yellowtomatoes

dream

2008-04-21T10:40:00.002-04:00

I'm reviving this blog because I had this dream.
A little over a month ago, I decided not to run the New Jersey marathon this year. Instead I put myself in the lottery for New York.
Then my running hit the rocks. I stopped, for a few long weeks. I have some ideas why, but it doesn't really matter--I started again.
Last week I dreamt that I got picked for New York. It was summer, I was running like crazy, and New York was coming.
So I decided to revive this blog--it worked the first time.

salad

2007-11-04T19:46:00.000-05:00

I love the time change this time around. The light in the morning makes me happy and the dark in the evening makes it cozy to be home, cooking and plotting our holiday baking.
We had the best salad for supper. There's no picture, we ate it too fast. I roasted some kidney beans in the cast iron, grilled tofu, and tossed it all with greens from the CSA and my girlfriend's orange vinaigrette. Yum. Renee's got a pan of brownies in the oven. Bring on the cold!

running family

2007-10-20T21:14:00.000-04:00

Go, rustyboy!

Treading lightly

2007-10-15T19:51:00.001-04:00

So in honor of the blogger action environmental day, I stayed home from work today. No emissions from my car, no papers that I toss in the trash because my school doesn't recycle. Just me and my girlfriend and our cats, eating noodles and saving energy.
OK, I really stayed home because I was tired/lazy/sickish and just wanted to. But I do try to tread lightly on the earth.
First there's the vegan thing. My cat Pumpkin's sitting with me as I write this. When I point at things, he follows the direction. He responds to my anxiety when it's elevated. He sleeps on my head. His consciousness is different from mine, but it's real. This is all reason enough to be vegan, but the environmental benefits are, too.
Then there's our apartment. You save some energy living in a box in a box, especially if it's old construction.
We cook almost all our food, and what I can get local, I do.
And I do recycle.
I'm hoping it all lightens my impact--I like seasons, and I'm worried about the polar bears.

a more detailed report

2007-10-14T10:57:00.001-04:00

A week later, and I had time to reflect more on the race, and write a more detailed report, so here it is.

We started in Forest City, at the high school. They had four volunteers for every runner, this marathon seems to be the high point of excitement in the Scranton area. Revolutionary war reenactors sounded a cannon to start the race. Forest City was filled with lots of white haired women in plastic rain bonnets standing in front of Byzantine Catholic churches cheering us on. We ran to Carbondale, which also had great support--high school bands, cheerleaders, and one little boy asking, "Is *she* the last runner, mommy?" as I chugged by. In addition to the official aid stations, there were lots of kids handing out pretzel rods (really good when you're sweating a lot) and one group with ice cold water from their well. The race went onto a rails-to-trails by a river for a few miles; it was beautiful and I got to see some changing trees at last--the foliage wasn't what we were expecting because of the hot fall. I had to stop for band-aids and take off my shoe and sock at an aid station on the trail, all the downhill running gave me blisters.

I was so happy when we finally entered Scranton. There were marathon parties on people's lawns; kids had chalked messages of good luck on the road. I had gotten slowed down a lot in the industrial outskirts, was really feeling the unseasonal heat, and walked quite a bit. Back with people and the end in sight I picked it up and ran the last two miles fast (for me.)
I finished in 5:35 and felt good about it. It was a record hot day, and so they kept the course open longer than the usual 6 hours to let the last runner finish officially--and it wasn't me. I crossed the finish line with kick left in my legs and a strong intention to run more of these.

harvest

2007-10-13T11:36:00.000-04:00

Todays' CSA share.

recovery day five

2007-10-12T23:04:00.001-04:00

The subway stairs leave me a little breathless, and if I get startled or angry, it takes a little longer than normal for my heart rate to go down. But I accomplished one of the things on my post marathon list. And I made even more soup.

Steamtown

2007-10-07T16:05:00.000-04:00

This was a beautiful race.
I was glad I had my garmin, because they didn't have clocks at the mile markers. What they did have was people--four volunteers for every runner, wildly enthusiastic and generous and kind. And people, out in front of their churches and houses cheering. Some that stand out--the white haired woman who yelled "woman power!" to me by the start, the little girl asking every runner her name than cheering us by name, the woman at the first aid station that appeared exactly when my blisters started to hurt and chatted with me as I sat on the ground, removed my sock and shoe, and band-aided my toes, the volunteers who refilled my gatorade bottle, the kids handing out pretzel sticks on the course.
The hills were exhilarating, the heat and humidity sucked. The people were amazing. I am so grateful.

Despacio voy

2007-10-05T19:48:00.000-04:00

porque de prisa estoy. I'm going slow because I'm in a hurry. I got this one from a student, and it'll be my mantra to keep my pace even at the beginning.
I like the rhyme.

the kids

2007-10-03T18:48:00.000-04:00

Told the kids at the club I advise to send me good vibes Sunday, if they believe in that woo-woo stuff. The all business club pres visibly made a note on the calendar in her mind. The club comic riffed on a scenario of me, approaching the finish line, hallucinating them running backwards in front of me calling my name in slow motion. He waved his arms in the universal sign for bad trip.
I can already see it.

26.2

2007-10-01T21:55:00.000-04:00

Things to think about while I run:

1. Easier than coal mining or a textile mill.
2. Glacier moraines.
3. The forest.
4. My cats.
5. The horses I used to ride. Every ride had negative splits.
6. My goats.
7. All the animals I've known.
8. Not eating them.
9. Title IX.
10. The chasquis.
11. Conjugation charts.
12. Refranes: Al mal paso, date prisa. Al mal tiempo, buena cara. Al que madruga, Dios lo ayuda.
13. My work.
14. All the time I had to train.
15. Bread and roses.
16. Ancestors and antepasados.
17. Making spaghetti in the woods.
18. Fair Haven
19. Running as a little kid.
20. Tag, freeze tag, and best of all TV tag.
21. The first day going barefoot in the spring.
22. Snow.
23. Going to Alaska someday.
24. Having a house with a yard someday.
25. Having a child someday.
26. Not all pain is significant.
.2--having run a marathon.

10 things

2007-09-30T20:36:00.000-04:00

I want to do after the marathon is over:

1. go hiking
2. go ice-skating
3. sleep in
4. go out late
5. see a play
6. go to a museum
7. not wash running clothes every day
8. go for beers with coworkers on Friday afternoon
9. not care about the weather forecast
10. go to the dentist

OK, the last one isn't so much one I'm looking forward, but kind of sums up how the intensity of training has eaten into my life, much as I've tried to contain it. The rest are pretty easy. We've even got theater tickets for the Friday after. Now I just have to run this sucker.

good run

2007-09-28T20:02:00.000-04:00

The Queen Mary Two was leaving the harbor, making the Verrazano look like a toy bridge. Its little helicopter companion flew out in front, and the odd blimp that's been over-head on every run floated above it. The sun was setting, the water was choppy and dark, and there were navy storm clouds, but it didn't storm.
Everything felt good. The tail wind heading out was so strong I felt pushed, but when I turned around, the head wind just made it better to breathe. Oh, my foot hurt, but something's gotta feel wrong a week before a marathon.

silk (vegan) yogurt=sick belly

2007-09-23T09:42:00.000-04:00

Add to the things not to eat before or during a long run list.

gotta have priorities

2007-09-21T09:30:00.000-04:00

Got a cold, and I didn't go to work today. I'm not going to the party my colleague is having after. But I'm going for my run, and I'm happy about it.

Renee is making me watermelon sorbet! I feel better!

Tired legs

2007-09-17T20:00:00.000-04:00

But not mine. The ones on my 15 year old students who moaned and groaned when I gave them an activity that had them walk around.

22 miles! or, "I want my soup!"

2007-09-16T14:08:00.000-04:00

It felt really good. I feel ready. And I understand the guy from Running on the Sun a little better now. Every runner obsesses about something. For me, right now, soup.

red ribbon effort

2007-09-14T18:24:00.000-04:00

In a moment of discouragement on today's run, I thought I should just quit running and stick to hobbies I'm actually good at, like cooking.
I started cooking as a little kid. My first effort was cream puffs--I was fascinated by how the batter could turn into something with hollow in the middle, which I'd fill up with Jello pudding or cool whip. I also loved baking bread--big, fluffy loaves with hard crusts. I'd knock on the top to hear if they were done.
I decided to enter my bread in the county fair. The knocking test wasn't quite scientific, and I might've been too anxious to really listen. It turned out to be raw in the middle. The judges were kind, but honest. I got a red ribbon.
I still love to cook. All the not-quite-there dishes haven't changed that, and I ended up getting really good at it.
If I get good at running, that'll be great. If not, I'll get a medal anyway, and I still get all the good stuff.
Here's today's cooking.

I <3 my garmin

2007-09-13T14:46:00.000-04:00

It was my treat for teaching summer school, which didn't feel proportionate in the moment that my students were doing tricep dips between the tables and seeing how many books they could land in the flourescent light features. (A lot)
But now that it's September and the twitching is slowing down, the garmin is still with me. And I finally figured out that having it count down is hella more motivating. Can't wait to set it for that 22 miler Sunday.

more soup

2007-09-09T13:55:00.000-04:00

Yesterday evening I had two frozen rum drinks, then half a beer. I had coffee with my breakfast, and added an extra lap around the racquet club early in the run. And yet I stayed perfectly hydrated and feeling great, and was bouncing along to Kanye West when my cell rang.

I caught up with my girlfriend sitting on a bench in the blazing sun. It was like that moment in Running on the Sun when Lisa Smith-Batchen insists she already took the salt pill. She tried to convince me that I should keep running, and she'd be fine just staying on the bench. We each had gatorade left, and there were tons of stores around. We made it home on the shady side of streets.

So I made more soup. Mock chicken noodle. Lots of liquid, lots of salt. Tastes good, too.

Rest day

2007-09-08T14:51:00.000-04:00

Blogging from bed, filled with sleeping creatures and resting me. I slept 10 straight hours last night, waking up only to stretch, and continued the laziness into today. Now I'm lying with menthol tingling on my sore leg, coffee, a book.

It occurred to me while slathering on salve how little the whole marathon training process has hurt. Before doing it, I imagined a constant parade of pain. Growing up as the less-coordinated member of an athletic family, I remember heating pads, hot baths, the smell of ben-gay, ace-bandages, and walk it off. My brother tried to shake out a broken arm.

I'm glad to be doing this in a gentler time; grateful for rest days, happy it doesn't have to hurt. But I'm glad it hurts sometimes; it lets me in on a fine tradition.

onion soup

2007-09-05T19:58:00.000-04:00

My girlfriend and I are both battling colds, and all that was left in our fridge as we wait for fresh direct were some onions. So I cooked up french onion soup, down to the croutons and a fake cheese sauce. It was yummy.

Tonight is an unscheduled rest day. The colds, and my IT band ached a little standing in class. Today my friend the school psychologist wondered out loud how runners balanced the need to be trained and the need to prevent injury. I said it's something I'm still trying to learn.

Back to school

2007-09-05T08:42:00.001-04:00

I was hurting a little on last night's run, but I think the foam roller and some ibuprofen took care of it. The sun's setting earlier, so I got to see a beautiful orange sunset over Staten Island. I love air pollution.
First day of classes for the fall term. A kid stayed after to tell me I have a great aura. Wonder what color it is.

home, veggie home

2007-09-03T17:19:00.000-04:00

I was so hungry for plant foods that aren't based in white flour after three days away that I almost took the taxi driver up on his offer of half his orange. If they have to strike Wednesday, he's going to need every saved orange. He owned his car, but will still stay out, saying, "I don't strike for me. For all of us." We're with you, taxi drivers, and so are some who went before you.

Back to the plant foods. There's brown rice cooking, and I'm about to go stir fry some lentils and vegetables. I'll drink a peach watermelon smoothie while I do it.

Happy labor day.

Good

2007-08-29T12:56:00.000-04:00

Lately I've been thinking, "I'm training for a marathon so I can eat anything I want." The results of that thought are taking form in my body, and it doesn't look so appealing anymore.

Better idea--I'm training for a marathon, so I can eat really good food that will keep me going and not slow me down.

Here's quinoa with kidney beans, romaine lettuce, heirloom tomato and basil (local) and avocado (not local.)

This is not a hot dog.

2007-08-27T19:19:00.001-04:00

It's a marinated and grilled carrot, my second one. There were twice as many tater tots at the start of the meal.

18 miles

2007-08-27T14:04:00.001-04:00

Runner's burn--note the white triangle.

The pudding was good. But otherwise, I wasn't quite as prepared as I should've been for today's long run. What I learned today:

•sunblock is my friend.
•a second bottle of gatorade, an even better friend.
•a dollar in my pocket would have been enough to buy that second bottle of gatorade at the secret vending machine by the tennis courts.
•oatmeal is a great breakfast.
•I'll run a long way for pudding.
•Avril Lavigne makes embarrassingly good running songs.

My girlfriend made 20. She rocks.

Pudding

2007-08-26T22:03:00.000-04:00

From Vegan with a Vengeance, with rum and raisins to taste like the Christmas fruitcake. This will be so good after 21 miles tomorrow.

nothing but a picture of a tomato

2007-08-26T12:30:00.001-04:00

I've been wanting a blog, but there's been this underlying problem of not being sure what I want to say. But I like to read other people's blogs, and after awhile that starts feeling like being the fully clothed person at the topless beach. So for now there's a picture of a tomato. I picked it up yesterday from our CSA share from hearty roots farm. Its overripe friend is now salsa crudo in our fridge.