had always heard that meditation was about clearing your mind and having a totally blank slate. Mindful meditation is not based on that. Instead, the teacher told us to focus on our breath, to open up to the noises around us, and to be AWARE of things that were coming into our minds. The first practice session was about 3 minutes long. Not so hard. The second was 8 minutes, and much more difficult - uncomfortable, even - than the first. Interesting, though, how that unconscious stream of thoughts starts and can go on unnoticed for minutes!

Next, we headed outside to do some walking meditation. We were instructed not to talk, and to give attention, without judgement, to the things we saw, heard, smelled, felt. So often (all the time, really) we see something, label it, categorize it, and move on, without really observing it or paying attention to it. So... We walked. Slowly. Very, very slowly. Slower than I've maybe ever walked. It was really hard. I felt like a bit of a weirdo walking around the farm that slowly, being "aware" of everything... Then, we stopped in an opening and sat in a circle on the ground and were asked to just sit and be mindful of our surroundings. We could pick a sense or two to pay close attention to - I picked listening and feeling. So, there I sat. Pretty soon, I felt a breeze blow across my face and through my hair... Interesting. Then the chickens started squawking... Then the sun came out from behind the clouds. I closed my eyes and just took it all in. I don't remember the last time I felt so calm, content, or at peace. It was pretty amazing. We finished our walk, went inside for treats, then headed home (after a drive through Raymond, my mom's hometown).

I've been giving this mindful thing some serious thought since then. When was the last time most of us actually LISTENED to the wind blow through the trees or chickens chattering? Sure, we all know what that stuff sounds like. We even hear it sometimes. But when do we really LISTEN? When do we stop in the middle of the hustle from our cars to work, or walking across campus to FEEL the sun on our faces? Listening is much different from hearing; looking is different from seeing; eating is not the same as really tasting; and knowing something is touching you is different from feeling.

It may not be realistic to think that I could go through life without multi-tasking, or that I can stop and give attention to everything that happens to me all day long. But, there are a few small things I can do to make my life feel fuller, richer, and to appreciate things just a little more...

First of all, I can close the 4 extra tabs I have open on my computer. Done. And I can do the same when I'm working on my homework. I can also keep a pen and paper near me so that when something I need to do (and don't want to forget to do) pops into my head, I can write it down and then continue with whatever task I'm working on.

Secondly, when I'm having a conversation with someone, I can stop thinking about what I'm going to say next and listen to what they're saying. One of the reasons people talk is because they want to be listened to. I believe that what other people have to say is important, but unless I listen to them, how will they know that? I will I hear what they're really saying to me?

Third, when I'm on my way to school and the sun pokes out from behind the clouds, I can stop for just a second and notice how it feels on my face.

If you could be more mindful of certain things in your life, what would it be???

Happy Labor Day!

pictures:

All are of Common Good Farm except for the one of the baseball field. The baseball field is in Raymond, NE, and is the same one that my grandpa and great uncles played on back in the 1930's. I thought that was cool enough to post, even though it doesn't have to do with my topic today...

The Food WE Eat

This is going to be a short one today, but it sort of relates to my last post. I ran across this post on Time Magazine's website, called "What the World Eats". Interestingly enough, I used a similar post from time.com last year when I was teaching summer camp at my school in Taiwan.

First of all, it's so interesting to look at the different types of food that people from so many different parts of the world eat. As an anthropology nerd, this sort of stuff always fascinates me. It is also pretty amazing, though, to compare how people in other countries are eating to the way Americans eat. Although the American family had some tasty-looking food (that made me think, "mmmm... pizza..."), it was quite obviously packed full of high fructose corn syrup, preservatives, fat, and salt (now -- please -- don't get me wrong. I enjoy a Hostess cupcake or potato chips as much as the next guy. I just don't buy them in bulk when I go to the grocery store!). That, in and of itself, is quite sobering.

Secondly, when I showed these pictures to my kids, the response was not what I had expected. The purpose of the exercise was just to talk about the way people all over the world eat and to open their (the kids') world up to some different types of food (during summer camp, the teachers pick a new theme each week and teach about it in any way they like -- does it surprise you that one of my weeks was devoted to food???). Instead, the students' responses to the pictures opened MY eyes. They were eager to point out how MUCH food some families had and how LITTLE others had. They loved seeing food that they recognized (McDonalds, Corn Flakes, Pepsi), but were absolutely shocked by how much soda some of the world is drinking, and how many bags of potato chips the American family was allowed to have in their house! It made me think (and has again as I reminisce) about what my groceries for a week would look like... Would I display them and proudly send a picture back for my students in Taiwan to see? Or would I feel slightly ashamed and embarrassed? I think some weeks I would definitely NOT feel proud to show others what I'm eating, but others I would.

Think about this for yourselves... How would you feel about what you're eating if you really laid it all out there???

p.s. Picture #1 is of the classroom wall -- food pyramids, healthy snack ideas, and a sticker reward wall for the "Healthy Snackers" in class!

Picture #2 is of my Lion Class (the 3rd grade upper level English class). I miss them. *sniffle*