Rants, Recipes, and Running

Last Saturday I raced in the Catalina State Park Trail race, which happens to be my favorite race that Tucson holds. It's not a huge race. There are about 300 people total. But it has breath-taking views, great support, and it's quite the challenge! The route is a 10.2 10.5 miles ( according to MY Garmin ) race. There are 2 loops that you complete. Within the loop, there is a 92 stair climb. While running on trail, you're pretty much running on sand the entire time. Which is not easy! You pretty much suck wind the while 10+ miles. The views are just incredible, though! I did this race last year, and happened to place 1st in my age group, so I felt pretty serious about "defending my title". (another perk to a smaller race. Placing!!) I'm not elitist. After I did last year's race, I got motivated to become a better trail runner. So I really started incorporating it into my workout plans. And I definitely beat my time, but didn't do as well ...

Here are my current currently's! Reading : I am currently reading "The Kitchen House", which I am having a very difficult time really enjoying. It's a good book, but it seems to be moving slow. Or I'm just moving slow. One of the two... Thinking : About how amazing my coffee tastes on my 1st free morning in several weeks, where I don't have a workout or work to rush to. These quiet morning are so therapeutic! Frustrated : With the cactus hair-like-thorn lodged in the bottom of my foot from yesterday. And no, it wasn't from my race! It was from cleaning the pool, while walking around our back yard barefoot yesterday afternoon. (Here's your Cactus Thorn 101 for the non-desert dwellers: There are some large thorns that can easily be pulled out. Then there are this little hairs of thorn that hurt 10x worse . Usually a tweezers can't grab them. So if duct tape doesn't pull them out, the cactus thorn removal is self-limiting. You have to be pati...

This recap is a bit late. But better late then never, right? I feel like I cannot keep up lately. The change of the new job, all of the hours of getting scuba certified last week, still adjusting to having a non-human animal living among us (aka puppy Miles), and just meeting my standards of how our house should look. However, it's all positive things in my life - so I need to stop worrying about dust and dirty windows. (as I'm secretly breathing into a brown paper bag in the background....) The 2nd weekend in March, we took a trip to see Ryan's sister and her family. They recently were re-located due to the military, and weren't exactly thrilled about their place relocation. So it was good to get out there and help them discover their new "home", plus we haven't seen them in 2 years! Here are the highlights from that trip: Getting some quality time with our nieces and nephews. We had 3 little shadows all weekend. It always amazes me to see how fa...

This was week 1 of my new job! All I can say is I feel like I just completed an outer body experience. a) This is my dream job. b) Holy shit I am on information overload. c) I never got a second to regroup all week. In addition to starting new job....Tuesday and Thursday I went straight from work to Scuba classes, and didn't get home until 11 pm. Which means my day pretty much went non stop from 4:35 am - 11 pm. I'm not complaining, because obviously this is all positive and exciting things, but I am feeling pretty exhausted!!! So instead of an insightful post, here are my 10 questions. 1. Twitter or Facebook?  Facebook. I don't even know what Twitter does or is. Hi, I may be in my late 20's, but assume I'm a senior citizen.rik 2. Morning person or night owl?  Morning person without a DOUBT!! I am almost non-functional once the clock strikes 9 pm. I claim I turn into a pumpkin after 9 pm. 3. How do you drink your coffee?  Dep...

Tomorrow is my last day at the hospital I've worked at for the past 5 years. As I reflect this evening over my cup of tea...it feels rather bitter sweet. I've had quite the journey at my hospital in a fast 5 years. From a new grad nurse on a cardiac unit, to the ER, to taking the huge responsibility (aka, was in over my head) as house supervisor of the entire hospital, to finally landing my "sweet spot" in Case Management. I really thought I'd stay in my position for a longer time, but there are a variety of reasons that lead me to seeking a new path. And fortunately, that path kind of found me. (Thank you, "LinkedIn".) I interviewed with 5 different companies in a short period of 2 weeks, and I just couldn't turn this one down! It's time to spread my wings, and move on to a bigger hospital where there is more room for me to grow. My new job is still in the case management world. I will be working in a Pulmonary Clinic as a "Nurse Na...

Friday was my Golden birthday! Funny story about that..... Confession time : I lie about my age . Almost daily. I tell people I'm older than my actual age, so I am taken more seriously. Especially at work. Because in my experiences, when I tell them how old I actually am, they automatically judge me as some irresponsible, 20-something who still gets her bills paid by Mom and Dad. And it infuriates me so very much ! Because I am a 20-something who is paying off a mortgage, enjoys gardening, reads "Southern Living" magazine, and talks frequently about "retirement savings" with her spouse. Because I lie so frequently about my age, I got confused about how old I was turning this year. So I swore I was turning 28. Come to find out, it was 27! This was discovered 2 days before my birthday, when my husband had to politely ask me to " do the math, babe ." It was an amazing weekend packed with all the things I love! Friday was the actually birthda...

I really need to do a "re-cap" post on my birthday weekend, but that will come later. Instead, I am stealing my sister's post idea from today - called "little letters". Dear Miles (our 15 week old puppy), I take one rest day a week, where I sleep until 6 am. Could you please get it right, and sleep in as well? It sure would be lovely to have one day of the week where I sleep past 5. :) Sincerely, Tired Pet-Owner Dear March 11 , Please get here soon. I have 7 work days left, and it is so tough to be present when not just my foot , but my entire leg is "out the door". Your truly, Tendered Resignation Dear March Weather, In opposition to the rest of the county, I would like you to linger. Soon it will be 90 degrees on my 5 am runs and 100 degrees when I get home from work in the evening. I'm savoring these pleasant 70 degree days. Sincerely, Runner Who Doesn't Like Rhabdo Dear Cubical-mate , Please go see your ENT doctor and get those ...