Book #21: The Kings of New York

Title: The Kings of New York
Author: Michael Weinreb

Michael Weinreb spends a year following the players on New York's Murrow High School's national championship varsity chess team.

Did you love Friday Night Lights and The Last Shot? How about Head of the Class? The Kings of New York is sort of like Head of the Class meets Friday Night Lights. Weinreb provides the interesting backstories and family histories behind the guys who make their opponents sweat on the other side of the chess board. It was a really fun, enlightening read.

Book #20: In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto

Title: In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto
Author: Michael Pollan

"Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants."

If you've read Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma (and if you haven't, you should!), In Defense of Food should not come as a surprise to you. It seems like the most natural outgrowth of The Omnivore's Dilemma. The first two sections talk all about how bad the Western Diet is and how people in other parts of the world tend to stay skinnier and healthier eating their native diets, no matter what they are. Pollan really hates preservatives, packaged foods, and anything with "high fructose" and "hydrogenated" in it. In the third section (the most useful and shortest part of the book), he talks about all of the things we should do to eat well in a complex modern world. His definition of food? Things your great-grandmother would recognize as food. Don't fear butter, fear preservatives.

I love the third section of Pollan's book, and felt inspired while reading it to do things like join a CSA, start shopping at the farmer's market, and start making my own bread. But I read it on vacation, and so far I haven't actually done any of those things yet. As Eddie pointed out, Pollan's way of eating is a lot more time-consuming and a lot more expensive. Worth it? Probably, but right now I've got a lot of other things (mostly preservative-filled) on my plate.

I finished the book while we were in Mexico, and just as we were leaving Chichen Itza, in the jungle in the heart of the Yucatan Peninsula, I saw a little store in the village. Seated at a table on the front porch was a whole family-- obese mom, overweight dad, bunch of chubby little kids, sitting with a 2-liter bottle of Coke on the table and a big open bag of Doritos spread between them. So I guess the Western diet really is killing people all over the world, and not just us poor saps in America.

Book #19: Women Who Run

Title: Women Who Run
Author: Shanti Sosienski

Profiles of about ten women runners-- running (get it) the gamut from transsexuals to grandmas.

If you're a woman and a runner and get inspired by the stories of other runners, this is an inspiring, happy book, and a very quick read (I read it on a 2 hour bus ride in Mexico, lol). My favorite profiles were of the woman who started the See Jane Run stores and of Kristin Armstrong.

Book #18: The Rule of Four

Title: The Rule of Four
Author: Ian Caldwell and Dustin Thomason

Tom and Paul, seniors at Princeton, get lost in the puzzle created by the Hypnerotomachia (an obscure Renaissance text) and encounter danger in the process.

The Rule of Four is a puzzle book, often lumped into the same category as The DaVinci Code. However, as I read it for the second time for my book group, I think that the comparison both gives it too much and not enough credit (if that's possible). What I mean is that as a puzzle book, it doesn't really work. While we got to work out the puzzles along with Robert and Sophie, in The Rule of Four, we never actually get to puzzle over the puzzles on our own, which felt like a shortcoming to me (remember The Westing Game from childhood and how satisfying it felt to work out those puzzles?). On the other hand, I felt Thomason and Caldwell were superior to Dan Brown in giving their characters emotional depth, a feat that I think is especially impressive in a book written by two people (how do two people write fiction together? It seems impossible to me). One thing that I missed the first time I read the book but appreciated this time around was the side story of Tom's broken femur, his recovery, and his continuing limp. We know a little bit too much about broken femurs at our house to skim over that part this time.

Book #17: The Long Road Home

Title: The Long Road Home
Author Martha Raddatz

The story of an army humvee in an ambush in Baghdad.

You know how we always hear things on the news that say, "Eight US soldiers were killed in an ambush today in Sadr City. Muqtada al-Sadr's Shiite Militia claims responsibility" and when the next line is something like "Gas prices jump to national average of $3.20/gallon" our minds immediately shift away from Iraq and on to something a little closer to home. Maybe not anymore after reading The Long Road Home, which provides the whole backstory behind the ambush of an army humvee, including the thoughts of those on board, those that came to rescue the soldiers hiding out, and what all of their families were going through back home at Fort Hood. It made me a lot more cognizant of the costs of the war, both human and economic, and made me feel more strongly than ever that while I really appreciate the soldiers who are serving their country, the situation in Iraq is too complicated for our military might to solve alone.

The Week in Training-- March 10-17

I've decided to reinstate my "Week in Training" posts now that the marathon is less than 7 weeks away. If it bores you, don't read it. I'm using the FIRST to the Finish training by the Furman Institute for Running and it's a much more intense training than I did last time.

Monday: 1 mile warmup, 6 sets of 3/4 mile sprints (9.8-9.9mph) followed by 1/4 mile jog (done)
Tuesday: abs and spinning (done! Took Isaac and Maren back to the gym daycare for the first time since October and it felt so liberating! I'm glad the 5am spin classes are part of my past!)
Wednesday: 10 miles at marathon pace (7:40 min/miles). I hope to have a chance to run outside and use my new Garmin! (done, at the gym, 8.2 mph pace)
Thursday: abs and spinning (done, along with 1 mile at a 5% incline at 8.5mph)
Friday: 15 miles (done-- 8.2 mph, 1/2 marathon pace 1:36!-- I love the gym daycare!)
Saturday: drive to Florida (still hoping for 3 miles of hills, but I won't be too broken up if it doesn't happen)

I think he's paying attention only selectively...

Isaac: Possums and bats are nocturnal.
Me: Where'd you learn that?
Isaac: At church.
Me: What else did you learn at church?
Isaac: Dogs sleep at night but cats sleep during the day.
Me: Yep, that's true. Do you learn about Jesus at church?
Isaac: Who's Jesus?

Take It and Run Thursday-- Gear, Gadgets and Equipment

When I started running, all I needed to be happy was an old pair of shorts, a cheap pair of sneakers, and about 45 minutes with no children in my arms. Life was so simple. As I've gotten progressively faster and more competitive, it seems like my need for stuff has increased exponentially. Here's a list of just a few things I cannot run without:

* My treadmill. On days like today when I have a sick kid home from school, plus my preschooler and toddler, there's no way I can get in a workout without a treadmill. I did have to stop three times in a six-mile run this morning, but I finished it. I have a pretty basic Horizon T20, and even though Eddie said it was just going to be an expensive clothes hanger when we bought it, I've gotten tons of use out of it. It got me through three Minnesota winter and three (so far) Texas summers. When I upgrade, I'll need a faster model, though. This one goes up to 10mph, and sometimes when I'm sprinting, that's not quite fast enough.

* The Jogging Stroller. Next to the treadmill, the stroller is my most indispensible item. I started out with a used Baby Trend double jogger (try running that thing up the hills of Southern Minnesota with 80 lbs of kids in it), and traded up three years ago to the Dreamer Design Ditto. Although the current model apparently has some problems, the one I have is a great stroller. A couple of months ago I pushed my six-year-old and my one-year-old through miles 14-20 of a long training run. Maren and Isaac are probably a little bit too familiar with the stroller for their liking, but having a sane mommy is a very good thing.

* The iPod. Enough said. I will add, though, that since the discussion about music on Runner's Lounge a few weeks ago, I started downloading podcasts. My current favorites to keep me going on long runs-- The Splendid Table (dreaming about that post-run feast) and This American Life. I've decided that the running podcasts don't do it for me-- I'd rather think about something else (preferably food) while running.

* The Shoes. Right now I'm running in Brooks Axioms and Asics GT-2130s. I love both of them!

* The Clothes. As long as they have a pocket, I'm good. I need a spot to stash my cell phone and my shot bloks. I love anything by Sugoi, but since that stuff is often out of my price range, I find myself settling for the Target workout gear instead. I have one of those amphipod extra pocket things, but I haven't gotten the hang of it. It chafes my waist.

* The Hydration Sysytem. I have an amphipod. I've recently decided not to race with it anymore, because I feel like it weighs me down, but I like it well enough as my security blanket for long run training. I used to think that hiding a water bottle in the bushes (filled with water or accelerade) was kind of amateur, but I'd rather be amateur and feel free.

* The Fuel. Before a run? A banana and a couple of Immodium before a race or a very long run (learned that one the hard way). Fuel during a run? I love the cran-razz shot bloks and the Jelly Belly Sport Beans. I've tried some of the gels, but they always seem to upset my stomach.

* The Timing System. A few years ago, I got a cheap Timex watch, but I never really figured out how to work it. My timing has been, at best, haphazard. Maybe that's why I always go out way too fast and then fade big-time. After months of drooling over them, I ordered a Garmin 205 this week, and it should be here before my long run on Saturday. If I can just figure out how to make it do the things it's supposed to do, I think it will really help me.

She may be nonverbal...

...but she sure is smart!

These days, Maren's vocabulary is limited to about 10 words, most of which are the names of people in our family and animal sounds. But I know that she's happy or excited when she kicks her leg back and forth (think "dog wagging tail") and it's pretty easy to decipher the budding temper tantrums (she is fourteen months, after all).

Yesterday, she brought me a pirate eye patch that Isaac acquired while Eddie and I were gone last week. I put it on and she got all excited (kicking that little leg and everything). Then, with a look of determination in her eye, she headed towards our Little People bin and dug and dug and dug through them (we have a LOT of Little People) until she found the pirate with the eye patch. She brought it over to me and pointed to my eye and acted very proud of herself. She can't talk, but she's an observant little thing!

Back with pictures!

I've decided that there's nothing like going on a cruise to make you feel young again. When the average age of the cruisers is around 60, being in my mid-thirties made me feel like a baby. We also got to do lots of things that we haven't done in years-- sleep in late, have an adult conversation at the dinner table, and wear clean clothes all day long (you know, without snot or spitup or messy handprints on them). It was blissful. I read five books, spent lots of time in a chaise on the deck and in the hot tub, ran 32 miles, took a spinning class and a pilates class, was one of two sober passengers on a booze cruise, saw one of the seven wonders of the world, and climbed a mountain through the jungle. My only complaint-- not enough chocolate! Oh, and I did miss my kids a little bit. Enough that I'm glad to be home, but really happy that I had my husband all to myself for a whole week.