The Beauty of an Unripe Pome

I hate fruit.

But, not really.

I love kiwi's, unripe nectarines, cantalope melon, apple bananas, and wild-picked blackberries and raspberries.

I used to like mangos, but have had rather too many of these to like them anymore. When they're ripening and dropping everywhere, and there's that sweet, mushy smell, and swarming tiny, ripe mango loving fruit flies are subtly flitting around, and you can pick and eat just bags of them...well, at some point, you finally have enough. Still, every year that we go back to Hawaii, I'll eat a few--but only if they're tart and almost unripe.

Same goes for papaya's. Mmmm--firm, not mushy, with lime. Yum!

And, I love avocados.
Did you know they are a fruit?
We used to pick bags of these, too.

I guess I don't really hate fruit, I just don't like soft, ripe, mushy fruit textures (think mealy, mushy red delicious apples -ugh!).

I don't know how people eat mushy banana's, mushy grapes, or mushy cherries.

And, since it is extremely difficult to find fruit just at that peak that I like.
And, since I generally don't like fruit and am just not in the mood.
And, since if I do like fruit, it might just be for a fleeting moment--so that a bag of apples ends up sitting for 6 months in the fridge.
I generally hate, and generally don't eat, fruit.

But, this summer, I'm practically drowning in it.

1 green apple, 2 nectarines, 1 cantelope melon, and 5 bananas so far.

I have a small watermelon in the fridge.

And, today I bought raspberries and blueberries (along with a lot of vegetables--because that is what I really do like).

Fruit.
Regardless of what appears to be a genetic component to my dislike (shared emphatically by my sister).
Or, the plethora of soft, mushy fruit choices in our food markets.
Or, that it just might be the anti-oxident secret ingredient to last week's run.
For some reason, this summer, I like what I'm eating.

I never thought I'd say this, but...

... fruit just might be here to stay.

8 Hours Later and My Face is Still Pink...

What a run.

I have no idea how long it is, but it's become my regular weekend route.

3 hours out and back, through the neighborhood, past the university, across Menaul and Candalaria. The turn around is at Montgomery.

I started June 15th, taking the levee paths along the arroyo, seeking extra mileage.

Whew (!)--were my legs sore after the first day, so I decided to keep on doing it.

I went again on the 22nd and 29th of June, and this morning was my fourth time.

I'm consistent at 3 hours--almost right to the minute.

But today, I reached the turn around in an hour and 11 minutes, and sailed back home for a total time of 2:29. That's 30 minutes faster than my regular pace. Over (what used to be) a 3 hour run, that is pretty significant.

I'm not sure what was different today, but it's probably a combination of multiple factors:

The weather was certainly cooler. After many a Sunday morning returning hot, sweaty, and cooked, today was a delight.

I decided to use my new shoes. They're Asics. I've been wearing this brand for a long time and they always work for me. I transfered my orthotics to a brand new, unused pair, and took them on a 2 and one half hour first time break in run. That's how much confidence I have in them--and, of course, they did the job.

Finally, I only had 4 hour of sleep two nights ago, so last night I went to bed early, slept deep, and woke up feeling great.

But the real kicker, at least to me, is my unconstructed, do-whatever-I-feel-like brand of training these days.

Unless the streets are shape-shifting.

Shhhh...

The Unplanned Athlete

A raucous and rollicking karaoke dance party, followed by 4 hours of sleep and a killer ride up Tramway--

(--mostly because I wouldn't let the cyclists that passed me on the hill go by without a fight--I was just in that kind of mood. I dogged one poor guy all the way up, and he kept working harder because he didn't like me there (which made for a great sub-anaerobic climb), then caught up with another on the flats who did everything he could to drop me, which of course he eventually did. I can't figure out if these guys drop anyone who comes up behind them, or if they see a little female, so they try extra hard. I mean, initially, they're obviously not going that hard because I catch up to them...in all my years here, the only one who ever sat up and beckoned me up to say hello and give me some good advice was a former pro member of the Shaklee team--a very nice guy.)

A perfect cap to an unprogrammed but spot-on "my-muscles-are-sore-but-I'm-feeling-stronger-every-day" training week.

Now, its time for a nap.

Happy sigh :)

Swim Session

I swam for an hour and fifteen minutes today and my nose won't leave me alone.

I am stuffed up, sneezy, and runny.

The skin under my nose is sore.

I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to sleep tonight.

The water was cool and mildly murky.

Some giant guy got into my lane and kept hitting me.

The little girl in the next lane swam by me like a mermaid.

The guy next to her just about emptied the pool with his 'fly.

I pooped out in the middle, but picked it up when the water got choppy and to try to get out of the way of the flailing limbs in my lane.

I think the little girl may even have kicked me.

When I exited the pool, I ended up in a conversation with the little girl's mom who told me about her 30 pound weight gain after a car accident two years ago, and a sad-eyed pregnant woman who said that all the women in her family had a hard time losing the weight after the baby was born...

Once I extricated myself, I ran out the door, went home, and stretched.

It was a good swim.

But my nose still won't leave me alone.

News...

I ate an apple today.

It was so good,

I'm thinking about another one.

I do like green apples.

Still,

the end of the year sounds about right to me.

22 Million Pages of Evidence...'Nuff said.

After the initial getting-to-know-the-office introductory period,
Mark says he likes what he's doing.
That's a good thing.
I certainly don't think I would know what to do with 22 thousand pages of evidence--much less 22 million.

In other news, I'll be watching fireworks from the heart of our capitol this year.
As well as kayaking the Potomac, seeing the second longest running play in the U.S., and generally running amuck (def'n: a state of extreme activity) among the monuments and museums.
Should be a good weekend.

Welcome to DC Redux

It's still raining hard.
Mark now has an umbrella.
Plus an unspecified amount of work to do at home,
after his work day in the office.

Welcome to DC

Mark just arrived.
It's late.
P*ssing down rain.
And he doesn't have an umbrella.
He'll be walking to his first day at work tomorrow, in new suit and good shoes, with a newspaper over his head...

Summer Camp in a Suit

Mr. T is spending the summer in another part of the country.

As a 1-L, first year student, he spent a good part of this year wondering if he would get a summer position.

The change in the economy added an element of uncertainty to the tradition of gaining summertime hands-on experience.

Initially, he verbalized his worry.
Then, he got down to business and started getting his name out.

He applied for a number of positions--many in New Mexico, as well as several out of state.

Some applications consisted of just signing up for the initial interview.

One application for the federal government was convoluted and took a full day to complete.

Sometime later, he received an email stating he was eligible for the job.
Then, he received an email stating he was not.
Sometime after that, he was interviewed by conference call--in between classes on a cell phone, with poor reception and no privacy.

His comment afterwards was that he didn't think it went so well.

He put this option on the back burner, and continued seeking opportunities, mostly in the area of child advocacy and, desirably, in New Mexico. He was offered more than one position, all of them unpaid.


Then he received a call from the federal government--with a contingent offer.


The contingency went on for a little while, as the ponderous wheels of governance sorted itself out. He didn't receive confirmation of the job until 3 weeks before the projected start date. This hasn't left us with very much time.


On the plus side--all the details are rushing at us so fast, we've had little time to think about the reality of absence.

Mr T is going to Washington.

As always, my imagination has been running rampant, and I have visions of going to the Media Museum (the Newseum) and seeing the cherry blossoms at the Capitol (even though they are long gone).

The reality, is that Mark will be gone all summer.
Already, this year has been a change for us.
He hasn't had time to do much more than study.
The lawn has grown up around our ears (sorry Muffin), and my former training partner and motivator is generally planted on his seat at a study desk for more hours than any seat should have to handle.

When Mr. T asked around, he heard that Washington internships weren't all nose-to-the-grindstone.
That's good.
He's been working hard all year.
A summer party in a suit is just what he needs.

(Actually, we're pretty sure he's going to be working hard. Just hope he gets some fun time in, also.)

Riding with Mark

Mark bought me a cookie this weekend.

After almost 30 miles of riding hills he was feeling bonkish, passed a bake sale, stopped for a treat, and got me one also. This was his first long ride in more than a month—since he hit a pothole, went down on his bike, and separated his shoulder on March 29th.

The bake sale was located after about 7 miles of sustained climbing, on the inside curve of a short, flat area, just before the road banked right for a turn onto a steep uphill.

I was a half mile behind Mark, struggling after another week of yet again being sick—a “spring cold” as my sister put it—and still having difficulty with my lungs due to a lingering congestion in my chest and a cough that just won’t go away.

Coming up the hill, going into the flat, right-banked stretch of road, I always move into my big ring to gather momentum for the next (steep) uphill stretch. I was exceptionally tired. Too many workouts missed due to illness, too many hours on my feet at work, feeling drained, I just wanted to get as much speed as possible, and get up that last, danged hill—so I flew by the bake sale, and just as I was passing I heard a chorus of children’s voices, “Naomi? Are you Naomi? Mark bought you a cookie!”

Huh? It took a moment to process all the yelling. Are they talking to me?

I was already moving into the uphill stretch, and just wanted everything to be over (even though I was only half way through the ride) and didn’t want to stop.

So, I didn’t.

But I also didn’t to want to disappoint Mark.

And, I couldn’t stop thinking about that cookie.

So on the way back down, I stopped, and picked up TWO cookies.

And 20 miles later, I was glad I did. Sun-burned, wind-blown, struggling with fatigue, concentrating to just keep turning the pedals--one of those sweet, chocolate laden confections of sugar, flour, butter, and eggs, got me through the last 8 miles of riding.

AND,

I still have another left,

For whenever I need a boost,

And a really nice memory.

On the flip side of this weekend, I did the Run 4 The Zoo 10K on Sunday. It was another struggle-fest due to the muscle soreness I could feel with each step--but it was over a whole lot quicker. 56 minutes and change quicker. Bleah. Not my best, but certainly an exercise in pushing through fatigue.

In a nutshell, the morning temp was extra cold, my legs hurt and my hands felt like ice until mile 2.5, the mile 4 split was too short, so I felt like I was on target for my estimated time--only to find out later that I wasn't, it was very nice to see Pirate, Bones and his main squeeze (thanks for the hug!), and Miguel but the large crowd was disconcerting, and I followed the 10K with a slow 5K without replenishing myself after the 10K, and ended up super dehydrated.

Still, it's nice to have a 10K benchmark, since I haven't done one for awhile.

And, my legs are now super sore this morning.

I feel like I had a good weekend.