The new schedule

In May, when I participated in the Word Count Blogathon, I wrote articles for Simply Nooner every day. I thought it would end up being a chore, but it wasn't. It was actually pretty fun. So I'm going to keep it up.

Starting this week, I'll be publishing articles three days a week on Simply Nooner. Mondays will be about writing or other creative endeavors; Wednesdays will showcase running or fitness topics, and Fridays will be about gluten-free life.  If you'd like to see more gluten-free articles, feel free to hop on over to Li Loves David, where there will be new articles published every Tuesday and Thursday.

Today, I've been thinking about knitting.  I know I haven't mentioned it much, but I'm a knitter.  A chick with sticks.  I knit so I don't kill people...ooops, did I say that out loud?  Anyhow, I really enjoy knitting.  And I haven't picked up a pair of needles in six months.

Wait, what?  Has it really been that long?

Yes, it has.  And I know why. 

We adopted two rambunctious kittens about nine months ago.  They were adorable, and into everything.  So I put away the needles and the yarn until they calmed down.  Because you know how cats are with yarn.  And then something happened....

They didn't calm down. 

What?

Sigh.  They are still rambunctious.  And older.  And bigger.  And smarter.  And better able to get into things.

So I guess I just need to watch my yarn like a hawk, and make sure it's safely locked away when I'm not actually knitting.  And maybe stay away from wool for a while.

Time to look at patterns...

Why do it at all?

I am a slow runner.  Very slow.  Extremely slow.  Tortoise slow.  Slow.

Really, I'm slow.

I am a back of the pack runner.  When I line up for a race, I go to my assigned corral, which is based on your expected finish time, and I go to the back of it.  If there are any corrals behind me, those people will pass me as we cross the start line.

But I'll pass them again around the halfway point.

What I lack in speed, I make up for in endurance and sheer determination.  I love my long runs.  So far my person record for distance is 14 miles, and it was a great experience.  I can't wait to get into the 20 mile (and longer) runs in my marathon training.

But, like I said earlier, I'm slow.  It's not so much a race for me, as a test of will.

Will I last the distance?  Will I be able to finish?  Will I be able to walk after?

I know I'm never going to win anything other than a finisher's medal.  And that's fine with me.  As long as I beat the closing of the course, I'm good.

My goal each time I toe the line at a race is to beat myself.  If I've never done that distance before, then I want to finish.  If I have, I'm running to set a new personal record (PR) in that distance. 

Since I'm relatively new to running and races, the PRs will be happening for a while.  It's only natural that I'll continue to get stronger and (relatively) faster for a while.  Well, we can hope, anyhow...

But no matter what, I'm going to continue to run and race.  Because to not do it would be the ultimate defeat.

My summer reading list...continued

The summer has gotten off to a great start, and I've had the opportunity to catch up on some reading.

The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson.  The final book of the Millennium series.  This one picks up immediately after the previous book ends, and ties up the loose ends from the previous two books.

Run! 26.2 Stories of Blisters and Bliss by Dean Karnazes.  A quick read, lots of fun, and at times inspirational , whether you run or not.

Dirty Harriet by Miriam Auerbach.  The debut novel by a local author.  The story was a little loose, but I really enjoyed the local references.  The description of the typical "Boca Babe" was spot on.

That brings me up to a total of 20 so far this year.

Being Gluten Free

I don't eat gluten.  Ever.  No, I don't cheat.  Not even a little bit.

Does that surprise anyone?  That's often one of the first questions I get when someone finds out I'm gluten free.

The other thing people always say - always - is, "Oh, I could never give up bread/pasta/insert gluten filled food item here."

I don't know, maybe they couldn't.  Frankly, for me, the choice between a slice of Wonder Bread and a slow, painful, agonizing death from cancer is pretty easy.

You can keep your bread, thank you!  I'm fine.

Evidently not eating gluten is the latest "fad" diet out there.  A lot of people are jumping on the bandwagon, giving up gluten here and there, because they've heard it's good for you.

I actually tried it once, many years before I found out I had celiac disease, a genetic gluten intolerance.

That time, I didn't notice any change in my health, and abandoned the diet after a few weeks.  After all, it's a pain in the ass, and it wasn't helping, anyway.

What I didn't realize at the time was that I hadn't eliminated gluten.  Not at all.

Oh, I thought I had.  I stopped buying bread and didn't eat any pasta.  I had it covered.

I didn't realize that the stuff is in everything.  Really.  Look at your container of soy sauce, bag of Nacho Cheese Doritos, and package of Twix candy bars.

Then look at your spice cabinet.

And all those prepackaged foods in your freezer.

And pretty much every box and container on your pantry shelves.

Yeah, I was about as gluten free as a kid in a pie eating contest.  No wonder I didn't feel any better.

Once I was diagnosed with celiac disease, though, it all changed.  I went through the kitchen with a fine toothed comb.  No gluten escaped the purge.  Okay, I kept a few things that my husband eats, but when he finished them, they weren't replaced.

About three days after I eliminated gluten completely from my diet, something happened. 

I felt better.  I felt human.  For the first time in years.

From that day on, I haven't willingly touched anything with gluten in it. 

And I haven't missed the damn Wonder Bread one bit.

National Running Day

Running changed my life.

I took up runnign during a time that nothing seemed to be going right.  It was something I could do where I was the one in control, and not something or someone else.  In spite of myriad chronic health issue that will plague me for the rest of my life, I could still run.

I had never liked running before, but that didn't matter.  I was going to conquer this.

My goal at first was a 5K.  3.1 miles.  That was all I wanted to do.  I did notice that I felt good on the days that I ran.  Better than I had in a long, long time.  But I was going to stop at 5K.  Anything else was excessive, right?

Then I started visiting online running forums.

A funny thing happened on the way to the forums...

I started reading about people running 10K (6.2 mile) races.  And half marathons - 13.1 miles.  And (gasp!) marathons!  26.2 miles, all at once!  Were they freaking nuts?

But I thought about it, and something clicked for me.  Even as I wondered about my new found cyber friends' sanity, I began to think about longer distances.  I can't pinpoint exactly when I came over to the dark side, but I think it was right around the time I became hopelessly, irrevocably addicted to the endorphins I was producing, otherwise known as runner's high.

Maybe I would do a 10K sometime.  Maybe...someday...after years of running...a half marathon.  Maybe...

Okay, now I'm freaking nuts.

Well, long story short:  6 months after I started running, I ran my first 5K.  Just before my 1 year running anniversary, I ran my first half marathon.  I'm planning to run my first marathon this November, less than 2 years into my running career.  And I'm looking forward to more endurance challenges, like ultra marathons (anything longer than 26.2 miles) and Disney's Goofy Challenge (a half marathon one day and a marathon the next day, sounds like fun!!).

And one of the best things about all of this is that my beloved has taken up running, too.  He ran the 5K by my side.  He couldn't do the half marathon because of shoulder surgery, but cheered me from the sidelines.  And we are now training together for our first marathon.  Now, that's true love!

To celebrate National Running Day, I went out for a quick run this morning.  My beloved and I normally run together on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so this was just a little symbolic, celebratory jaunt.  I went to a park close by our house, where there's a short looping path.  I often walk there, and so do many other people.  Today, one of the walkers flagged me down.  Being the courteous type, I stopped, to see what I could do for her.

She gave me a look that I think of as "grandmotherly."  You've seen it, that smug, condescending, "you're far too stupid to figure this out on your own, so I have to spell it out for you" look.  Like a grandmother looks.

"You know," she said, "it's better for your joints to walk briskly than to run."

Ha!  That made me laugh so hard, I could barely finish my run...

Happy National Running Day!