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No Running, No Shopping But Eating Pizza

Posted on May 4, 2013
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Last night when I crawled to the bed, there was no snow on the ground anymore. And really, who would expect to see any snow in May? Not me, not even in Alaska.

But how wrong I was. This is what I woke up to:

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I had a long run scheduled for today but I decided to be a wimp. No matter what I tried to tell myself, there was no way I could convince myself to dress up once again like a Michelin man and head out. I need summer – sunny, warm days. In the morning I was working in my lab with hamsters, finishing up some research, and while at the university, I swear the snowflakes just kept getting bigger. There sure are days when Alaska is not making me happy.

And my day continued pretty much with a negative tone. Jason’s Grandma passed away earlier this week, and I did a quick stop at the downtown mall to see if I could find a two piece suit for the funeral. Banana Republic’s selection had apparently gotten significantly worse since my last visit at the mall – probably six months ago. No luck. Their Anchorage store didn’t carry anything formal looking. Nothing. In Lower 48 I often found pretty nice business outfits at Banana Republic…. disappointing. So my next step was Nordstrom. Which, by the way, doesn’t look like Nordstroms in Lower 48, at all. If you didn’t know, you’d think of being at Sears or Old Navy. Anyways, there was no single two piece suit in that store either. Nothing. In fact I was at the point where I would have bought any two piece suit without even looking at the price if I only had found one. So another major shopping disappointment in Alaska. No two piece for me but I guess my old black dress will do just fine.

Pigging out at a pizza restaurant made my day though. I had a chance to have lunch with one of my dear friends. And some girly time with pizza makes everything better – even a snowy day and unlucky shopping trip. But tomorrow’s long run will be even longer ……. gotta get that cheese off my waist although it was delicious.

“Good friends, good books, and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life.”― Mark Twain

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Running Makes Me Happy

Posted on May 1, 2013
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I have been addicted to running, and working out in general, for a few years. The anxiety starts to set in and grumpiness raises its head when I can’t get my workouts done – whether it is because of absolutely crazy busy work, travels or sickness. Right after my Chicago trip, or actually already in the Windy City, I got a cold. And I don’t think I have ever been so sick in my life. In fact I was very close to call my Doc for some Tamiflu to get rid of the crud but eventually just sucked it up, and kept flying on my business trips. Flying with a cold is pretty miserable experience, by the way.

Obviously, all that sneezing, coughing, and constant nose blowing meant that training was definitely out of the question. Not that I would have had a whole lot of energy for it either. And the longer the cold was bugging me, the more annoying annoyed I became, not only for being sick but also for not having my daily dose of endorphins. When I finally got out for a little jog on Saturday, another on Sunday, and real workout on Monday, my life is back to normal. Running is my happy place.

“One late afternoon, after swimming in a lake, he began to jog around to ease his chill. Soon enough he found himself running for the sheer exhilaration of it, across the moor and toward the coast. 

The sky filled with crimson clouds, and as he ran a light rain started to fall.  With the sun warming his back, a rainbow appeared in front of him, and he seemed to run toward it. Along the coast the rhythm of the water breaking against the rocks eased him, and he circled back to where he had begun.  Cool, wet air filled his lungs.

Running into the sun now, he had trouble seeing the ground underneath his feet, but still he rushed forward, alive with the movement.  Finally spent as the sun disappeared from the horizon, he tumbled down a light hill and rested on his back, his feet bleeding, but feeling rejuvenated. He needed to reconnect to the joy of running, to get away from the tyranny of the track” – Neil Bascombe: The Perfect Mile

Oh boy, how I enjoyed my 4 miles in 32 minutes. I hardly even got sweaty, and was running with a big smile on my face. The cough is almost gone, I don’t sound like a dying sea lion anymore. I’m thankful for being healthy again. Happiness is often about small things… And the running saga continues also on other fronts. I have quite a few races and charity events lined up for the summer – some for pushing my own limits, some running together with my Personal Training clients, and helping them to reach their goals. This weekend Jason and I also signed up for a Rock ‘n’ Roll half marathon – the race is run after summer. Hubby is one of those really lucky ones who doesn’t love running and have a deep passion for it but he still excels at his fitness tests without any strict training. And yes, I am jealous …

P.S. The R’n'R race was his idea – this time I didn’t nag about signing up for an event.

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Saturday Sunshine

Posted on April 27, 2013
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IMG_6506_instantWhat a beautiful day it has been! Sun has been shining since the early morning, and days are getting warmer – even on the Last Frontier. Snow is melting, everywhere else but on the mountains as you can see on pictures. So we headed out to check out the running/skiing trails nearby. Despite my cold that apparently got worse this past week, thanks to all the flying I did.

It was a wonderful day. Hubby and the dog were goofing around while I was running. We had a great time, and made plans to return to Hatcher Pass in a few days – with snowshoes, or maybe with skis and skins, or snowboard. Some spring skiing & snowboarding sounds like a blast!

However, three miles were a joy, albeit really slow for someone running regularly 6:30 miles, and I am so hoping to feel better tomorrow. It’s hard to be fast when you have to cough or blow your nose way too often. But at the same time running shoes are so crying out loud my name, and begging to get out for a long run. And my Ironman training would greatly benefit from that too.

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P.S. The joy and surprise of the day came in the form of cheese today. After our outdoors stuff we ran some errands, including grocery shopping at the Commissary. More than one the Commissary has turned out to be a great place to find some tasty treats, such as Fazer Chocolate from Finland. And what did I see today?!? Bread Cheese. I haven’t seen the bread cheese since leaving Finland, which was like forever ago so no surprise, I was in heaven. Quick Google search also showed that Carr Valley Cheese ships this delicacy. Now I know where to find my bread cheese!

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I Need a Break

Posted on April 25, 2013
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IMG_0552_instantIt has been another crazy busy week. Past two weeks have been full of traveling, again. First Chicago, and being stuck there for a couple of extra days, then other business trips this week. While flying has been literally painful for my ears, the views have been pretty neat. The other day a pilot flew between Mt McKinley, the highest peak in North America, and Mt Foraker, the sixth highest peak on the continent. I have seen, felt, smelled and touched McKinley a few times but seeing Foraker so close was a treat. And looking at the pictures I snapped makes me long for climbing, and now I have been toying with an idea of climbing Foraker this or next season. Time will tell but its Sultana Ridge route is faintly calling my name.

I got a cold while in Chicago – apparently I was slightly too hopeful about seeing nice spring weather, and tried to dress accordingly. Major. Failure. So now I have been coughing my lungs out for a few days, and blowing my nose like an elephant. In addition to feeling like my head would explode when airplane pressure changes at landings. Constant flying, speaking for hours either in front of my class or giving tons of work presentations are not helping to kick this sickness out.

In fact I feel pretty drained tonight. So tired that I decided to reschedule my personal training clients, and head home, sit on my fat butt and eat some split pea soup. I haven’t had a single piece of energy to run this week yet I am getting anxious and stressed about missing workouts. The vicious cycle of being sick and feeling guilty about not running is not helping on the road to recovery…. oh well, tomorrow I will entertain my personal training clients and try to run a couple of miles without collapsing on the sidewalk. Fingers crossed it works out!

But one more day to the weekend… I think I can do this. And then slow down a bit before finishing up grading my students’ work, and finishing up the final exam. Tuesday is The Test Day. I have greatly enjoyed teaching this semester, and actually feel a bit sad about the semester ending. It hit me today when I walked on the empty university hallways.

Mostly I have had awesome students who are working really hard for good grades. I am very proud of my students who have relentlessly tackled sometimes complicated topics for past 3.5 months, and I am excited about seeing their enthusiasm and curiosity growing. It’s fascinating to see the development of new university educated generation.

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MilSpouse (First) Friday Fill-In #80

Posted on April 5, 2013
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Happy April! It looks and feels like spring – even in Alaska! Assuming that the weatherman is completely, completely wrong and we don’t get snow this weekend…. Since it is the first Friday of the month, it’s time for the Friday Fill-In, hosted by Wife of A Sailor!

1. What’s one thing in the past month you would have changed? March was a great month, nothing to be changed. We had a great time in Tucson, AZ, over the spring break week, and went to see Ice Sculptures in Fairbanks, AK. Work was busy as always, got quite a bit stuff done for my research project, …. but I would have needed a couple of extra hours here and there. It was pretty hectic when I had to grade students’ midterms, quizzes and homework within a week or so.

2. What was your favorite thing that happened in March? Our travels in and out of Alaska, like always. Hilton El Conquistador resort in Tucson was a great place to stay at – we were treated super good at the resort, had a blast. And look forward to going again! Yeah, we are travel addicts, big time…

3. What are you looking forward to in April? More travels. Are you seeing the trend here? I have some work stuff to do in Chicago, and will have a chance to see my super awesome in-laws. I’m already counting days to being on the plane again. I am also speaking in a couple of conferences, which is always a blast. Public speaking is fun, and one of the best things I know.

4. What is your favorite thing about Spring? Daylight! It’s so great to have normal 12 hours of daylight, instead of a few hours that we experience here in Alaska during the winter time. And melting snow is awesome too!

5. What is your ultimate guilty pleasure? Running. Nothing makes me happier than heading out for a long run. Or bike ride.

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