Look what's been happening at our house for the last few days...
Friday, March 28, 2008
Book #26: Chuck Klosterman IV
Title: Chuck Klosterman IV
Author: Chuck Klosterman (duh)
A compilation of interviews, columns and a part of a novel by Chuck Klosterman.
I like Chuck Klosterman. I think he's funny. He's a great writer. I've enjoyed most of his other books. But this one is a little weird. The first part, the part with the interviews and articles, is great. I learned more than I ever wanted to know about Billy Joel and Val Kilmer and Britney Spears and Steve Nash. It was fun. The columns (mainly reprints of stuff Klosterman had already published in Esquire) were fun too, although not as educational. The novel, well, the novel was just plain weird.
Book #25: Persepolis: Story of a Childhood
Title: Persepolis: Story of a Childhood
Author: Marjane Satrapi
A graphic novel about the Iranian adolescence of Marjane Satrapi.
I loved this book! I'm not much of a graphic novel reader, so I'll admit I was highly skeptical when someone recommended it to me last year. But when I saw Satrapi interviewed a month or so ago about the movie version of the book, I decided I had to read it. You should read it too. Her drawings do a great job of juxtaposing the innocence of childhood and the horror of the Iranian revolution. I promise-- you'll love it!
Book #24: Finn: A Novel
Title: Finn: A Novel
Author: Jon Clinch
A novel chronicling the life of Pap Finn (yep, Huck's dad), from his early adulthood until Jim finds him dead in his shack on the river.
Although I loved the idea for this book (just as I loved Ahab's Wife and lots of other novels which tell the other side of a fictional story), Pap Finn was such a tormented, terrible, totally repugnant fellow that it made for really hard reading at times. I won't give away the twist that Clinch puts on the story, although it shouldn't be too hard to figure out from the early chapters, that explain some of the language in Twain's story. I recommend the novel to those who love the original, don't mind some very salty language, and who don't have a hard time dealing with murder (and quite a bit of it). Overall, I felt like Pap Finn deserved what he got.
Book #23: A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier
Title: A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier
Author: Ishmael Beah
When Civil War breaks out in Sierra Leone, Ishmael Beah loses his family, then, as a twelve year-old, becomes a soldier in the army, where he kills in a drug-fueled rage until he's chosen for rehabilitation through a United Nations program.
A Long Way Gone is a hard book to read. When Ishmael Beah first loses his family and moves from village to village, looking for them and for shelter, he's not much older than Bryce is right now. It's amazing that any boy that age could survive with no one other than other boys for companionship and protection. In some ways A Long Way Gone reminded me of Candide (which I read many years ago and might have a faulty recollection of). Every time I thought Ishmael was coming to the end of his trials (when he found the village where the rest of his family was staying, for example), something worse would happen (the village got ransacked and everyone within it was dead). I'm also amazed that after the years of killing at the slightest provocation, rehabilitation was even possible. It makes me grateful for the stability of our nation, and for the relatively simple childhoods my children are able to enjoy. I also marvel at the strength of the human spirit and for the way that someone who by all accounts should be "broken" was able, with a little help, to turn his life into something great.
Running: Two Weeks in Review (March 17-29)
last week
Monday: 5 miles on the beach
Tuesday: 6 miles, speedwork (1K, 2K, 1K, 1K, 1K with rest intervals)
Wednesday: 5 miles on the beach
Thursday: 7 miles on the beach (I love those beach runs!!!)
Saturday: 22.5 miles (just under 3 hours)
this week
Monday: spin and abs
Tuesday: 6 miles speedwork
Wednesday: 9.2 miles at the gym (was planning for 10 but a transformer blew and knocked out power)
Thursday: spin and abs
Friday: 15 miles, 12 by myself in the dark in my neighborhood, 3 pushing the stroller after the kids went to school
Saturday: 4 miles hills
Monday: 5 miles on the beach
Tuesday: 6 miles, speedwork (1K, 2K, 1K, 1K, 1K with rest intervals)
Wednesday: 5 miles on the beach
Thursday: 7 miles on the beach (I love those beach runs!!!)
Saturday: 22.5 miles (just under 3 hours)
this week
Monday: spin and abs
Tuesday: 6 miles speedwork
Wednesday: 9.2 miles at the gym (was planning for 10 but a transformer blew and knocked out power)
Thursday: spin and abs
Friday: 15 miles, 12 by myself in the dark in my neighborhood, 3 pushing the stroller after the kids went to school
Saturday: 4 miles hills
Friday, March 14, 2008
And this, my friends, is what we call payback time...
Remember how my mom and godmother kept my kids for a week when I went on a cruise a few weeks ago?
Tonight my mom flies into town and she and the kids and I leave really early tomorrow morning to drive to Florida to spend the kids' spring break with my grandpa (my mom's dad). I'm sure it will be fun once I get there, but I'm too deep in packing mode and in the self-defeating thought processes that come with trying to figure out what to put in the car to keep four kids occupied for a ten-hour car trip each way. The car is a crumby mess (what do the kids do in there, have four-course meals on the way to school?) and I can't decide whether to vacuum it all, which I know would please my mom, but c'mon, if they thrash it when our longest ride is ten blocks, what is it going to look like after ten hours?
Can't Eddie go instead? I'd gladly take call for him on Saturday night and go to work every day next week. While I'd fear for his patients, I'd be more afraid about what might happen if he and my mom spent a week in close proximity without me to act as a buffer.
Tonight my mom flies into town and she and the kids and I leave really early tomorrow morning to drive to Florida to spend the kids' spring break with my grandpa (my mom's dad). I'm sure it will be fun once I get there, but I'm too deep in packing mode and in the self-defeating thought processes that come with trying to figure out what to put in the car to keep four kids occupied for a ten-hour car trip each way. The car is a crumby mess (what do the kids do in there, have four-course meals on the way to school?) and I can't decide whether to vacuum it all, which I know would please my mom, but c'mon, if they thrash it when our longest ride is ten blocks, what is it going to look like after ten hours?
Can't Eddie go instead? I'd gladly take call for him on Saturday night and go to work every day next week. While I'd fear for his patients, I'd be more afraid about what might happen if he and my mom spent a week in close proximity without me to act as a buffer.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Take it and Run Thursday: Building Miles and Going Long
On Saturday, I ran 20 miles. Then I came home, took a shower, went grocery shopping, and spent the rest of the day chasing kids and making truffles and frosting 100 cupcakes and outlining a workshop for an event I was in charge of at church on Sunday. A year ago if you had told me that I'd be able to run 20 miles and still go strong for the rest of the day, I would not have believed you. I think that for me, the ability to run long really draws on my motivation, and here are a few things that motivate me:
1) Someone to run with. On Saturday, I was planning to meet a friend at 6:30 for her last training run before her upcoming half-marathon. So I ran six miles before I met her, went with her for a little more than eight, and did the last six by myself. Even though I did twelve miles alone, it was so nice to have someone to talk to during the middle stretch. I probably ran a little slower, but I needed the social interaction more than I needed the speed. I recently joined a local running club, and I really think it's going to help me stay motivated too. Even though I love the mind-cleanse that comes from a solo run, the social butterfly in me also likes to talk when I'm out for two or three hours.
2) Someone to check in with. I'm on a message board for moms, and over the years, a lot of us have become runners. We have a weekly check-in thread, and I have learned so much from my girls over the years. They're the ones who made me believe I could run a marathon in the first place, who cheered me on to continue when Isaac got sick, who told me about training plans (I'm using FIRST to the Finish right now, and it's a fantastic challenge-- I love it!), who remind me to buy new running shoes when it's been a long time, who listen to me when I whine, and who make me feel good about myself. I couldn't do it without them. Let's face it-- going long takes a lot out of you, and it's great to have friends to check in with at the end to fill you up again.
3) Someone to run for. For as long as I can remember, my mom has been lacing up her sneakers and walking every day. Her current workout schedule (3+ hours at the gym, 6 days a week) makes my marathon training look wimpy in comparison. While I'm not advocating her extremism (yes, Mom, if you're reading this, you're way crazier than I am). But now that I'm a mom myself, I recognize that her example of physical fitness set a great example for me. I hope that I'm perpetuating the healthy lifestyle cycle for my own kids. Eddie, who always seemed somewhat indifferent to my obsession, has gotten really supportive of my running in the last year (and even running a bit himself!). So even though it seems sort of paradoxical on the surface, it's getting away from my family and getting in a good run that enables me to come back recharged and also set a good example for them.
It may seem kind of ironic, but I really do think that in this most solitary of sports, it's the relationships forged through and strengthened by running that keep me going the long miles.
1) Someone to run with. On Saturday, I was planning to meet a friend at 6:30 for her last training run before her upcoming half-marathon. So I ran six miles before I met her, went with her for a little more than eight, and did the last six by myself. Even though I did twelve miles alone, it was so nice to have someone to talk to during the middle stretch. I probably ran a little slower, but I needed the social interaction more than I needed the speed. I recently joined a local running club, and I really think it's going to help me stay motivated too. Even though I love the mind-cleanse that comes from a solo run, the social butterfly in me also likes to talk when I'm out for two or three hours.
2) Someone to check in with. I'm on a message board for moms, and over the years, a lot of us have become runners. We have a weekly check-in thread, and I have learned so much from my girls over the years. They're the ones who made me believe I could run a marathon in the first place, who cheered me on to continue when Isaac got sick, who told me about training plans (I'm using FIRST to the Finish right now, and it's a fantastic challenge-- I love it!), who remind me to buy new running shoes when it's been a long time, who listen to me when I whine, and who make me feel good about myself. I couldn't do it without them. Let's face it-- going long takes a lot out of you, and it's great to have friends to check in with at the end to fill you up again.
3) Someone to run for. For as long as I can remember, my mom has been lacing up her sneakers and walking every day. Her current workout schedule (3+ hours at the gym, 6 days a week) makes my marathon training look wimpy in comparison. While I'm not advocating her extremism (yes, Mom, if you're reading this, you're way crazier than I am). But now that I'm a mom myself, I recognize that her example of physical fitness set a great example for me. I hope that I'm perpetuating the healthy lifestyle cycle for my own kids. Eddie, who always seemed somewhat indifferent to my obsession, has gotten really supportive of my running in the last year (and even running a bit himself!). So even though it seems sort of paradoxical on the surface, it's getting away from my family and getting in a good run that enables me to come back recharged and also set a good example for them.
It may seem kind of ironic, but I really do think that in this most solitary of sports, it's the relationships forged through and strengthened by running that keep me going the long miles.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
So what does a runner look like, anyway?
Yesterday, I was talking with a lady who made a comment that I've been thinking about ever since. She said, "I could never be a runner. I have chubby legs. You have such a runner's body." Before I had the chance to set her straight, my other line rang in and I had to cut our conversation short.
Over the last six months, I've had several people comment on my "runner's body" and it makes me uncomfortable every time, even though I know they mean it as a compliment. I've been a runner for at least six years, and for most of that time, I don't think anyone would look at me and immediately assume I was a runner. But that didn't make me any less of one.
In the beginning, I wore baggy t-shirts to hide my mommy tummy, and hoped that running would help me get rid of it. Although I was happy to be able to run throughout my pregnancy, it's an understatement to say that I was in no shape to parade my bare midriff on the cover of Runner's World just a few months postpartum like Paula Radcliffe. For at least five years, looking like a runner was not a priority for me, but running was.
Last year, I got serious about losing weight, amped up the training, and voila, I lost my boobs and found some definition in my midsection. But now I worry a little bit about giving advice to my fellow running sisters. I know that I, as the unconfident beginning runner with the spare tire around my waist, might have felt like advice from a girl who "looked like a runner" certainly couldn't apply to me.
I will say this. I'm training for the Wasatch Back race with eleven of my favorite sisters-in-running. We're all different shapes and sizes, all run at different speeds, all have good runs and bad runs, all have to convince ourselves to get out and hit the pavement some days. And we all look like runners who can be proud of the steps we take each day.
Over the last six months, I've had several people comment on my "runner's body" and it makes me uncomfortable every time, even though I know they mean it as a compliment. I've been a runner for at least six years, and for most of that time, I don't think anyone would look at me and immediately assume I was a runner. But that didn't make me any less of one.
In the beginning, I wore baggy t-shirts to hide my mommy tummy, and hoped that running would help me get rid of it. Although I was happy to be able to run throughout my pregnancy, it's an understatement to say that I was in no shape to parade my bare midriff on the cover of Runner's World just a few months postpartum like Paula Radcliffe. For at least five years, looking like a runner was not a priority for me, but running was.
Last year, I got serious about losing weight, amped up the training, and voila, I lost my boobs and found some definition in my midsection. But now I worry a little bit about giving advice to my fellow running sisters. I know that I, as the unconfident beginning runner with the spare tire around my waist, might have felt like advice from a girl who "looked like a runner" certainly couldn't apply to me.
I will say this. I'm training for the Wasatch Back race with eleven of my favorite sisters-in-running. We're all different shapes and sizes, all run at different speeds, all have good runs and bad runs, all have to convince ourselves to get out and hit the pavement some days. And we all look like runners who can be proud of the steps we take each day.
Monday, March 10, 2008
My Life Monday: Pictures
I went to snap a picture of Bryce a few weeks ago. He's always begging to have me take pictures of him. So I got him all posed, and at the last minute, he turned and showed me his booty instead. Annie thought it was so funny that she insisted that I take one of hers as well. This is probably the only time in their lives when they'll want their butts in pictures. Goodness knows I don't want anyone taking a picture of mine!
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