California Dreaming

I’ve been sitting on this post for months. Literally. But, with the cold and grey, I thought it was time to get California dreaming. This is a lot of photos because it was actually two visits!

California: Part 1

I went to visit my family in August. Somehow, even though we’re from Illinois, my entire nuclear family–both parents and both siblings ended up in California. I am now the lone, landlocked, Midwesterner Kim family member. While I was looking forward to seeing my family and seeing the gorgeous LA area, I was also nervous because I had to do a 20 mile run. On vacation. Oy vey. But let’s start with the beauty.

Those are my naked children (including my daughter who is only wearing shorts and underwear–keeping it classy, folks). My dad is the man dressed like he’s about to head out to the desert. I don’t love the beach, but there is such a primordial connection to the ocean I have to say. And my son LOVED it.

Blue skies for days!

And we got to have a little sunset happy hour (my bro on the left and Mr. Sometimes Runner on the right).

And because we’re fancy like that, we took in some culture with the kids at the Getty Museum. FREE! In the mountains! Gorgeous.

  

The gardens were amazing and I couldn’t take enough pictures.

  

My daughter found all the nudity in the art museum very humorous. She kept shouting, “They’re naked” at all the art showing nudity and laughing. It was funny, but also embarrassing. Here she learns about the female form.

Who doesn’t love a painting of a giant rhinoceros beetle impaled by an equally large pin?

There’s been some scandal in celebrity gossip lately about Alyssa Milano being shamed for breastfeeding. Look, even baby Jesus breastfed openly.

Here’s the 20 miler I did along the ocean. I had originally hoped to run with a Long Beach area running club, A Running Experience Club. They were also going to do their 20 miler in preparation for the Long Beach Marathon. However, timing and such didn’t work out. They were very kind and shared their route, though, and I used some of it to guide my run down to Newport Beach and back.

One thing that was fun was my decision to do my “ice bath” in the Pacific Ocean. It was COLD! And I was sweaty, but it was pretty awesome to wade in and be in the water.

My family made fun of me for taking pictures of these squirrels along my run, but they’re squirrels. That live in the sand. The sand, people! And the markings on the squirrels look different from the fat suburban grey squirrels that are so prevalent back home.

Yum, Korean food in the LA area does not get better anywhere else in the US. Sigh. My sister, brother-in-law, and niece.

We also attempted to force our children to enjoy nature and go on a long hike in Griffith Park. There were alot of tears, gritted teeth, and threats of abandonment. But we got to the observatory and back. The hills! I was jealous of all the runners I saw out there.

  

One of my shorter runs I did in Long Beach and stumbled upon some fancy Venice canal-like areas. The houses were gorgeous and there were even little canals with bridges over. I can’t imagine being surrounded by such beauty all the time. I know people must get used to it, but it was glorious coming from the Midwest.

  

They even had Italian-like plaza centers with fountains.

It’s hard to find Korean buns like these. They are called “wahng mandoo,” or “king buns.” So amazing in the heart of Korea Town in LA.

Wyeth was very sad to go home.

CALIFORNIA: PART II

I got a chance to go back to California just a week go. My sister had her second kid, a boy, and I went to go meet him and help. I went solo since it was so expensive. Yay, alone adult time! This time, instead of the LA area, I went to the Bay area.

 

My adorable niece.

I wasn’t allowed to hold my nephew the first day because my niece has been so attention-starved, we were pretending I came just to see her. Ha. I finally got some snuggle time the second day. Swoon. New baby cuddles and new baby smell.

As a good Korean and older sister, I made a traditional Korean New Year’s dish, ddeok guk, a noodle soup dish. Eating it is supposed to bring you long life and prosperity. I have to say that I did pretty good 🙂

My sister’s family lives in the East Bay, within short distance from the Ohlone Greenway, a pathway that runs along part of the BART line. I ran part of that, which was nice.

Gotta love public art! Roosters no less.

I also did a 14 miler along the Bay going north. The first mile was long the highway, so not so pretty. However, it soon opened up and even ran through part of a nature preserve. Always fun seeing the sun rise, right?

There were some tiny sections of trial that ran alongside the paved path, so I took the opportunity to get some different terrain underfoot. There was also a massive dog park that was acres and acres of happy, unleashed dogs, with lots of trees and open area. Almost made me want a dog (except that whole picking up poop part).

I ended at the Richmond Marina and scooted back. Overall, it was a great run, but I did realize that I hate my Saucony Guide’s. I had packed only those shoes and I generally don’t run in them for my long runs. I save them for my recovery runs. I realize they are just too much shoe for me, and I blame them and my long run in them for attributing to my pre-plantars issues. Like I said in the previous posts, Bill scolded me about switching between stability (the Guides) and neutral for longer runs. We’ll see…I just got the Saucony Triumph for more cushioning but still neutral form.

Anyhow, happy Friday, people. I’m going to try a short run today after taking the week off. Wish me luck. I will leave this little bit of California beauty for you.

Donuts, deer, and Ragnar

Today was National Donut Day. I took one for the team and ate a donut. Mostly to justify buying more coffee…Dunkin Donuts was giving away free donuts with a purchase of a beverage.

I know, I know, I didn’t buy my donut local or gourmet or whatever. And my coffee was full of sugar and cream (or whatever that white stuff they call cream is). But my local coffee shop only carries the local gourmet donuts on the weekend, and I had both screaming whining children with me in the car on the way to the zoo. So drive-through major chain it was. I regretted not buying the larger size…or maybe double fisting it.

Today was a great day for the zoo. Greyish and cool. This was particularly helpful for my red-headed friend and her milky-white children (on a side note, they are going to attend the Redhead Days festival this weekend. Yup, it’s a thing, and they are a mostly red-headed family, although the palest of that lot is a blonde. She thinks that 3/4 is good enough. Ha). It was a pretty great trip minus the five million schools that all decided to make today their field trip day. We even did a little trail hike that we’d never been on before. Who knew?

It was a sudden turn for the cold, though, as two days ago, we were doing this.

And celebrating the birth of summer like this

But then, you know, it’s Chicago. So it’s cold again today. Sigh. BUT, I did get some hot and hilly training in before the weather dropped. I was able to work out some last minute childcare stuff, get a decent run in, AND try out the Dear Kates (but you’ll have to wait until next TMI Thursday for the review). One of my favorite runs is Waterfall Glen in Darien, IL. It’s crushed limestone, pretty, and you’re forced to run about 10 miles. Oh and there’s a handheld pump. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

I headed to Waterfall Glen with the best of intentions, of doing at least 9 miles if not 10. However, my over-exuberance at Orange Theory so quickly on the heels of my tempo run Tuesday was a mistake. My quads were tight and sore, and it was crazy hot (for me). I dialed down my expectations to 3.5 miles out and back. Within that hour, I drank through both bottles on my belt and was fantasizing about more. I saw horse poop, a million dragon flies, a surprising number of walkers, a blue jay, and a deer. I also ran a bunch of hills with sore quads. That sucked. This was nice, though (that’s a small pond in the middle if you can’t tell).

And look! Another (better) picture of a deer! I actually debated taking a picture of the horse poop on the trail, but I thought I’d spare you. I have to say that I was pretty excited to see the finish sign at the trailhead. I was surprisingly sweaty, tired, and thirsty.

Ironically, part of my podcast was about people with chronic blushing problems. Could my face be any redder here?

Thank God you have to work hard for any extra water you want after your run! Yup, they force you to pump your own water from a lovely handheld pump that makes your hands reek of metal. At least the water is cold. And the pump IS a nice shade of blue 🙂Of course, that meant only one thing later in the day. BROWNIE SUNDAE.   

Finally, we are in the single digits for days until Ragnar. So I figured it was time to dig out this box. Yup, when you’ve captained two years in a row, you get a box of random stuff marked “Ragnar.”  And inside, is this magic box of goodness. Streamers, van markers, an ungodly number of glowstick things, random tulle/netting, team magnets, Biofreeze, maps, and batons won from the last two years (second place last year and third the year before). Um, I’m still waiting on some people to pick those up…aaaaaannny day now…Our team theme is “ladies from the 80’s” so that netting might come in handy. I kinda missed the 80’s so it’s all conjecture on my part (I blame my crazy Korean parents. I mean, uh, I bring no shame to my family and my parents were amazing!). 

Anyhow, hope everyone has a great long run this weekend! Oh, I almost forgot. I had submitted a selfie for Another Mother Runner’s Saucony selfie contest. I didn’t win, but I did get our pic up on their page (with Kirstin and Corinna). It’s in the first block, bottom left side. And I do think it’s a good one 🙂

Big plans for the weekend? Redhead Days anyone? Race prep?

Another day, another dollar

Actually, I’m not going into work today, but I just like the way it sounded. While being home with my angelic children is a labor of love, it is definitely a form of work.

Can I say how awesome my dinner last night was? Raw kale salad with nuts and seeds, guacamole, cranberries, and chicken. One great thing I’ve discovered from following other bloggers is how amazing decked-out salads can be. For whatever reason, Erik believes you could not or should not eat raw kale. He’s crazy.

This morning was another fail of myself as training partner. I was supposed to run 7 with friends this morning, but I couldn’t get myself up. I had a feeling last night that I shouldn’t even commit to it, but I can be an optimist about these things. However, knowing it was colder and there was potential for snow, the idea of a 5:30 am run was abhorrent to me. As much as I hate the treadmill, Jenny’s set up with the iPad makes it quite alluring. So running outside in the cold and dark or running in the warmth while watching Orphan Black later today. Yeah, Orphan Black is going to win that one. At least for an easy run day.

Speaking of which, did anyone catch that the store Hot Topic (I can’t believe that store is still around) is going to come out with a line of Orphan Black-inspired clothing? My friend indicated the ridiculous irony of literally dressing like a clone.

Yesterday’s run was a tempo run. My coach, Liz, saw my blog post and granted me the day as an easy run, but it was too late. Waah. I had trouble hitting the actual tempo pace, and resigned myself to a limbo pace in between marathon and tempo. I figured it was better than nothing. My legs were HEAVY.

When I checked in with Jen, she said she did ok, although it was far from enjoyable. That made me think about how training with someone can be great, but how it can also be tricky–especially if you grew up with the parents I did. Ha. When you’re training with someone else, it’s easy to compare how you thought the run went, how you feel, if you hit paces, etc. That’s a double-edged sword. On one hand, you have someone who knows how you’re feeling, someone to kvetch/conspire/check in with. On the other hand, you have a point of comparison. Being Korean, I grew up (very stereotypically) with my parents constantly comparing me to others: my siblings, family friends, community members. It was a parade of measuring sticks that I often fell short of. While that can be motivational, it also messes with your head.

Because Jen and I are relatively evenly matched, it sets me up to want to compare myself to her. She’s been having an easier time with the speed workouts and feeling strong after them. And remember this picture from last weekend? That would be her running in front of me. Because she’s faster.  *shakes fist and wipes tear away*

It’s made me think about running overall, though. It’s always funny when I come back from a race and my kids ask me if I won. I’m nowhere near the front and never in the top 10 of my age group or anything, yet what motivates me to keep running? What’s the point if you’re not going to win? And I realize part of my love of running is that it’s so individual. It’s about your PR and your feeling about a run. 40,000 people don’t line up for the Chicago Marathon because they think they’re going to win it. They do it to master something within themselves, to push themselves and see what they are capable of, to run for those who can’t, to run in memory. As many runners there are, there are an equal number of reasons people run. And if you’re constantly comparing yourself to others, you’re about to be disappointed in alot of ways.

And this is true for everything right? Comparing yourself to others in parenting, running, in being a family member, professor, whatever. We have to all find our own path and what works best for us may not be best for others, and vice versa.

With that said, I’m going to smoke Jen in April’s marathon. HA. Actually, I need to. She’s got 5 minutes on me for qualifying time (she’s older, haha).

Happy Friday folks. Go out and conquer the world! Or take a nap.

3 bouts of coffee, some speed, and and an unexpected surprise

Hm, the title of this post sounds amazing already, doesn’t it? Like it’s going to be about some amazing, crazy night out on the town? Alas, t’is just a regular day in the maddening crowd.

I woke up at 4 a.m. this morning. Before the alarm. An hour before the alarm, and I couldn’t go back to sleep. The best sleep is sleep you think you’ve stolen by waking up and realizing you have another sweet hour before you actually have to wake up. Following that logic, the WORST is when you wake up long before your alarm and can’t go back to sleep. That was me. Writhing in denial for almost an hour before reconciling with the fact that sleep was for other people. Better people. Not me.

First bout of coffee. I always drink coffee before runs. Really, it’s the first thing I do, period. Before speaking to me, before eating, before looking at kids. Coffee. I swear if I could get coffee in an IV drip, I would. I get the feeling that might be a different kind of–illegal–drug. Anyhow, I drink the coffee, do the business, eat a little smackerel of something, and head out the door. Today I was in such a stupor, I missed the memo that I was supposed to be meeting my friends part of the way into the run, and they landed outside my front door texting me. Oops.

It’s a real thing… https://www.gourmet-coffee.com/coffee-iv-drip-kit.html

On the docket, 9 miles, which included 5x1000s at a blistering (for me) pace at the local high school, which is the wonkiest thing ever. I mean, who builds a track with turns that are more akin to right angles than any sort of curve?! Obviously, someone did. It was really dark, and I’m not just talking about my soul. And I may have dropped my giant GPS watch flailing around my first interval. And I may have had to run around the track one more time before I could find it.

It was dark but pretty!

It’s no secret. I hate speed workouts. I suck at them. I started running distances because I reconciled I couldn’t run fast. But then I started thinking I should have time goals for running and that running marathons wasn’t punishment enough, but that I should start running them FASTER. So here I am. And I thought about my previous post as I ran. And I drew on my own communal knowledge of getting through the mile/lap that I was in and not over-anticipating what was to come. And I’ll be honest, there was alot of, “Just finish this straightaway…Now do the curve/angle…Ok, another straightaway.” I couldn’t go to the place of, “You have miles of this. MILES!” That would crush me. I got through one piece at a time. I didn’t make all my time goals, buuuuut I’m not even sure cuz–like I said–I might have dropped my laptop-on-a-wristband-that-poses-as-my-running-watch…and I might have not have enough oxygen for my brain to remember to hit my lap button after each interval. It is what it is. But I ran and pushed through each interval, so I definitely gave myself a little mental high-five. One of the reasons I love the track over the treadmill for speedwork is that you can see how much you have left. You can coax yourself to do the last lap or half lap. The treadmill is an endless quest of waiting for numbers to change as you go nowhere, waiting for an external force to tell you you’re done. *Shudder* Reminds me of the dissertation process.

Anyhow, the rest of the day was the usual carnival of craziness. One sick-faking kid who stayed home from school (which required a second early bout of coffee), then in-laws that came through town on their way home from a road trip, meetings and planning, and another night class (third bout of caffeinated sugar). I actually shared my blog with my students (the class is about teaching writing). Yikes, it’s always weird when you share parts of yourself that are not your “professional” parts (hm, that last bit sounds quite indiscrete) in those spaces. But this past year, I’ve been making more efforts to break down some of those barriers. So often we are categorized into certain boxes and allowed to be only fractions of ourselves. It’s stifling.

Which brings me to the unexpected surprise. When I wrote that previous post, I didn’t expect it to be picked up beyond my immediate circle, but it did. And even cross international time zones! Hooray for the interwebs! I need someone in Korea to read it, though, cuz, you know, I’m Korean and I need validation. But Koreans don’t run. Cuz it makes our legs big…well, that’s another post for another day.

Anyhow, friends, keep movin’ and groovin.

Do you tend to compartmentalize yourself?

Would you buy a coffee IV kit?