Day 31: Gram's Gingerbread

We went to visit my Gram today, we took her favorite gingerbread to her. She fell again this week, the day she told me she was doing 100% better. This time she bruised up her ribs and back. The worst part for her is not being able to get around to see her friends.

My Grandparents had been dating before World War II. Just before Gramp went into the service my grandparents married and lived together for five or six months. Gramp shipped off to the south for basic training and became so sick with chigger bites he was hospitalized for a couple of weeks. To remedy the situation, the military shipped Gramp off to Iceland with a bunch of bars and stars. Gram said he had never worked so hard in his life as in those three years he was stationed there. He taught skiing and rifling to Allied soldiers. He also mastered and taught the art of ice lodge making, "a fine business if you're planning on staying in it awhile." After three years in Iceland, Gramp taught in England and North Ireland for a year.

Meanwhile, back on the ranch, Gram organized the entertainers for the military hospitals. Part of her job was figuring out the transportation. "Black girls rode the tour bus to the hospital. White girls rode the tour bus to the hospital. But you could never mix the two, even if they were in the same act. Opera singers would sometimes come perform, we had all sorts" She also took care of my father.

By the time my Gramp returned from the war ("There was no such thing as leave back then,") my father was almost 4 years old.

Gramp passed a couple years ago. I, miraculously, was there as he passed. I have an intuitive gift for such things. He had been riding the roller-coaster of non-hogdkins lymphoma for a couple of years. He passed a week after Gram and Gramp's 65th wedding anniversary, and two weeks shy of his 91st birthday.

I can still hear his friendly, "well, Hello!"

Gram's Gingerbread

Preheat oven to 350. Grease an 8x8 inch square pan-line with parchment.
Whisk together:
1 cup flour (5 oz)
3/4 cup whole wheat flour (4 oz)
1 ts baking soda
1 Tb ground ginger
2 ts ground cinnamon
1/4 ts ground cloves
1 ts ground cardamom
dash of cayenne
1/4 ts salt

In a large bowl, whisk:
1 stick softened butter
until creamy. Add and beat until lightened in color:
1 egg
1/2 cup brown sugar

Gradually beat in:
1 cup dark molasses

Add the flour mixture and stir until combined. Mix in:
1/4 cup finely chopped candied ginger
1/2 cup boiling water.

Pour into pan. Bake about 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool completely (if you can). Slice into 2x2 squares and serve.

Non egg alternative: pour 1/4 cup lukewarm water and 1 Tb ground flax seeds in a food processor and turn on for a few minutes until the mixture thickens. Use in place of egg. BTW this works for lots of other batter recipes as well.

It was a rest day today. I pick up my swimming tomorrow. Yay!


My (projected) Week Schedule

Monday, Wednesday, Friday
Warm up/easy swim Freestyle 300 yards (10 laps) Cool down (4 laps)
Cycle commute
10-15 minutes basic flow yoga, 10 dips and 20 crunch sit ups on the big ball – do ONE set!

Tuesday Thursday
Warm up/walk 10 min, Run 25 min, Cool down 10 min
Cycle to and from work 7-10 miles each way
10 push-ups, 25 crunch sit ups, 15 ball squats, and 10 lunges, each leg. Keep good form do ONE set!


Saturday
Early in the morning, a nice little 25-35 mile ride

Day 30: Dia de los Muertos

We are driving home right now after attending the dia de los Muertos celebration at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery. It's the only time I have ever paid to enter a cemetery. We arrived while it was still light out and could see the elaborate alters decorated in the graveyard. Flowers, food, candles, dioramas, skulls, skeletons, and most importantly photographs of deceased loved ones. Some were huge and elaborate, others were simple and understated. Each told a story, each was a reminder of at least one life. What a beautiful tradition.

Before we walked in the gates we could hear drumming. Dancers in ancient and huge feather headdresses were dancing to drums just inside the cemetery gates. There were other dancers and bands throughout the cemetery.

When we set out this afternoon, we weren't sure what to expect. Though there were a lot of people in costume, the atmosphere wasn't a Halloween party. It was more somber, like walking through a museum. Some of the costumes were amazing.

As was the food. All things Mexican. Pan Dulce, agua fresca, churros, fruit on a stick with chili and lime, sopas the Dastrups couldn't finish, and more. I had a hand made thick tortilla with al pastor. Je had a bacon wrapped hot dog with grilled veggies. It was awesome.

This morning I woke up hankering to run. We had talked about driving to the beach to run down there, but the car battery was dead. I asked JE if he would mind if I ran while he dealt with the car. The man is a saint. When I got back, he was just returning from getting a battery and a new clutch for the washing machine. Like I said, a saint

Day 29:

There are some things it is best not to know. For instance: each peanut m&m has just over 10 calories, whether or not your coworker tried to grow a beard, how many spiders cross your pillow at night, or who makes a habit of reading your blog.

Where I am working right now seems to be a hot bed of intrigue. Some one was sent home on paid leave. Some people are disgruntled. There are vibes. I get to be over-hire, which means I get to enjoy everyone I work with without having to take sides. It's a great spot to be in. I was hired to work, and that is what I get to do. All I can say is, I am glad it is Friday, and I am glad I get to go back on Monday.

Now you know almost as much as I do, and probably more than you would really want to know.

I rode like the wind this morning. I kept my pace above 16 miles per hour the entire way to work-setting a new time record for myself and allowing me to actually be early! Awesome. No running today, I had some work to finish this morning before work--go figure. I really missed it. Weird to say that this thing I have hated my entire life is now something I really enjoy. It is still difficult, but not the way it used to be. I also think my ankles are growing in strength; my tendon's don't get as sore. Either that or I have learned to warm up and cool down properly.

Day 28: The Beard

"Will you tell me stories about your beard?" I asked JE tonight. Since mid-September, he has been growing a beard--The Beard. It all began with an innocent: "We could go as Paul Bunyan and Babe for Halloween," and suddenly JE had a full blown Paul Bunyan beard. Or a "Jesus-Beard" as Justin called it tonight.

I had just returned from a 50 mile bike ride to the car parked at JE's work, when JE and Justin pulled up. Mid conversation I commented on Justin's facial hair (Why must we comment on facial hair?). JE and Justin exchanged knowing looks and told me about Random Guy. "Dude!!! You got some serious fuzz growing there," says Random Guy who walks back and forth in front of JE staring hard at The Beard. Random Guy's own long beard wagging back and forth with excitement. "How long are you going to grow it?" asked Random Guy. JE tells him that since I like The Beard, it's tempting to keep it. "DUUUUDE! You got the job! You got the girl! Pretty much that entitles you to Facial Hair Freedom!"

This is not the only conversation about JE's beard I've heard about. The Beard has been tauted as "transformative," "The last frontier of manliness," and "pretty." All by men. JE's mom hates the thought of The Beard. "Shave it as soon as you can!" Apparently Dad had a mustache once that drove her crazy.

At work, I needed to do some specialty equipment I have at home, so I was able to leave early and take the long way home. The really really long way home. The ocean was glassy and perfect with completely clear views of Catalina Island. I rode to the end of Bolsa Chica and back. It was dark before I finished.

I didn't realize how many people are out there after dark. This was the maiden voyage of a new bike light. Good to know I can find my way around. I passed night runners who were grunting with effort, which made me realize how much more effort I could put into my workouts. I will strive for that.

JE and Justin had eaten at Curry House on Culver and Walnut in Irvine. JE took me there where I devoured an entire platter of Katsu. Long rides do that to me. Ready for sleep.

Day 27: Stephanie

This reminds me of that video they showed in Seminary of that kid playing soccer who falls down and hurts his knee. The pain doesn't go away and he finds out he has bone cancer.

JE finishes playing guitar and gets up for a drink of water. I am missing my chamomile tea tonight. We just found out that JE's oldest sister, Stephanie, has cancer.

Stephanie discovered aerobics before thongs were worn over tights as exercise apparel. She grew up loving aerobics. Her enthusiasm and fun personality encouraged a lot of followers and she was able to teach for a number of years. I met her just before she stopped teaching because of chronic pain.

Stephanie has always been in love with life. Anyone suggested a fun activity and Stephanie was there. One summer JE and I went tubing on the Provo River with Steph and her kids. As we pulled out of the water the Heber Creeper was rolling by with tourist leaning out waving. Steph turned to me and said

I'll give you twenty bucks if you moon them.

I didn't, I was afraid of a felony charge.

Last Christmas we spent time with Steph's family in Puerta Vallarta, Mexico. When their family bought their house in PV, it came fully furnished and included a set of rather loud, resin chickens. Steph wanted to get rid of them, so bad. We chose a tall black and white rooster to take into the city with us and took photos of him everywhere. Her laugh kills me!

When I spoke with Steph on the phone the other day and she told me her news, she spoke about the people who love her. She is such a great example of the power of positivity and the ability to overcome. I know she will fight magnificently. I know it will be a tough battle, but she will see the beauty in it.

It is easy to take health for granted. It is easy to take family for granted... Let me not be found ungrateful for either. It has been a tough year, and at times I am still getting my head around it. It's time to amend, to take that step back into arms that love me. They need me, I need them. This is more difficult than running.

But I do run, and find myself looking forward to it. This mornings run was amazing. I tacked on a couple extra minutes and tried to run happy--with bounce.

Day 26: Exercise

"I'm so proud of myself," I could hear the smile in my 91 year old Gram's voice. "Yesterday I asked the doctor when I could begin my exercises again, he told me I could start whenever I felt up to it. So yesterday I did half my usual amount, and today I did the full amount." Gram was down for a couple weeks after a fall which caused a pinched nerve in her leg. She is a tiger.

On their wedding night, my grandparents stayed in a posh hotel. On their way to their room late that night, my gram discovered a wheelchair parked outside another guest's door. Gram sat down in the chair and Gramp sashayed her around the hallway. In my imagination, Gram is wearing a ball gown and a fur stole. Gramp, ever dapper, is wearing a tuxedo. Both are shimmering with suppressed glee and wheelies.

My Gram was a war bride. She married in a tailored navy blue suit with a string of pearls about her neck. She comes from "Society," but has always determined her own standard of joyful living. Against the wishes of her parents, her wedding dinner was a picnic under the trees.

My Gram paints, these days. Watercolor. She has always painted, but finds more time to do these things now. It fills her mind with focus on positive things. She paints the things she loves: birds, rabbits, turtles, Mammoth, dogs. Her mind is sharp, even if her brush stroke isn't. My Gram has a shake in her hand which makes painting and even writing difficult (I have never heard her complain of this, only observed). I have realized over the past year the importance of persisting in doing things I love, even if I am not as good as other people, or even as good as I once was. Perfection comes with the exercise.

I am on day two of my newly planned schedule. My swim was unexpectedly lovely this morning. JE and I rose before the sun and walked to the heated pool. This was the first clear morning in ages and the stars were in full force with a low moon. The pool was dark and still, but when we broke the surface, a million dark rainbows glided in waves across the bottom. We swam until the sunrise. My bike is in the shop and I got off work a bit early, so I walked 45 minutes to meet JE, who flew past me in the car. He picked me up and since all I could think about was Korean BBQ, he took me to pho. True story.

Foodwise: Loads in and loads out. I am keeping a record of this, not too sure I want to share. This whole thing with the calories I burn and the calories I eat aren't congealing in my understanding. I get the gist, but when I eat 3000+ calories I have a huge sense of guilt, even though I am burning half of it in my exercise routine. This is causing me some distress, and I need to do some reading to understand what my body needs while I am wreaking so much havoc on myself. Any objections? Please comment. Any support? Please comment

Day 25: Weigh in

The last couple weeks I lived in Russia, the water in my appartment was turned off. In fact most of the area around where I lived had no water. Sporadically the construction crew remembered to turn the water back on after working on new apartments in the area. No laundry, no showers, and a bucket of snow that would melt into water to flush the toilet.

Just before I left Tatiana Ivanevna and her husband rented a private bath at the local bath house. Her son, a friend and I were invited also. The private wing consisted of a small, deep rectangualar pool tiled with brown subway tile and filled with hesitatingly green water--it was clean, but very green like a river. The Sauna was a dry sauna in a wood paneled room with stadium benches all the way to the ceiling.

Tatiana and her husband liked heat. And steam. A bucket next to the heater was emptied a couple times while they were in there. Tatiana joked that it was the only way for a Russian to thaw and the only way to get truly clean. I like a hot sauna, but this was the type of heat that burned as it passed through my nose.

My current location in at a Korean spa in Los Angeles. Je scooped me up and drove off with me only mildly objecting--I have a lot to do at work tomorrow. This is one of my favorite places on the planet, with the women's spa and the jiljabong. My JE is waiting for me to join him in the salt sauna--a room made of salt with large salt crystals on the floor to burry myself in. So relaxing! Later perhaps, we shall get a bing to cool us down.

Foodwise: 3012 calories--I couldn't satiate today. But I did meet my work out goals. I burned 1324 calories on my morning run and my cycle commute. My spoke broke, so no commute tomorrow. I will run or walk or yogasize instead. Gotta go sauna!

Day 24: Rest Day

The past few weeks I have had the honor of writing while JE practices his guitar. In the beginning of October we dined with Boyd and Debbie. Boyd is a great guitarist who has been in several bands and who played for the USO. Boyd handed JE a James Taylor book and told JE to learn some songs they could play together. Tonight Boyd and Debbie came to our house for dinner. After dinner, the boys played guitar. It was awesome. Good food, good friend, and music. We definitely need to make this a tradition.

This week's training has felt really scattered and sporadic. I just finally sat down with my training guides. I set some goals and built a little schedule. By the end of next month, I will be running/jogging 45 minutes straight. I will do this by continuing to run every other day upping my time/distance/speed. By the end of next month I will be swimming 450 yards. I will do this by working on keeping an even pace, a solid stroke and steady kick. I train MWF in running one week and switch it for swimming the next. What can I say about my cycling? I ride further than my training books tell me, it's just my commute. I know I should be faster, but part of that is the bike. There are times when I do scoot a fair pace.

My Week Schedule

Monday, Wednesday, Friday
Warm up/walk 10 min, Run 20 min, Cool down 10 min
Cycle to and from work 7-10 miles each way
10 push-ups, 20 crunch sit ups, 10 ball squats, and 10 lunges, each leg. Keep good form do ONE set!

Tuesday Thursday
Warm up/easy swim Freestyle 250 yards (10 laps) Cool down (4 laps)
Cycle commute
10-15 minutes basic flow yoga, 10 dips and 15 crunch sit ups on the big ball – do ONE set!

Saturday
Early in the morning, a nice little 25-35 mile ride

Foodwise: Intake 2281 however a huge portion of that came from candy. What is my deal? I don't even like candy! I need some re-dedication, no more empty candy calories! Output: not much

Day 23: Party

Every year Bronwen and Jeff host a Halloween party. It always involves creative food in the shape of some body part or other, bobbing for doughnuts on a string, great decor, and kids and adults in costume. This is the first year I brought something resembling a body part--a steamed cauliflower brain with cheesy bechamel and french fried onion maggots. This year the guest list seemed to include a lot of thier kid's friends and their parents so the body part food list was limited to my brain. Oops.

This year B and J went as Dr. Frankenshtein and Inga from Young Frankenstein. Funny. JE and I went as Paul Bunyan and Babe the big blue ox. My ox tended to go into the realm of Babe, the go-go ox. Many people asked what I was dressed as, and when I said I was with Paul Bunyan, they picked it up quick. Other note worthy costumes were Judge Judy, The Man in the Yellow Hat with his toddler son Curious George, Captain America, a Lego, 5 year old Mario who couldn't stop rubbing his belly, a guy in a gorilla suit--as in gorilla warfare, a viking, and a 6 year old boy dressed entirely in white who wore one of his parents black crocs on both feet and jumped around half the night (when he first arrived he proclaimed that he had been practicing at home. When he left, his costume was badly stained at the knee).

Foodwise: Intake 2235--even with a giant breakfast with friends and a food buffet at dinner. Output: 684 from an early morning swim--it was tough to get there, but I did it!

Day 22: Sleep

Sleep is a beautiful thing, something I need a little more of in my life these days.

It seems that work might be here to stay for a little while. Lots of crazy goings ons. I really enjoy putting my head down and focusing on the tasks at hand, there are things to get done.

I'm working on a plan to coordinate my training with my work schedule. The first thing JE told me when I saw him tonight is that there is an Olympic size swimming pool a quarter block from my work. I need to know if they have a public swim time. The pool in my complex is too unpredictable, which is ridiculous since we pay so much in HOA fees for the privilege.

Sleep is a beautiful thing. I think I'll go find some right now.

Foodwise: Intake 2623 calories--I learned today that a glazed doughnut has between 300-500 calories--one doughnut... I was one doughnut away from meeting my caloric goal. Output: 918 calories burned up in just biking leisurely to and from work.

Day 21: three official weeks!

it takes 21 days to form a habit. I'm there!

This morning was a tough one to get out of bed. Once I'm up, I'm up and usually glad for it. The last half mile or so we pretended to not be tired. I soon realized that this is how I should be running all the time. I need to work on making every footstep peppy. I'll do this the same way I learned to run--a block on, a block off until the blocks blend together.

Work was strange. Big news there. Not sure how much is talkable publicly, so I won't. Such a strange day. I won't have my Mondays off for a while.

We took pastry to bc in manhattan beach tonight. Good times, but geezopeezo am I tired!

Food wise: intake 3003 calories. I think I felt the vibe of the goings-ons and needed chocolate peanut butter cups. Trader Joe makes a dark variety. Output: 1327 split between biking home and running. It's good to be back in the saddle.

Day 20: Instruments of Adventure

On May 24, 1930, Amy Johnson completed a flight from England to Darwin, Australia. "The aircraft was made of wood and fabric, with an open cockpit, and contained only four instruments: an altimeter, an airspeed meter, a compass, and an indicator for turning and banking. There was no radio... She took with her only her bare necessities, including a spare propeller, a revolver, and a knife. (1001 Days that Shaped the World; Peter Furtado)" Her journey took 19 days and covered 11,000 miles. Amy Johnson became a household name.

A couple weeks ago, JE and I were listening another cyclist talking about a couple of races he had just completed, back to back: the Everest Challenge, and the Furnace Creek 508. The Everest challenge is 29,000 feet of climbing in a couple days and Furnace Creek is 508 miles in 24 hours or less. Mad, mad, crazy stuff! This cyclist was talking about watts monitor vs heart rate monitor. He trains constantly--plugged in.

If I am an athlete, I'm a lazy athlete. I can't remember the last time I checked my pulse or heart rate. I recognize the need to get my heart rate up during my training, and I am not always very good at keeping it up for the beneficial time required. I've been wondering about picking up a gadget or two, but I hesitate. What do I really need? There are devices that measure watts, cadence, mileage, calories, steps, distance, time, etc... and connects to your computer where it puts it all into neat tables and graphs. It will even map where you ran/biked/walked--whatever!

I think my approach to my training is much more in line with Amy Johnson. Take what you need, do your best, and finish what you started. Adventures can only happen when we wrestle with uncertainty.

Perhaps my life has become overly simplistic. We don't have a TV (there tends to be two trains of thought when I tell people that. The first is the romanticized, "Oh, I wish I could do that..." The other is, "What? Are you nuts? What do you do at night?"), we have one car, we like each other and have a good time together. The way I see life in general is akin to good machinery: the more moving parts something depends on, the more of a chance for break down. In other words: Keep it Simple!

Josh the bike-man saw my compass/thermometer key chain I keep on my handlebar bag and asked if I always travel with my GPS. Yah, I do. A couple times on my bike tour last summer, the only way I found my way out of urban and suburban sprawl was to follow the needle south. I still use it frequently, even though I have digital maps on my phone.

Admittedly, if Amy Johnson where alive today, her instrument panel and bare necessities would have been much more. But that is the point, do the necessities grow in number and grandeur, or do we become reliant on things that aren't truly necessary. Athletes today are all plugged in, creating a kind of super consciousness in athletes and stronger performances than at any other time in history--honing natural talent and skill. Is that what I want?

Tonight is an "unplugged night" with an exception for my record keeping. A few months ago, when I wasn't working, I spent the day getting the house in order. Everything was soft and shiny with candles. Home felt really good. When JE got home, dinner was really close to ready. We sat together and chatted over a nice meal. For the rest of the evening, we just caught up with each other, chatted, played a board game (when was the last time we had done that?). We didn't answer the phone or turn on the computer. I don't recall what we ate, but we have been having occasional unplugged nights ever since.

Foodwise: Intake 2478 calories including super yummy leftovers pizza (crab with cream cheese, sweet peppers and fresh tomato dipped in sweet chili sauce. Pork roast with fresh apple, caramelized onions, zucchini, pecans and Tia cheese--no red sauce on either.) Output: 1168 calories burned in addition to my daily life calories. We woke before dawn and walked over to the heated pool for a swim, but found the door locked with a chain and padlock. That left us to wonder if we should run or go for a cold pool swim. We were already cold... We drove down to Laguna Beach, walked through Heisler Park and watched the storm pass over the ocean. Later, I rode my bike home through dirty, but dry trails.

Day 19: Rain

Soon after we were married, JE and I lived in Michigan. One night after a movie, we were walking back to our tiny apartment. It had begun to drizzle and within minutes, in true Midwest fashion, it was dousing us full force. Our saunter home turned into a laughing jog. Our laughing job turned into a full fledged sprint when a crack of lightening hit one of the light poles in the parking lot where we were. It sent me screaming and running. It sent JE running.

Rain in Southern California is a rare thing. Lightening and thunder are exceptional. Since we moved here 7 years ago, I can count the number of lightening storms we have had here on a high school wood shop teachers hand.

This morning we ran in the rain. It sprinkled while we warmed up. By the time we rounded the corner that marks the beginning of our run we were in an outright downpour, accented with lightening and thunder. It's fun to run in the rain. My mind concentrates things like not slipping on the algae flourishing on the sidewalk or stepping in the current of water in the storm gutters.

I work in one of the only costume shops in the world that actually has windows. Today the view from the window was amazing. The sky was so dark and stormy, with flashes of lightening on and off. At one point, a huge bolt of lightening lit up the room and the thunder crack was gunshot loud. One of the students screamed. Another student asked, "What would Julie Andrews do?"

No cycle commute in weather like this. I don't live in Seattle, where drivers are aware of the crazies who ride in the rain. Not so here! People have a hard enough time navigating rain without throwing something, like a cyclista, under their wheels. Rather than wait for JE to get me, I headed out in my sweet Marmot replacement rain shell (my first rain shell wore out after only 11 years. I sent it back to the company and because the lifetime guarantee covered that particular wear and tear, they sent me a new jacket) and walked in the rain a couple miles.

Foodwise: Intake 2306 calories--mostly leftovers from our uber extravagant weekend. Output: 1044 calories from our 50 minute run in the rain and my hour long walk.

Day 18: Weigh in

While living in Utah I took an Emergency Medical Technician course. As part of the course I had to spend 3 evenings in the ER observing the doctors and paramedics. One night a woman came in after her horse had nudged her shoulder and dislocated it. It was several hours before she came to the ER and her muscles surrounding the injury were in spasm. The doc gave her an intravenous sedation and she went immediately unconscious. As she started to slump, her arm popped back into place. It seemed that allowing her muscles to relax, enabled her bones to realign. After another injection, she came back into consciousness and asked how long she had been out. The whole thing took less than 5 minutes.

I realized today that I have been saying, "battling it out in the water." I've been reading and studying appropriate technique for swimming, but not aligning or progressing.

Today was different. With the advice and care of well practiced swimmer, I was able to break through a barrier. "Swimming is all mental. Make your stroke as monotonous as possible and just keep doing it; soon it will be like walking. Breath every other breath if you need to. You're kicks are huge, try to make them flutter."
It's nice to feel like now I can progress! Thanks DA!

Foodwise: Intake 2523 calories. We went to Disneyland with friend Tiffany and had the seafood crepe at Cafe Orleans. They were tasty. Output 1053 calories, plus whatever I burned up walking around Disneyland.

Weigh in. Yah... not too proud of this 224.5. Sometimes stuff like that is cyclical. All in all I have lost a half inch on my hips, a half in on my waist, an inch on my thigh, and gained an inch on my bicep. If we look at the mass, rather than the weight, then I can be pleased! Lovin' the way my clothes fit...

Day 17: Rest Day

This morning on our way down to my Gram's we passed a wreck. When it rains in Southern California, the freeways become danger zones. JE drives quite gingerly having had a couple bad scares with cars loosing control next to or in front of him.

At 91, my grandmother is incredible. She has an indomitable spirit and a positive outlook on life. Or she always has. I heard the first signs of fatigue in her today. She fell about a week and a half ago, nothing broken. She hurt her leg and hasn't been feeling well since, though through our visit today she never complained or led on about her discomfort.

My Gram is one of the original adventure foodies. She and my Gramp cooked together. I fondly remember Greek salads and homemade Japanese spicy pickles. I have a few of their old cookbooks, most came with handwritten notes in the margins. One of my favorites was written by Vincent and Mary Price called "A Treasury of Great Recipes." Excellent photos. I recently found a recipe from their travels to Africa handwritten by Gramp.

The things she remembers most from her travels are the unique meals and the people. When China opened it's doors to Western tourism, my grandparents were on the first plane over. Everyone in their tour group was served birthday cake every morning for breakfast, a little translation mix up with coffee cake. Some of her tour mates carried spoons in case they couldn't eat with chop sticks.

I asked her recently what her favorite thing she ever learned was, she answered with an immediate and enthusiastic, "People! Gosh, they're all just so interesting." I love my Gram.

Foodwise: Intake 2741 mostly taken from a robust "crab feast" at the Fisherman on San Clemente pier with JE and BC--Congrats BC! Locals: if you like seafood, this is a fabu place to spend a romantic evening or special occasion. It is literally on the pier directly above the crashing waves below. The Crab Feast is a four course leisurely meal. The last course is a pallet of snow, king and dungeness crab served with rice pilaf and steamed vegetables. Seriously check it out! http://www.thefishermansrestaurant.com/ Output: what ever it takes to break the meat from half a dungeness, half a snow and two huge king crab legs. Yup, life is good. (Until tomorrow when I have to weigh in... Yikes!)

Day 16: Mushrooms

Tatiana Ivanevna had a secret. "Come, let me show you," she said
leading me into the kitchen. Under her sink was the biggest glass jar
I have ever seen. It was crammed full of gnarled, fleshy, brain-like
structures I soon learned were mushrooms. In the summer around Nar'yan
Mar the tundra fills with fungus. Any housewitch worth her salt can
tell the good from the poisonous. "They say you're not supposed to do
this thing (bottle them), but I just can't help it. I love them so much.
And I need them in the winter, also." A few weeks later she cracked
that jar open and feasted. I had two but the jar was empty within hours.

A few years ago while visiting my sisters in Portland Oregon, we hiked
around Mount Hood. We were just past mushroom season so all we found
were the neatly sliced off stems of morels and chanterelles.
Occasionally we found red spotted fairytale toadstools, but nothing
edible.

This week my little sister went mushroom hunting, and yesterday I
received a mushroom lovers ultimate paradise: a box filled with creamy
gold chanterelles and aromatic porcini.

The only dish I could think to make was a mushroom tart, so JE and I
ran to our neighborhood market to pick up some half and half. The sky
was cloudy and cool, perfect baking weather. We baked listening to Rick Bayless on KCRW's guest DJ project. http://www.kcrw.com/music/kcrw-guest-dj-project

My house has the smell of an eccentric forest dwelling creature:
butter, mushrooms, onions, gingerbread. Yum. Mushrooms have the
essence of the earth in them, and somehow when they are cooked in butter,
that earthiness becomes heavenly.

This afternoon we spent some time in the pool. Purely play. No laps allowed. This should be fun. All of this. I don't want to forget why I am doing this. It's easy to get caught up in the technical aspects of a thing and loose the joy in it.

Therefore, no "Foodwise" today, I mostly behaved. Let today be a play day.

Day 15: Risks

While filling a prescription this afternoon, JE eavesdropped on a conversation between Random Guy and Pharmacist. Random was talking about the dosage of some drug he was taking and trying to convince Pharmacist that he needed a higher dose. Pharmacist was recommending a change of diet and exercise to combat whatever problem Random was dealing with. The pills came with several health warnings and Random was complaining about severe cramping. Pharmacist mentioned that the drugs he was taking cost more than a new gym membership and the gym carried less risk. Random insisted that there were too many risks at the gym, he could slip and fall on the treadmill and that would cost way more money. Pharmacist prescribed walking, but Random again insisted that he couldn't do that either. In desperation, the Pharmacist turned to Random's wife imploring "Do you think you could help him with that?" Random's wife responded, pointing to Random, "I'm not the issue here!"

At work Tuesday I commented on a student's bike. "Thanks, I just got it. My other bike got wrecked when I got hit by a car." She had been going the wrong way through an intersection instead of riding with traffic. She got the ticket, and really bruised up.

Yesterday at work, I was talking to a coworker who's good friend had been in a very bad bike wreck. She was running in a crosswalk and was hit by 2 cyclists who ran a stop sign. She is almost OK now, but it messed up her brain and she has no sense of taste.

Today at work, while talking with Katie, I discovered that her boyfriend had been hit by a car while on his bike. The driver didn't see him. He is OK, but his bike was shattered. The car windshield was broken out.

All this info in one week. I have had several close calls with cars who weren't paying attention--texting, distracted, eating or just not looking. I feel really cautious and my alert level has increased tremendously. The thought of getting hit by a car is utterly terrifying to me. It makes every safe ride a sweet little gift. These recent tales of doom move me to be more cautious, but not paranoid. I love being out there on my bike.

The community that I live in has amazing designated bike trails and fortunately a lot of my commute is off the road on these trails. However even on trails I'm careful. One of the worst accidents I have seen was on a boardwalk in Huntington Beach. The guy had no helmet. Yah, wear your helmets please folks. You just never know...

Foodwise: Intake 2658 calories with date night shrimp plate at Baja Fish Tacos. Shouldn't have had the freaking chips! Output: 1005 calories. I battled it out for half an hour in the pool this morning. I think my ability to maintain a pace is getting better, though I still have a lot of timing issues. I need to find the rhythm. Otherwise my cycle commute rocked! Even in the rain.

Day 14: Noise

I didn't expect to have my bike back today; I get off work after the bike shop closes. However, we drove over to give it a test whirl during lunch. Josh told me I had worn out my rear cassette. It had been a couple thousand miles since I changed my chain, and my cassette had worn with the chain. Josh is the a bike fix-it wizard who changed all the cables on my bike to red and named her Little Red Riding Hood, with a name plate and everything. He changed the cassette on the spot for me and sent us off. I wish all mechanics were as fair, skilled, and just plain honest as Josh.

Black street clothes at dusk and casual flats don't make the best cycle commuting gear, but it worked in a pinch. I was desperate for my bike ride. My preferred route home is hilly and sparsely populated except for coyote, deer, roadrunners, and warned of, but never seen, bobcats.

About a month ago I was traveling through here at dusk. The trail glides through tall grasses and overlooks a small pond area. Down near the pond I heard a girl screaming--not a fun playful scream. I stopped my bike and peered down through the dim light, I couldn't see anything. Another girl started screaming, and there was a kind of laughter in it. A few more voices rose and I realized, with relief, that the screams I had been hearing were not human, but coyote. They chimed into a chorus of happy howls and yipping. Beautiful!

Tonight we ate orange tomatoes with mozzarella, olive oil, balsamic vinegar and fresh basil. I love this garnished with anchovies and kalamata olives. Tonight the anchovies were so salty they gave me goosebumps. All accompanied by good sourdough.

After cleaning up, we went for a little run. We ran our usual neighborhood run. Only this time, we didn't stop running. We ran nearly 2 miles, without stopping!!! That rhythm in my breath is amazing, it is so consistent, constant and secure. My running is hinged to it.

Foodwise: Intake 2274 calories. That's about 200 calories less than my recommended intake. I think my body is finally leveling out. Output: 1372 on my 12 mile bike commute and nearly 2 miles of running! Hurray! (currently icing my nasty nasty ankles. If I had been Achilles, and my mother dipped my into the Styx, she would have had to hold on to both ankles. I was a really big baby--10 pounds 3 ounces. That would explain why both my ankles are bunk.)

I have a little teddy bear I made for my dad by hand when I was about 7 or 8. It is rough and rustic, but a good reminder for the progress I have made in my trade--I sew for a living. This blog is sort of like that little bear, a good reminder of where I started. Since I started riding my bike to work and around town, I have maintained a 15 pound weight loss--and that is without dieting.

Day 13: Tunnels

Technically the pool wasn't open this morning as we turned the key in the lock. There were no lights to illuminate our swim practice, and the sun wasn't up yet.

Technically, after only four hours of sleep, I could have been justified staying in bed that extra hour to sleep (justified by whom?). I actually tried to stay in bed, but my brain was summoning my body into motion. No sense fighting inert will power. Besides, I have a race to run--in something like 135 days! Yikes!

The King of Sharks fell in love with a mortal woman. He changed himself into a man and married the woman. Nanave was the son of the King of Sharks and that mortal woman. As a young man, Nanave swam in the waterfall beside his mother's hut where he would disappear for hours. He often asked the local fisherman where they were headed to fish that day. Nanave would disappear into the waterfall. Eventually the local fisherman were unable to catch any fish and decided they had a bad god among them. A tricky little test proved that Nanave was that bad god. He was chased to the waterfall where he disappeard. Nanave's father, the King of Sharks, had created a tunnel from the waterfall into the sea.

If I had a tunnel running from my pool to the sea, could I get there? Not in one breath. Swimming today was great. I'm working on slowing my stroke and making it more effective. I'm also working on kicking.

When bowling, there is a four-step pattern. Swimming has the same sort of thing-6 kicks to one stroke and a breath on every third stroke. This and keeping my head slightly down, my tail up, and my arms reaching to roll from the waist. I want this to become mechanical, ingrained in my muscle memory. With my bike still in the shop and my Achilles tendons still tender, swimming and yoga are all I've got for the present.

Foodwise: Intake 2623 calories. JE showed up at my work this morning with a loaf of Boudin Sourdough bread still warm from the oven. I think it must have been a bit torturous for a couple of my coworkers who are on low carb diets. In fact, K. had been making verbal lists of the foods he wanted most only an hour previously. Warm sourdough with a dollop of butter topped the list. Poor guy!
Output: 849 in the pool and on the mat.

Day 12: Time

This morning on my commute by bike to work, I rode by a man in a tunnel that passed under a major surface street. He was playing Bach on a red concertina. People in cars raced over completely unaware of the magic below. I love my commute.

My cycle tour this summer lasted a solid month. I think it's the first time as an adult that a month has felt like a month. There was a peace in living with that slow turn of the pedals. Oh, the places I've been!

Time and choice. That is all anyone has while on earth. It's what choices we make in this lifetime that matter. 

Waking up early to swim and bike to work is really tough when I don't get enouh sleep. In other words, this needs to be a short entry and I need to sleep some. I've got to figure out a schedule that works now that I'm working again. Darn work! Always getting in the way of my real life!  Don't get me wrong, I love my work. I love a whole lot of things. 

Foodwise: Input 2623 calories. Output 835 calories. Little Red went to the bike hospital today. Her chain is slipping and chunking. 

Sent from my iPhone

Day 11: Weigh in

Way back in 1861, Pierre Michaux added pedals to the front wheel of Mr. von Drais's 2 wheeled Dandy Horse and invented the Velocipede. It was made of cast iron and later wrought iron which was stronger. These contraptions came to be known as "boneshakers," because there were no springs or shocks.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boneshaker

People went crazy for it! A race was held in 1869 from Paris to Rouen (about 75 miles or 120 km), that was won in just under 11 hours.

Today I completed 69 miles on my velocipede in under 6 hours, half of it into a gusty headwind. There are amazing things out there to notice, including: a guy on a bike with 2 large green parrots on his handlebars, a horse-drawn hot-rod, 7 fully loaded cycle-tourists (jealous), the Queen Mary, and a huge pod of dolphins playing in the surf. I watched them along the coast for a mile and some. Hundreds and hundreds of dolphins!!!

There is a restaurant in Huntington beach called The Secret Spot. I often stop there for their vegan chocolate chip cookies. They are good fuel to get home with. Today was a two cookie day. At the end of my ride, I was so tired and hungry, I blacked out and got woozy every time I stood up. (JE to the rescue!)

Foodwise: Intake 3974 calories (1300 of which was from a carne asada salad from Chipotle, and that wasn't even with the salad dressing!) Output: 5363 calories (Besides cycling 69 miles, I also swam for 45 minutes this morning.) According to Mynetdiary.com if I keep up with this kind of activity and eating, I will loose about 1.2 pounds daily, or 35 pounds per month. Good luck with that.

As it is, since my last weigh in, I have lost 1.5 pounds, weighing 222.9 pounds this morning. And I feel pretty darn good about that!

Day 10: Rest day

According to Statius, Achilles was taken by his mother, Thetis, to the river Styx. There she held her son by the heel and dipped him in the river in an attempt to purify him and make him immortal. Only his heel remained dry and thereby mortal and susceptible. The convoluted story tells of Achilles best friend being murdered by Hector. Achilles goes ballistic and not just kills Hector, but threads leather straps through his calcaneal tendons to drags Hector's body in the streets. Hector's dad, Priam, asks for the body of his son. Achilles receives Priam and all is well and good as the Trojan war continues, until Paris, Priam's son, shoots Achilles in the heel. Achilles dies.

All these millenia later, we still use the term Achilles heel to describe both tendinitis of the calcaneal tendon, or to describe any terrible weakness.
Walking today was a bit tricky, my Achilles tendons were hot and painful. I walked gingerly. I elevated. I iced. I medicated. I rested. I stretched. Feeling better.

In another version of the story, Thetis dips Achilles in ambrosia, the food of the gods, and attempts to set him on fire to burn away his mortal bits. She is interrupted by Achilles' dad, goes stark raving and flees.

I like the idea of Thetis dipping her son in ambrosia. In my mind, ambrosia is satiny chocolate, beautiful when melted. I wonder what effects that had on Achilles' pallette. I wonder if he looked like Easter candy.

My oven is still warm from baking ambrosia this evening, my Achilles' heel. Chocolate cupcakes dipped in satiny chocolate glaze. Friends and neighbors are well fed. It was an excuse to go visiting.

Food wise: Intake 1523 calories (It isn't about eating chocolate cake, it's about sharing chocolate cake!) Not sure about how much output today. Not worth mentioning, I'm sure.

Day 9: Music

It's 1:30 in the morning. We just got back from a really fun metal (as in music) show in Torrence. Sorizon played at a small pub Called ??? Did I mention it's 1:30?
It was a great show, so much young enthusiasm, talent, and playfulness. Normally I wouldn't think to go to a metal concert, but I am so glad Jeannie invited us. Live shows are amazing, whether it's opera or metal.

In Russia, Tatiana Ivanevna had very few CDs. Her favorite was a collections of Ballads by Guns and Roses. I rolled my eyes and laughed when she played it for me. By the end of the three months I lived with her, that CD became part of the soundtrack of my life.

When I was working for Opera Pacific, I had a pair of tickets for opening night. They were amazing seats valued at more than $300 a piece. I literally couldn't give them away. Sad really. Opera on stage, isn't like opera on a CD.

This morning at dawn I awoke and tried to get ready for a run. I watched as the sun broke over the trees. Such a beautiful morning to sit at the window and enjoy the wind in the jacaranda trees. The morning seemed to be in fast forward. Suddenly we needed to go to the church to clean, and I had no time for my run. I shouldn't have hesitated to go alone.

After cleaning, the day sneaked by. Naps are beautiful things.

JE and I drove to Crystal Cove and we ran along the paved trail, laughing our butts off as we ran and joked. When we run we pretend that our entire bodies are hinged on our smiles. The bigger the smile, the better we run. Our faces become so distorted with trying to smile bigger that we crack ourselves up. Running is difficult when you're laughing so hard. However, we ran for about a mile and a half and walked the other three miles. The tide was incredibly low.

We had a great night out with friends--our lovely SW seafood again (thanks Dan for getting the Peking Duck!).

Food wise: Intake: Rough estimate is 2600. Output: 1203 calories with our run walk and an hour and a half of sweaty cleaning.

Anyone out there know how to deal with nasty Achilles tendons?

Day 8: Baking Under the Influence

Several weeks ago, JE was working a bunch of overtime to get a massive project finished. I baked a batch of a sort of bar pastry and sent them to work with him to share with his coworkers. One of his coworkers flipped out about these and wanted the recipe. I wrote it out and gave it to him. He became obsessed with learning to make these pastries. Though I gave him detailed directions, he hasn't quite pulled it off--close, but no proverbial cigar.

I baked them again last night and again sent them to work with JE. Excuse my smugness, but I have been summoned to dinner to teach the man my secrets in baking them. (Secrets? What secrets? I have no secrets!)

Apricot Almond Chews:
Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 9"x13" pan with greased parchment.
Melt 1.25 sticks of butter. Add 6 ounces chopped dried apricots (or cherries, or other dried stone fruit), 6 ounces roasted chopped almonds (roast them yourself as the oven is preheating-or other nuts), 1 tsp vanilla, .5 tsp almond extract.
Sift 7 ounces cake flour three times and set aside.
Beat 3 egg whites with a pinch of salt until foamy. Slowly add 1.75 cups white sugar and beat until stiff peaks form (about 10-15 minutes). Fold in 1/3 flour until mixed. Fold in 1/2 butter mixture until mixed. Repeat, ending with folding in the last of the flour. Spread into parchment and bake for 40-45 minutes until dry. Cool on a rack. (Sliced into 32 bars= 139 calories and 6 fat grams per bar)

I reserved a few and took them with me as I met David, a new friend and influence, for a training ride this morning (training ride for me, recovery ride for him!). This is the Ironman I spoke of earlier. It was a beautiful day for riding. While talking, I learned that he had lived in India, influenced by the Beatles, and while there had met Mother Theresa of Calcutta. She influenced him to go into medicine. He taught his son to be a surgeon.

What is the sphere of our influence? What propels us? What makes us reach into places unknown? What gives us courage to undertake the huge and seemingly impossible? What gives us the motivation to continue on a chosen path that requires so much diligence?

There is a woman in Lake Arrowhead who began planting daffodil bulbs in 1958. The hillsides around her home are completely covered with huge golden swaths of daffodils. She planted them herself, one at a time for years and years. This is her story:
http://rimoftheworld.net/columns/neufeld/painting

She has influenced thousands of people. There are dozens of websites dedicated to this particular garden and experience. This one is in Australia:
http://www.bankofideas.com.au/Downloads/Daffodil_Principle.pdf

If my tiny influence of baked goods can affect someone to learn and perfect a recipe, what else am I capable of? Here I sit, trying to reconcile my two greatest passions: cycling and food. I am learning that just simply having a passion and living life according to that passion can be a force of influence in the world. Neat!

Foodwise: Intake 2846 calories (which includes three cookie bars), output: 1982 calories (on a 30 mile bike ride). It may be time for a new bike, something that can keep up...

Day 7: Hamstrings

In 280 B.C.E., Chares of Lindos designed and built a statue to the patron god of Rhodes, Helios. The statue was called Colossus of Rhodes and stood 108 feet tall at the mouth of the harbor. It was made of stone and iron and covered with sheets of bronze. It took 12 years to build. It is thought that Chares committed suicide before the completion of the Colossus because he had found a design flaw. The statue failed at the knees during an earthquake after it had stood only fifty-six years. (Despite this fact, it is still known as one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.) For hundreds of years afterward, the ruins of the statue were a popular tourist destination. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colossus_of_Rhodes

This statue is popularly depicted as straddling the harbor. I think I understand how he would have felt, had he been made of flesh. I'm not sure if it was yesterday's yoga or the bit of new gym weight magic I performed yesterday. But, did you know I have hamstrings? I sure know it. Boy howdy do I know it!

Food wise: Intake 3045 calories!!! (corn meal and flour sneaked up on me in the corn bread I made to go with my uber lean mixed bean chili! Zowie!) Output: 2614 calories (house cleaning is awesome for burning things up! Who knew?)

Day 6: The beauty of Pork

Spring of 2009 found us traveling through the mountains on our way to Taroko Gorge, a national park in Taiwan. We drove with our friends, Matt, April and Baby George for hours along massive highways that soon narrowed into tiny 2 lane windy roads that ran through villages clinging to hillsides. We passed adventure cyclists working their way up the ever increasing grade to the park.

Midday we took a rest stop at a scenic overlook. Unfolding ourselves out of our little rental car, we took a walk along a wooden bridge overlooking the gorge. We were greeted by a couple of huge malamutes that seemed to herd us toward a little (in a very authentic sense of the term) farmer's market. A farm family had piled up their fruits and vegetables on tables in a rustic stall: apples, small pumpkins, greens, fresh bamboo shoots and many other beautiful things Martha Stewart would have envied. Every fence and pillar surrounding the place was carefully covered with cabbage leaves set to dry and later to be turned into a fermented cabbage relish. On one table was a tiny barbecue with a small host of sausages. Those Chinese sausages burst when we bit into them with a distinct flavor I will never forget.

Our trek continued on up that hill. The cyclists we had seen earlier were overcome with elevation, and pushed their bikes up the hill. Just after we crested the summit and began our decent into the gorge, we stopped to take photos. As we stood watching, a deep impenetrable fog rolled up the sides of the gorge. It was amazingly beautiful to watch, but Matt had to continued to drive into that treacherous darkness. Hours later, and in complete darkness we made it to our motel.


The Leader Motel in Taroko Gorge is one of the only places in Taiwan still run by the aboriginal people. It was a truly magical place, set against soaring granite cliffs. Each room is cabin style with the raised bed platform with a tufted mattress laid with crisp cotton sheets. We attended the cultural song and dance and had dinner of wild boar bacon fried rice--amazing! April had the vegetarian plate. The veg plate was a beautiful array of exotic grilled mushrooms and fancifully prepared vegetables. (See pictures of the gorge in my facebook album: Taiwan. Or go to http://wikitravel.org/en/Taroko_Gorge)

Tonight we found similar flavors in a dish at our favorite local Chinese restaurant in Irvine (S.W. Seafood on Walnut and Jeffery). Chinese sausage and bacon with peeled broccoli. If you go, get that and the fish fillet with special house sauce--yum!

I've become an eating machine! That usually happens when I begin a new exercise regime. I am staying away from sweets (mostly), too many calories and they don't satiate! I learned today that I can eat a lean protein and be totally fine--I feel so much more sated than by snacking on fruit, though I am a fruit-bat). This calorie counting program on my phone has made me very aware of food value and calorie budgeting!

Food wise: Intake 2429. Burned up 1119 calories at the gym. Rain is a beautiful thing! Am I turning into a Cali girl made of sugar, instead of a Washington girl made of moss? At any rate, I packed my swim suit and put on some sweats and became part of the gym crowd today. At least temporarily. Josh at 24 hour fitness was kind enough to float me a guest pass. We shall see how well it works into my work schedule. Starting next week, I will be a working woman, again. Sigh...

Day 5: Rain

I grew up in Washington State, where rain doesn't make the news. Waking up today and seeing the overcast sky made me nostalgic for evergreens hills dotted with brilliantly colored broad leaf trees and mist rising from rivers. This morning, we ran through golden fields on a dirt track and startled coyotes. They ran ahead on the trail and quickly disappeared into the brush.

In the past several month, I have found myself more in tune with the natural world than perhaps any other time in my life. Coyote, birds, skunks, whales, dolphins, sea lions. Who knew there would be so much of the natural world around this huge metropolis.

I spend a whole lot of time on my own these days. I think it's time to start peopling my world again.

Food wise: Calories in 2871. Calories out 561 on a 45 minute run/walk. I wonder how many calories I burned thinking about going swimming in the rain?
I made an awesome easy dinner: Stir fried chicken, with zucchini and onions with brown short grain rice topped with roasted almonds.

Day Four: Weigh in

From January through April, 1998 I lived in Arctic Russia as a conversational English instructor. Before I left, I was sick on the warnings of others. I'd been told on numerous occasions and by several people to be careful of everything I could possibly eat, because it would make me really sick. Oh, and don't drink the water.

The first night I arrived, the family I stayed with had a huge banquet, both to celebrate my arrival and as a birthday party for Tatiana Ivanevna, my "host-sister." All things Russian arrayed the table before me. Fatty layered gelatin with a layer of shredded meat, beet and pea salads pink with mayonnaise, garlicky shredded carrots with raisins, relish plates of mini toasts and caviar, and the prize: delicately sliced reindeer tongue. Every square inch of table was covered with carefully prepared and beautifully presented dishes. Between the warnings of friend and a horrible case of nauseated jet-lag, the meal was wasted on me.

For two solid weeks, I couldn't eat anything. I was certain anything I put in my body was going to poison me. I drank water boiled and placed by the window where the -50 degree weather outside infiltrated even that thick paned glass. It was such a small pitcher, and hot drinks have never had the same power to quench. My skinny jeans got baggy. At around 160 pounds, I was a walking skeleton. I was faint, hungry and cold!

One day the dam broke. I was so thirsty, I stuck my head under the faucet and drank and drank and drank. Tatiana Ivanevna walked in, saw me and just laughed, as only Russians can laugh. It was such good water, sweet and cold! It wasn't just the water either. Reindeer sausages, soups, that crazy black bread I've been looking for ever since, butter, beets, potatoes, cabbage, a whole chicken skin stuffed with its own meat and other savory fillings and baked (an unnerving dish for the uninitiated with it's uncanny resemblance of a headless, baked baby). In the post office down the street, a woman sold piroghi filled with meat, potato, or an almost burned cabbage. The borscht, cheese, the sweet white bread, the black current jam, peach tea sweetened with condensed milk... Three months later, at the end of my stay another feast lay before me. This one wasn't wasted.

Today I ran more of my 2 miles than I would have though possible, this early on. Rest days are great for allowing all that good glycogen to build up in your muscles and allow you to feel strong. I think I was also propelled by this morning's weigh in. 224.5 pounds. That is a 5.5 pound loss from when I weighed myself a week and a half ago. It's really fast, but I'll take it, even if it's just dehydration!

My bike ride was fun, too. It was a great day for ducks, cool and wet. After 25.1 miles, I was coated with grit and road grease. Yuck! But wet and cold are circumstances, misery is a choice. I had a great ride.

I rode back to JE's work and he paid the guys who do the custom detailing to pressure wash my bike. (Why were they out washing cars in the rain?) He took an early lunch and we went to Pho Ba Co in Irvine. Good pho, so warming.

I picked up the triathletes bible today. Gotta admit, I'm freaked out about this. That pep talk I gave myself yesterday? Tonight it feels like bunk. But I will prevail, I usually do.

Rest day

The LA Triathlon was today. A new acquaintance and inspiration ran in it. I wonder how he did. He runs the race season, and then when his body is built up, he runs as Ironman. The guy has adult kids. Yah, that's how I want to move into my middle age.

In high school, I couldn't run a mile. The first few days of basketball season, the coach practically begged me to join the team. I did! For about 2 weeks. I quit because I hated running, and was never bothered by the coach again. Height really isn't everything in the game, I think I was way too clumsy.

Last night JE and I went up the coast to visit a friend. He wasn't home, so we went down to the Kettle for their famous bread pudding. As I was washing my hands in the bathroom, a tween walked in, saw me, and closing the door leaned against it and openly gawked. "Whoa! You must be really tall!" Most bathroom counters hit me mid thigh, so I practically have to rest my forehead on the mirror to wash my hands. "I am." I said, straightening up. "How tall?" she said. "Six foot three," I said reaching for a paper towel. "WHOA!!! You must be really good at basketball!" Her eyes had gone quite buggy. "Not me, but I ride my bike a lot." "That's so cool! I rode 28 miles on a dirt track once!" she said with a huge proud smile. I asked where she had been on her bike and told her about my bike trip down the coast. The term "Bold as brass" comes to mind. She was great.

Balance

San Onofre State Beach has an abundance of rocks. I love to go there. While most of the beach is sand, there are pockets of smooth, round stones of varying size and shape. Some are thin flat shingles of slate, others are sparking granite. Some of my favorites are white quartz globes. I am a rock stacker, a balancer of stones.

I thought a lot about balance today, and how these three pillars of a triathlon are each so demanding of time, attention, rhythm. When I stack rocks, I can feel the click of balance that allows me to draw my hand away, and the thing stands on it's own.

My body. My mind. My spirit. Each demanding time and attention, balance and rhythm. Today I rested my body (thank you, Heart and lungs. Thank you, legs and arms, neck, feet, organs, eyes, ears mouth and nose!). Today was about spirit.

I spent the bulk of the day at home, engrossed in pajama church. Twice a year my church broadcasts it's General Conference to the world via internet. We watched from this very computer. There is often an unspoken theme with the talks given. Today's was about keeping the commandments. Simple, elegant and to the point.

I recognize that once a week isn't good enough for any of these activities. The triathlon I entered has swimming as the last event. I have a vision which I play in my head of my last lap, hopping out of the pool, I find my Honey, who hugs my sopping wet body and hands me a water bottle and a bouquet of flowers. There are others there too, friends who have come to support me. Unless I finish each event, running, cycling and swimming, this won't happen. If I focus only on one event, this won't happen. Unless I rehearse each event, increase my capacity for each event, this won't happen. I want this to happen! As well as a hoedown later that night, or at least dinner out with friends. I want that. I will make it happen. I will finish this race. It's the same thing I want at the end of my life. I have a vision of what that will be like, too. I want that, more than anything (all in it's due time, of course! Not in a hurry!)

Food wise: 2203 calories. 234 expended on a walk with my lover.

My little sis makes some of the world's best sauteed greens. Here is her recipe:

Saute in 1 Tbl olive oil until translucent:
half a medium onion diced
several cloves of garlic smashed
a pinch of crushed chili
(You can also add a minced slice of bacon or a bit of ham if you prefer)

Add and simmer until reduced to half:
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

Add, stir and cover:
1/2 package Trader Joe's Southern Greens
Salt and pepper.
Stir occasionally. Make sure it has enough liquid. Serve on it's own or over polenta

Day Two: Swimming

In the summer, Mom and Dad would drop my sisters and I off at the local pool. We swam for hours, play mermaid tea party in the deep end, have dolphin races where we couldn't separate our feet the distance of the pool, and lie flat on the bottom and watch people swim over. My favorite way to move through water has always been close to the bottom stealth swimming. I could travel so quick that way, which I am sure was a huge frustration to swim instructors trying to make sure their 9 year old instructies didn't disappear and drown (where'd she go?!?). I love the solitude and peace underwater, with hardly a sound but the tiny clink of my earrings swiveling on their hooks. And when the sun is out, I love swimming through the reflected rainbows.

The community where I live has several pools, three of which my condo overlooks. I waited a while after my run for the rowdy (rather be in Glamis) all male party to vacate the area, then headed over. I was solo in the big pool. A family with 3 girls played in the shallow kiddie pool nearby.

I've been reading about swimming, visualizing myself moving through water with perfect body rolls and outstretched arms,legs kicking powerfully at that invisible soccer ball--6 kicks to one stroke. One article described how to lay on the water and stretch my arms above my head, swing one arm around to take a stroke not moving the other arm until the one in motion taps the other. Laying on the water was fine, no problems there. However, making my arm stay in wait for the other to finish it's revolution was like trying to move my pinkie without my ring finger! I am a born windmill! I just can't seem to coordinate the lower half, my kicking is sporadic, at best.

I now understand what Josh and Ethan meant when they said, "If you feel like you're drowning, just roll over and do the back stroke." Running has gotten easier because of the perfect rhythm in my breath and heart, my built in stereo. But swimming is a whole new animal! Eventually I will get the rhythm of it and find my breath at the moment I need it, but today, this first real day of swimming, it was overwhelming. I kept finding myself rolling over to back stroke, breathing really hard. I don't think I've encountered an activity more wholly physically demanding. At one point I had just rolled onto my back and was finishing a lap when I noticed an osprey flying high over head. Osprey aren't natural gliders, they flutter flap occasionally to keep their place in the sky.

A day without chocolate, can it be? Yup, I think so! Smokes!
We made empanadas. I tried a traditional recipe and then tried to make it a bit healthier by adding whole wheat flour and pumpkin and removing some of the butter. Not quite a complete failure, but definitely not a recipe for sharing, yet!

Total calories: 2374 Expenditure of calories in exercise (according to mynetdiary.com which I think is really high in their estimates) 1095 calories.

Official Day One: Running

My sister told me about a crazy bicycle race that lasted a number of days. There was one guy who repeatedly won. It seems that after so many hours of riding, the riders started to hallucinate. The victor's hallucinations were of monsters chasing him down the road. His teammates encouraged this delusion screaming things like, "They're right behind you! Go, go, go!!!" This is the kind of thing I think about as I run.

I awoke this morning at 6 sharp. No alarm needed. I woke JE and asked if he wanted to run with me. He didn't, but did it anyway. He's nice like that.

We ran and walked for 2 miles, walking a block and running a block. All other times in my life I have tried to run, I tired so easily. This morning though, I had a purpose, a vision, and a goal. I think something clicked in my brain. It wasn't that running was easy, still hard, but I found my reason. My hips relaxed, my shoulders loosened, and I found rhythm in my breath. I was thinking of monsters and Ganesha (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ganesha), Lord of Beginnings, Remover of Obstacles, and shot a prayer up to my God in thanks for this insight and analogy.

I drove with JE to work and took off down the road on my big red bicycle. It is a POJ with a mixed bag of great components. Half a mile down the road the pavement polka-dotted with huge splats of rain. Awesome! I rode a bit faster to try to escape the edge of the cloud that was nearly behind me. A mile down the road had already seen huge dumping of rain. Puddles everywhere! Nice day to ride in white bike shorts--not only did I have a huge dark stripe up my rump, but they were see-through as well! JE texted wanting to know if I wanted a ride. Nope, I owned it. I wore my long wool jersey! On the way back to the car there was no evidence of rain, except my reverse Pepe la Pew stripe.

Food wise: Sum total of calories, according to my entries into mynetdiary.com is: 3108 intake with a loss of 2009 calories from my exercise. I need to figure out what to eat in a pinch. Planning is essential to success here. I may need to make some "Larabar" type treats and keep them stashed in the treat drawer--on top of the chocolate!