Friday Round-up

Workout: Resting on my laurels

Because taking a rest day means I've got nothing to talk about, here's a recap of this past week:

Saturday: 5 surprisingly difficult miles that left me sore for the next couple of days
Sunday: nothing (THE CORE did not happen)
Monday: 3.5 miles on a newly discovered trail. Oh, and single track!
Tuesday: 2 miles at the ice rink
Wednesday: THE CORE
Thursday: 3.5 frosty miles

Total: 14 jogged miles and not much else

This week was pretty pathetic for working out. And no hiking at all! A travesty! As I mentioned previously, I've had a lot going on at school and work and figuring out my life, so haven't had much time for fun things. Or things, really. Once I finish finals in a couple of weeks I'll have to make up for lost time at my beloved Flattop. Looking back through my posts, I see I haven't hiked there since October 31. How is that possible?! D-minus, Jeano.

I don't have any pictures for you today because I'm an awful blogger, so here's one I took downtown a couple months ago that we'll call today's Anchorage-y photo.

It would have been way cooler without that shadow.

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Side note: Apparently someone found my blog by typing in "poop stall." I don't know how it happened, but I'll take it. Although I feel like I'm encroaching on someone else's turf.

My Frosty Face

Workout: 3.5 miles, 10:09 average

Secret's out: Alaska's cold. Today it was 4 below zero. Perfect. I was determined to run outside and brought all my gear with me to my first class, but I'll admit, I was sorely tempted to ditch that plan and run at the track once I stepped outside again. There were a lot of f-bombs being thrown around. In the end, I told myself to shut up and just deal with it. And so I did! Funny thing about running, though: it creates body heat. Lots of it. Within five minutes I was sweating my ass off and was wishing I hadn't worn so many layers.

I even got to take one of these awesome pictures.

Frosty face pictures are awesome, right? I'm not imagining things? It wouldn't be the first time. I had to crop the picture because I somehow had frost all over my face which made me look like I've got a hairy face. I don't, I promise. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

So, my run. I went back to this pretty li'l place. Well, I actually ran from school so didn't make it to that awesome single track I'm obsessed with now. Another day, perhaps.

The sun was still kind of rising when I got there, which did pretty things to the sky.

I don't have much to add to Monday's pictures. I did see this cool bench, though.

I want one.

I was running along, humming this song I really, really want to hate but just can't, when suddenly I ran into this guy.

I guess "this guy's ass" would be more accurate. Bummer. I made a very timid move to run past but decided I was too close for comfort so I turned around.

Instead, I went and took a picture from the bridge I took a picture from on Monday. How meta (side note: I've never bothered to look up "meta" in the dictionary, so I use it to describe anything trippy. Don't argue with me on this one).

My stats were stats. Moose ass slowed me down some, as did taking my meta picture.

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I had a really bizarre experience while driving home. I bit into an apple and suddenly thought, "My god, this tastes just like apple juice!!!" I was, in fact, eating an apple so maybe this isn't as bizarre as I thought it was, but I have never thought apple juice tastes like apples, even when it comes straight from the fruit. Never. But each and every bite of this thing tasted exactly the same. Meta.

Ditching the Hag Look and a Poorly Thought-out List on New York

Workout: THE CORE

It's been a while since I've done THE CORE (two weeks, maybe?) so it kind of kicked my ass. I just haven't had time for much more than my prescribed mileage, which sucks. I thought I saw the hint of a bulge! A BULGE, guys! That was short-lived. Tomorrow I've got 3.5 miles on the docket, so that's... well, that's a declarative statement, that's what it is. And a very boring one at that.

You'll be shocked to hear I didn't leave my house looking like a dirty hag this morning. I washed myself, blow-dried my hair (it was literally the second time I've done that in four months), and I even looked like I was wearing lipstick because my lips were so chapped! Yes, a lady indeed. I've completely given up on my appearance since I left New York (let's face it-it's probably been more like a year), so this was nice.

Those used to be bangs.

Speaking of New York, today marks four months since my departure. I'm not going to do some big reflection piece on what my life's become and how my time in New York "made me who I am", but here's a list of things that sucked hard and things that sucked slightly less hard (okay, things I may have actually enjoyed):

Things that sucked hard:

-SO F*$#ING HOT

-SO F#($ING HUMID

-SO MANY F032ING PEOPLE

-related to SO MANY F%^@ING PEOPLE, NOT ENOUGH F^*@ING SLEEP

-trash

-everything about MTA

-not having enough money, time, or energy to actually do the interesting things New Yorkers are supposed to spend every waking moment doing

-the irrational but constant fear that an airplane was going to crash into me

on the other hand...

Things that sucked slightly less hard:

-easy access to other places (you rock, Lucky Star!)

-Royale burger with bacon and blue cheese (or if we're being pretentious, "bleu")

-halal stands as far as the eye can see

-food delivery

-pizza (are you sensing a theme?)

-feeling safe (I mean this sincerely)

-bars that don't seem to have a closing time

-Central Park. Although not a "real wilderness" (no matter how many people try to tell you this, IT IS NOT TRUE. YOU CANNOT GO HIKING IN CENTRAL PARK), it is still pretty cool, as are the paths along the East/Hudson river

-did I mention easy access to other places?

So there you have it. I am so happy to be out of that hellhole, but I guess I'm glad I lived in there for a while and lived to tell the tale. Am I the only person on earth who hates New York? Probably. Does hating it mean that I'm a bad American? I don't think so, but I'm sure plenty of people would say that I am. I'm also a fickle asshole, though, so who cares what I think anyway?

Random Shit Tuesday

Workout: 2 miles around my ice rink

I present you Random Shit Tuesday, where we shit randomness! In case it's not obvious, I'm running out of "use the words shit and random in a sentence!" ideas. A request for a new shtick has been sent upstairs (aka my brain), but word's still out on how we're going to deal with it. Stay tuned.

• School and figuring my life out have really been stressing me out lately. Fortunately, I only foresee the madness continuing for another couple of weeks, at which point my couch will be my new best friend. At least my cage comes with a great view:

My phone camera sucks so you probably thought that's a flaming asteroid, but it's just the moon.

• Today's Anchorage-y photo was taken while driving around town for work. I went to a bunch of Alaska Native corporations, and those buildings have the COOLEST art. I tend to think of the area I was in (and, frankly, 90% of Anchorage that isn't the mountains) as kind of a dump (think Texas Row and trashy strip malls as far as the eye can see), but these buildings were pretty awesome. I'm no expert on Native art, not by any means, but I do consider myself a huge fan. There were actually a lot of much cooler things than this, but I felt like a dweeb taking pictures of them so you will take what I give you.

• It is 4 degrees out right now. That wench Bailey has decided it's her God-given right to be walked by me twice a day, and I have done nothing to discourage it. Walking her requires some extra layers these days:

• I realized this morning that I am incapable of putting my pants on left leg first. I'm still not sure whether it's a mental or physical problem (okay, it's mental). For some insane reason I attempted to put them on in the wrong order today and had to take my left leg out and start all over again. Tough life over here.

• I finally understand what y'all mean when you talk about how to got compression socks on. I read somewhere you should put them on like panty hose, which means rolling them down. Well, I've worn panty hose maybe once in my life, and odds are they were physically forced onto my body by a mom wishing her daughter could just act like a girl for once (it took a few years, but we finally made it!), so I didn't get it. I knew there was some rolling involved, so my way of doing it was pulling them on as far as they would go and then rolling them down and trying to pull them up farther. It didn't make sense then and it doesn't make sense now. To all you little Jeanoes (plural Jeano?) out there, roll the sock down until it's like half as long as it usually is before even putting it anywhere near your foot. You should be able to pull the entire thing on at once and then just unroll it. That's probably living 101 right there but I just now figured it out. To new knowledge!

• If you haven't (you haven't), you should read this restaurant review. It will be the best five minutes of your day. I mean, I hate Guy Fieri with a burning passion, but I guess I can understand why people like him. Too bad his restaurant sucks. Also, Times Square? Really? I guess it fits right in with Crapplebees.

That's all for now, you krazy kids. Go do something fun.

Hey Jeano, Give Some New Trails a Chance!

Workout: 3.5 miles, 10:17 average

Today I went to another place I've been to before but kind of forgot about in my haste to spend as much time as possible at Powerline. Seems those assholes are good for something, at least.

I parked at the dog park but instead of running around the lake, which can be annoying because of all the dog dodging, I headed down a path that kind of circumvents it (okay, okay, I really just wanted an excuse to post an AD video) before leading to some pretty wonderful stuff.

Obligatory creek photo 

More cool ice crystals

At first I was just on a cement path, but then I veered off onto the cross country ski trails. Since we've hardly gotten any snow this winter (despite getting off to an early start!), the skiers have abandoned their usual trails in favor of Powerline, which means they're free to be run all over! Suckers.

After meandering for a bit on ski trails, I came out on something really awesome...

Single track! That's legit single track, right? RIGHT?! I wouldn't actually know, but I think it's true. It's no California single track but it'll do.

Unfortunately, my single track only lasted for a fraction of a mile because I had to turn around. I snapped one more picture (side note: I spent TOO MUCH TIME taking pictures-as I've said before, sometimes we bloggers must make sacrifices for the sake of our very questionable art)...

Classic Alaska scenery

... and headed back to my car.

I continue to be amazed by how great my shins feel, and I'm pretty sure Hal's my little running guardian angel. A+, body. You've done well.

This looks cool and misty, but really my phone just fogged up.

Not that it matters, but here's what my garmin took away from this run:

It's probably pretty obvious where I entered trail stuff. 

Consistent I am not

That's all I've got. Buhbye, kids!

[Insert Interesting Title Here]

Workout: jackshit (and maybe THE CORE later if I feel up to it)

I deserve a rest day, god dammit, so I'm taking one. I looked at my high-tech calendar I write my stuff on (it's got pictures of hardcore mountaineers in action that make me feel just a bit inadequate) and it's been nine days. I am not a successful athlete (or even an athlete), so there's no reason for this. It's time. I'm doing the sore calf shuffle presumably from yesterday's run. This hasn't happened in a while, and since I spent my entire weekend ignoring real responsibility, I've got to get on it today. It should do me some good.

I can't take my gd new socks off. Can't. Won't. I managed to semi-convince myself that I need to take them off once in a while to, I don't know, allow the blood to circulate better? I think that's how it works. But still, I won't take them off. Maybe subconsciously I think my shin pain will come back if I do. I keep telling myself I'll wear them to bed and take them off during the day, but then it's cold during the day so I wear them then too. I know, it's a really tough life I lead.

I can't quit you (or that cellulite I still insist isn't there)

I'm not positive, but I may just take Bailey to the dog park sometime today. Bailey would make a great case study on the power of optimism. When she wants to go for a walk, she'll go screaming down towards the garage (as though we're heading out) again and again. Usually it works. Or, when we're about to turn back into my driveway at the end of a walk, she'll ignore it and keep walking ahead, presumably thinking I'll miss it if she doesn't draw attention to it. Again, this usually works. What a manipulator. 

A most noble manipulator.

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WARNING - STOP READING IF YOU DON'T CARE ABOUT OTHER PEOPLE'S THOUGHTS ON MOVIES. I KNOW I DON'T.

So, Lincoln. I saw it yesterday. I know a lot of people said it was boring as hell, and that those who liked it tend to have sticks up their asses, so I guess I've got one up mine because I thought it was great! I obviously loved DDL and JGL (if you don't know who they are, scram!), and Tommy Lee Jones gave such a good performance while James Spader added some humor, but most of all I was just really interested in the story. I am a huge admirer of history nerds, but much as I (halfheartedly) try, I can't become one. I hate history. I'll see a nonfiction book that looks like the most interesting thing ever written, get three pages into it and vow never to pick it up again. I just don't like reading about history. I should never be given any sort of meaningful power because if I were, I'd repeat past mistakes over and over again. Anyway, I didn't realize just how contentious the passing of the 13th Amendment was, or the context in which it was passed (just before the Civil War ended). Also, huge props to Lincoln. Man did good (I've been told the movie was pretty historically accurate-feel free to call me stupid if I'm wrong). You're dumb if you come here for movie reviews so really, who cares what I think? But you should considering seeing it.

5 Miles and a Halfhearted Attempt at Posting

Workout: 5 miles, 9:54 average

Behind my old high school's pool post-run

This is going to be short and sweet because I have a date with Lincoln (marry me, DDL). I had wanted to hit up the Coastal Trail for this run, but I didn't give myself enough time so had to settle for the road by my old high school. I knew it wasn't completely flat, but hot damn, it felt hilly as hell. On the way out, things were nice because they were largely downhill (all downhill, by the looks of my garmin data), but coming back I really had to push it. It felt great. I'm pretty pissed I only gained like 200 feet, though. It felt hard as shit!

Absolutely no shin pain, which was great. It was cold enough that my eyebrows and eyelashes crystallized, but I'm not sure exactly what the temperature was-9 degrees, maybe? A beautiful day. We've been so lucky weather-wise since I've been back! Very few gross, grey days. Now if only it would snow again...

Aren't vacations weird? Last night, Friday night, I was already sad about the weekend almost being over. The real weekend hadn't even started yet. I'm so spoiled.

With that, I leave you to go drool at a dead guy (sorry to give away the ending to anyone unfamiliar with the story).

Bonding Experiences

Workout: 2-hour hike with pops

First, what have I been up to this week? Here's a recap:

Saturday: 3-ish hour hike partway up Wolverine

Sunday: 4 miles along a trail with which I've rekindled my love

Monday: 3 miles around UAA's ice rink during hockey practice

Tuesday: boring and forgettable cross training between classes

Wednesday: 3.5 miles along my new obsession

Thursday: 2.5 thankless and whiny miles around the neighborhood

Total: 13 miles of running, 5 hours hiking, 1 forgettable hour of cross training

I was thinking today should be a rest day since my legs were so tired yesterday, but my dad wanted to go on a post-Thanksgiving detox hike so I obliged. It was a beautiful day and temps had warmed up to around 18 so I was happy about it. Our walk actually took almost two hours so it was less low-key than I was hoping for, but we were moving at a pretty leisurely pace so I think I'll feel fine by tomorrow. This would actually be a pretty great run for some day when I'm looking to really kick my ass. I'll have to make it happen sometime.

I was pissed that I was feeling some pain in my shin since we were only walking. It was barely noticeable, but it was there. I blame it on the fact that I finally took off my compression socks for, like, the first time since I got them.

Look at me blabbering on. I know you only come here for the pictures and not for my deep insights on life, painfully good looks, and blazing speed, so here you go:

Powerline! When it's steep as shit (I don't run this section-leave that to the pros)

We went hiking back there a couple of weeks ago

Before our hike, my dad and I had another bonding experience: he decided I needed a flu shot and said he'd pay for it. Oh joy! Some people give chocolate, others give flu shots. To each his own. Turns out flu shots are $31 a pop? Also turns out Walgreens doesn't accept insurance for them. But when it's someone else's dime, what's $30? I was kind of pissed they didn't have the advertised nasal spray vaccine. Fun fact: I'm kind of a wimp. My pride prevents me from making a fuss when I'm in pain, but I'm pretty sure I've got a low pain threshold. I usually avoid getting a flu shot because I'm a bad samaritan, but I'm glad I bit the bullet and did it this year.

I've been slowly plodding through Steve Jobs's biography and continue to be blown away by what a weirdo he was. Last night I read about how after getting a liver transplant, a doctor tried to put an oxygen mask on him when we was still sedated and although Jobs could barely talk, he told the doctor he didn't like the mask design and refused to wear it. He told the man to show him five different oxygen masks, and he would choose the one he liked best. True story.

If you had today off, I hope you did something cool, or if you just sat on your ass, it's okay-it's not even the weekend yet! If you were at work, I feel sorry for you.

Less Holiday Talk, Please

Workout: 2.5 jogged miles around my boring neighborhood

While reading blogs this morning I decided there's nothing worse than reading about holidays. Unless it's Christmas and someone gave you a puppy you want to show me, I don't care. At all. It may just be my anti-food bias (why are people so interested in what other people eat?), or maybe I just don't know what interesting is. Probably the latter. I will say that I've been a Thanksgiving refugee on the East Coast for seven years and am glad to be spending it with my family this year. And with that we conclude our holiday talk.

I was going to go somewhere exciting for today's run, but I just wasn't feeling it. 2.5 miles isn't really worth the gas. Instead I ran around my neighborhood and it was lame. Neighborhoods are boring and mine is hilly, which means if I want to do a flat, easy run I'm confined to two cul-de-sacs that are approximately a quarter mile. You would think that would be more interesting than a hockey rink that's only a tenth of a mile around, but it's really not.

I wore my new tiny Yaktrax, which worked really well. They make such a satisfying crunch every time you take a step.

I decided not to run with music so I could reflect on life or whatever, but that was dumb. I know I've got tons to be thankful for, and I didn't need to torture myself on a run in a boring place without music to realize it. If anything, it made me less thankful for my neighborhood.

My stats:

My legs actually felt pretty tired on this run. Since I started my buddy Hal's plan, my mileage has been really low and I've felt strong on each and every run. They've been great. I didn't really do anything extra this week, but I guess all the hiking and cross training I've been doing kind of caught up with me. I was actually happy for that, though, because I keep thinking about how I must not be getting any stronger since my body is never tired. When I was marathon training, my legs were always tired. I knew I was kicking my body's ass and I felt awesome. Not so much recently. But today showed me that I haven't just been vegetating.

Speaking of vegetating, I'm going to go do some. A lot, actually. I may not like reading about holidays, but I really do love celebrating them. Have fun, kids.

New Yaktrax & Another Trip to the Coastal Trail

Workout: 3.5 miles jogged along the Coastal Trail

That title is almost identical to Sunday's because I have no imagination.

Because I'm awesome, my weekend started at noon today. That means 4 1/2 days of pure awesome. Or, more likely, 4 1/2 days of homework, grad school application shit, and FNL (duh, that's a given). I decided to kick it off by going for a run.

Well, actually, I should back up a bit. I went straight from work to REI to go buy some Yaktrax. This was actually sort of an interesting experience because of my dumb running shoes. I figured I'd have an issue with fit since my shoes aren't as bulky as most, and sure enough, I did. I felt ridiculous attempting to attach Yaktrax that so obviously were not going to fit my tiny shoes (my Pace Gloves), especially since the store was flooded with people there for, I don't know, Black Wednesday? That's a thing now, right? In the end, I snagged a pair of extra small "Walk Yaktrax," which I figured were fine for me because I'm not hardcore and I'm not fast. I just need something sticking off my shoes. Trax in hand (that's what the cool kids call them, right?), I headed over to the Coastal Trail because I literally couldn't wait to drive all the way up to Powerline (I'm pathetic). I'm pretty sure I'm about to go on a major Coastal Trail kick. I can't believe it took me three months to go there despite knowing full well that it's a kickass trail. Will have to make up for lost time.

It was 4 below at my house this morning so I was expecting the run to be damn cold, but it must have warmed up significantly because I ended up running in what I always run in (note to self: buy another running jacket) and I was sweating like a pig for a majority of the run.

Unfortunately, I don't carry around a full-length mirror in my car so this will have to do.

Even the parking lot was pretty today.

I subconsciously planned my run really well, because I started at Earthquake Park and turned around right at Point Woronzof, my starting point on Sunday. Maybe I should run the whole Coastal Trail in sections and then do a photo tour or something, because I'm sure you all really care. 4.25 miles down and many more to go!

I'm hesitant to say the Yaktrax worked because in fact the snow on the trail was pretty packed down. I don't think there would have been much sliding around even without them. However, I did feel really steady on my feet, and at one point I was running on ice in a parking lot and didn't think twice about it. That was nice. If nothing else, it allowed me to run with confidence (confidence which, I'm sure, will eventually cause me to break a leg) and not worry about each and every footstep. I pretty much felt like I was running on plain pavement, which was nice.

A beautiful city indeed. This picture is way overexposed.

And because I know that all you really care about are my stats and not pictures of my beautiful city, here they are. I'm sure you'll be blown away by how incredibly fast I am.

Considering how easy I felt I was taking it, I'm actually quite pleased with those paces. Definitely didn't feel like there was a 100+-foot gain over .15 miles. I'll take it!

My shin felt good and I'm pretty sure I'll do my planned 2.5 tomorrow and be ready for 5 on Saturday, for a total of 14 completely pain-free miles for the week. Can't really ask for much more than that.

[insert obligatory Thanksgiving wishes]

Random Shit Tuesday

Workout: THE CORE, erging/stationary biking (aka "livin' the dream")

Comin' atcha from the aforementioned bike. Trying to see if I'm as bad at blogging on a phone as I am on a computer...

Welcome to this week's Random Shit Tuesday where this random shit (me) tells you things of no consequence whatsoever! But first, a picture to draw in your attention!

Lights downtown.

• This is going to come off as "brag, brag, I'm from Alaska and I'm so hardcore," but I don't mean it like that at all. I am honestly just confused. About what, you ask? Well, I don't understand why there are so many blog posts and magazine articles or whatever about winter running. I mean, I understand wondering about what to wear on your feet, as I did a couple of days ago (still waiting for an answer! Or I could just ask google). Not everyone knows what options are available for running on slippery surfaces, or which work best under which circumstances. But why do you need someone to tell you how to keep yourself warm? Aren't we as humans evolved to know how to stay warm? Add some layers! Okay, it might be necessary to further specify the use of non-cotton layers, but that's true of all seasons. I don't get it. What else is there to know? Tell me why I'm wrong/a jackass.

• I was in the elevator at work yesterday and there was this girl with two yappity yap yap dogs in there. Neither was on a leash, which seemed strange to me. I can maybe see why you would bring them to an office building, but I can't see why you wouldn't at least have them on a leash. I love dogs so I was cool with it, but there are tons of people who would not be cool with these dogs jumping all over them as they were doing to me. Anyway, I'm not a fan of yappity yap yaps to begin with, but the situation went from "These aren't great but I love all dogs" to "Oh my god, get me out of here NOW" when the girl told me their names: Bella and Edward. Uh huh. If you don't know who they are, consider yourself lucky.

• To wash that pukey taste out of your mouth, I'll tell you about a totally awesome dog. He's enormous. His name is Thor. Bailey is terrified of him. It does make me very sad that his owners always make him sit outside tied to a tree, but it makes me very happy that I get to see him whenever I walk by. I want a Thor. I think girls with huge dogs are badass. It's a fact. Someday I'll get a picture of him.

• Speaking of neighborhood walks and seeing a good spot to throw in an Anchorage-y photo, here's a random totem pole that sprang up out of nowhere:

Totem poles are so cool

• I can't stop harmonizing to songs on the radio. It is SO ANNOYING, and I'M the one doing it. All I want to do when I hear a song is harmonize, which especially blows because I'm not good at it. At all. If I were married to me, I'd be pulling together divorce papers.

• Does hand sweat smell? I often wear my gloves while running outside and find that my hands can get pretty shweddy, even when I've got the top snapped back (see below). Despite this, though, they never smell. Never. I wash them, mind you, but not as often as I wash sweaty shirts, and so far there's been no detectable odor. Cue traffic jam as what few readers I have sprint for the blog door...

So awesome they even stick to bathroom stalls!

• Girls. Some of you are SO AWKWARD in the bathroom. We need to talk about this. Why do you just sit there quietly pretending you're not there when you are SO OBVIOUSLY THERE?! Bathrooms are freaky, you can't hide-the rest of us always know you're there. This morning at work I spent like five minutes changing clothes (approximately two minutes were spent trying to peel my new compression socks off my feet), and the other person just sat there. For five minutes. Really? Aren't you bored? Did you bring a magazine with you or something? Are you playing with your phone? Gross. I was tempted to sit in my stall for a while longer just to see what she did. I mean, she probably wanted to poop, right? We all poop. I don't care if you poop in front of me. I don't even know you, most likely. Chill out.

Today's RST sounded kind of complain-y, didn't it? I guess that's just the way these things go sometimes. But really, these things don't actually bug me, I just think they're weird. Here's a picture of Bailey so we can all forget about what a fickle human being I am.

The most noble